Maria Morgan becomes the first ever non-clinical president of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry
First non-clinical public health specialist ever to be awarded this honour.
Maria Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Dental Public Health at Cardiff University’s School of Dentistry and Honorary Specialist in Public Health at Public Health Wales, has become President of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry. Maria is the first non-clinical public health specialist ever to be awarded this honour.
Having originally trained in nutrition, Maria has worked in dental public health in Wales since 1997, leading the work of the Welsh Oral Health Information Unit, and overseeing the national epidemiology programme. She is a registered public health specialist with the United Kingdom Public Health Register and a fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Maria said:
“I feel really honoured to be the first non-clinical president of BASCD, a society which I hold in high regard and one that has meant a great deal to my own personal development.
“If you consider the formal definition of public health notably the ‘science and art’ part, I want my tenure to champion the fact that we are a multi-disciplinary society, helping to solve multi-faceted problems”.
During her presidency, Maria intends to encourage more joint working among organisations, to avoid duplication and achieve greater outcomes for oral health. She acknowledged the role of supportive colleagues and family members in encouraging her throughout her career.
Maria has also been a huge advocate for the Public Health Practitioner Registration Scheme in Wales, in her role as verifier for the scheme.
Kelly McFadyen, Organisational Development Manager at Public Health Wales and co-ordinator of the Registration Scheme is delighted at Marias success, and paid tribute to the contribution Maria continues to make to the Scheme. Kelly said:
“As well as her dental public health skills and knowledge, Maria has always been such an enthusiastic champion for practitioner registration in Wales, and we are so grateful for her many years as a verifier on the Scheme.
“I’m very pleased that Maria has been awarded Presidency of the BASCD, a huge honour for her”.