Rhiannon O'connor

Organisation

Newcastle University 

Biography

Rhiannon graduated from Newcastle University with a Masters in Research Degree in 2008, and a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in 2009. She then completed two years of postgraduate clinical dental training as a General Professional Trainee at Newcastle Dental Hospital, before becoming a Clinical Fellow at Newcastle Dental School in 2011, a post in which she remains today. This post combines the provision of clinical dentistry with the teaching of undergraduate students and the completion of a PhD. Rhiannon’s PhD investigates the life course determinants of tooth loss in later life, using mixed methods approaches, with the aim of identifying the key determinants which should be the target of interventions to improve oral health. Rhiannon intends to complete her PhD in 2019 (when she returns from maternity leave for her second child born in July 2018).  She then hopes to secure a lectureship position at Newcastle Dental School to enable her to pursue her research interests alongside her clinical and teaching roles.