Bob Wassell qualified with a BDS from the University of London in 1976 and gained an MSc in Conservative Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Institute in 1984. After working at the Eastman as a lecturer, he moved to Newcastle University in 1987. He then completed his PhD in 1992 and became a senior lecturer and honorary restorative consultant at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 1996. Dr. Wassell pioneered the introduction of the MSc and MClinDent in Restorative Dentistry at Newcastle University. His research interests include management of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), and the splint study published in JADA (2006) was the first controlled, prospective TMD trial carried out in general practice. He is lead author of Applied Occlusion (Quintessence) and has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He retired from Newcastle University in 2016.Francis Nohl trained in medicine followed by dentistry at St. Georges Hospital and University College, London, before undertaking postgraduate training at the Eastman Dental Institute in London and at Newcastle University. He took up a Consultant post at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2000 and was appointed Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer. Dr. Nohl carries out both surgical and prosthodontic aspects of implant dentistry and leads the implant team in Newcastle responsible for service delivery and specialist clinical training. He is founder and Degree Programme Director of the Diploma in Clinical Implant Dentistry at Newcastle University.Jimmy Steele, CBE, qualified with a BDS from the University of Dundee in 1985 and completed his PhD in 1994. He became a senior lecturer/honorary consultant at Newcastle University in 1999. He was awarded a personal Chair of Oral Health Research in 2003 and served as Head of Newcastle School of Dental Sciences from 2009 to 2016. He has authored and made major contributions to seminal textbooks on restorative dentistry, preventative dentistry, occlusion, and statistics. Professor Steele was a senior collaborator with the Office for National Statistics on the Adult Dental Health Surveys (1998 and 2009) and the Children's Dental Health Surveys (2003 and 2013). He led the Review of NHS Dental Services in England in 2009 (aka “The Steele Report”) and until recently was the National Oral and Dental Specialty Lead for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In addition to his CBE, awarded in 2012, he received the John Tomes Medal from the British Dental Association in 2016. Jimmy Steele passed away in November 2017 at the age of 55. Angus Walls graduated from Newcastle University in 1979 and then undertook basic clinical training in Bristol and Stoke-on-Trent before returning to Newcastle for an MRC clinical training fellowship, leading to a PhD. He then held a variety of posts in Newcastle before being appointed Professor of Restorative Dentistry in 1994. He is currently Director of the Edinburgh Dental Institute, Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry to NHS Lothian, and Director of NHS Lothian Oral Health Services. He is President of the International Association for Dental Research (2017–8) and has previously served as President of the British Society for Gerodontology, the British Society for Restorative Dentistry, and the British Society for Oral and Dental Research. His research interests concern oral health care problems in the ageing population and interventions to address these issues. He is the author of over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and co-author or editor of four textbooks.
