Ana Angelova Volponi is a Reader in Regenerative dentistry and a Deputy Director of the Postgraduate Program (MSc) in Regenerative dentistry. She is also the lead for “Biomedicine in relation to dentistry II”, as part of the BDS program.

Research

Ana is a graduated dentist who have completed a PhD in Paediatric dentistry, at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan in 2003.

She has joined King’s College, University of London in 2008 to work on a bio-tooth engineering project. Her article published in 2013 showed creation of a bio-tooth in laboratory conditions, using human adult gingival cells. The article was met by great interest in the scientific community and the media.

In 2014, her research work was presented at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, representing King’s College, University of London.

https://www.newsweek.com/stem-cell-teeth-grow-science-soiree-258524

Ana is a well-recognised researcher in the field of Regenerative dentistry and Dental Stem cells and acts as an expert in the field. She is an author of many peer-reviewed publications in the field of regenerative dentistry and dental stem cells.

She is a reviewer of many scientific journals, in the dental and developmental biology field such as: Journal of periodontics; Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology; BMC Developmental Biology; BDJ and many others.

In 2018 she received the prestigious William Gies Award of IADR, in the area of Biomaterials and Bioengineering.

https://www.iadr.org/IADR/Awards/IADR-Grants-Awards/AADR-IADR-William-J-Gies-Awards/2018

Education and wellbeing roles

Ana is an elected member of the Academic Board of King’s College, London.

She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy of UK and acts as a Faculty lead for GTAs.

Ana is a Postgraduate Research Wellbeing Lead for the Faculty and a Postgraduate (PGT) senior personal tutor.

Parallel to her scientific work on stem cells, she is interested in exploring innovative ways of teaching Science.

Her project Cells Café, organised in collaboration with King’s Cultural Institute, focused on using art as a tool to teach developmental biology in collaboration with the artist Tabatha Andrews. The artistic output of the project, titled The Script, was exhibited as part of the Heads up! Shinning a light on innovations in oral health exhibition, held 2019.

Her interest in educational research goes to curriculum design and assessments, basic science teaching methods, virtual laboratory teaching approaches and student’s wellbeing.