BARDES 2026

Dr Simon Stone

Senior Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Consultant Endodontics, Deputy Head of School, Newcastle University’s School of Dental Sciences.

Barriers and solutions to accessing dental care

Simon is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University and an Honorary consultant at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

During his academic career he has had a number of key roles in dental education including as clinical skills course leads, examination board chairs, and more recently as the Director of Clinical Studies. His current role is as the Deputy Head of School.

Mr Paul Blaylock

Postgraduate Dental Dean, NHSE Workforce, Training & Education North East and North Cumbria.-

What is reasonable, what is a professional requirement and what is achievable

Paul graduated from Newcastle in 2001. He is the Postgraduate Dental Dean for North East & North Cumbria. He was previously Associate Dean for Dental Core Training, and also TPD for the GPT Dental Foundation Training scheme.
He was a member of the BDA Representative Body from 2004 to 2012. He was then a Director of the BDA from 2012 to 2024, and Chair of the BDA Pensions Committee, Students Committee and the BDA Trust Fund.

He previously owned two primarily NHS dental practices in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. He has been an Associate Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle School of Dental Sciences for 22 years.

He is currently a Co-Investigator on the ENHANCE-D smoking cessation trial based in primary dental care, which includes the use of e-cigarettes. His publications cover topics including dental foundation training, dental workforce development, oral health training for the non-dental team, and dental representation.
He has a Fellowship of FGDP(UK) and CGDent, and also FDS from RCPS Glasgow. He has completed a Masters in Healthcare Leadership and a PG Cert in Medical Education.

Dr Susan Bisset

Lecturer/Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Newcastle University’s School of Dental Sciences & The Lawnmower Research Abilities Claire Hills-Wilson (Artistic Director) & Andrew McLeod (Lead Actor).

I like my smile “Patient perspective to adjustments

Susan is an academic dental hygienist at Newcastle Dental School. She has worked in dentistry for over 33 years, initially qualifying as a dental nurse and oral health educator.
During her career she has worked clinically in primary and secondary care settings; in education, initially as a tutor, then lecturer; and is currently Deputy Degree Programme Director for BSc Dental Therapy.

Susan is also an active researcher, being the first dental hygienist to be awarded a NIHR Doctoral Fellowship to conduct her PhD research. To date, Susan has achieved ~£1,346,139 in research grants and fellowships.

Her research interests include improving access to dentistry for marginalised groups; and interprofessional working to improve health outcomes.

Claire Hills-Wilson

Claire is a creative methods specialist with 17 years’ experience in stage management, performance, and storytelling, now focused on arts-based approaches to research and social change.
As Patient and Public Involvement lead on many research projects she designs inclusive, creative processes to make complex ideas accessible. Drawing on theatre skills, lived experience, and work with different people in particular people with learning disabilities.

Claire fosters collaboration between researchers and communities, ensuring richer, more meaningful research outcomes. Previously Claire was Artistic Director of The Lawnmowers Theatre Company.

lawnmowerstheatre.com

Andrew Mcleod

Andrew is an all round performer with the Lawnmowers Theatre Company and has performed across the UK and world. Known for his talent with script writing and poems, composing music and acting he is an all round wonderful performer bringing much needed light to learning disabled issues.
He is also a member of Research Abilities a PPI group made up of people and artists with learning disabilities.

The Lawnmowers is a producing theatre-arts company run by and for people with learning disabilities, based in North-east England. They were formed in 1986 and now offer theatre, dance, music, DJ, and technical training, plus youth projects.

They teach in universities nationwide, deliver educational programmes on health and social care issues, and run Research Abilities, a lived experience research consultancy with the NIHR. Through creative collaboration with health and social care researchers, they make research more accessible, meaningful, and impactful for people with learning disabilities.

lawnmowerstheatre.com

Miss Claire Newey

Clinical Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry, University of Liverpool's School of Dentistry

Improving access to healthcare for autistic adults & Belonging in dentistry-as a neurodivergent clinician.

Claire is a Dentist and a Clinical Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Liverpool.
Drawing on her own lived experience, Claire is committed to embedding neurodiversity-affirming approaches in education and practice. Her recent research focuses on improving healthcare access for autistic individuals.

Claire is a Student Welfare Advisor and supports neurodivergent students during their programme, she also serves as the Institute Disability Contact

Prof Luke Dawson

Dean, Learning and Scholarship, Academic Lead for Oral Diseases, University of Liverpool's School of Dentistry

The interface between support and Fitness to Practise.

Luke has been a clinical educator since 1996 and has taught undergraduate oral surgery and oral medicine. He was made a National Teaching Fellow in 2012 and has received a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England by election for services to Dental Education. He led the development of the LiftUpp system for programmatic clinical assessment in 2008 at the University of Liverpool, which has been adopted by multiple dental, medical and veterinary schools.

Luke’s main research interest is how early-stage clinicians develop expertise, and how this can be enhanced through the development of innovative technology-supported designs for continuous professional and personal development. Luke believes that for success, irrespective of discipline, it is crucial to develop the learner as a person with effective self-reflective, goal setting and resilience skills before they can realise becoming a subject expert and clinical professional.

Ms Sandy Alden

Manger, Disability Service, Newcastle University

Legal obligation for universities

Sandy has worked within the Higher Education Sector for 35 years. She leads a team of professional practitioners at Newcastle committed to the delivery of rounded and inclusive supports alongside focused interventions for students with neurodiverse conditions.

Her research has focused on dyslexia and assessment in creative disciplines in collaboration with academic partners. Early research confirmed that students were not seeking alternatives to assessment but rather pointed toward more inclusive approaches to teaching and learning that better accommodate students with dyslexia.
Sandy has presented papers at UK and international conferences.

Dr Rebecca Wassall

Consultant in Special Care Dentistry, Director of Support and Progress, Newcastle University’s School of Dental Sciences

What is reasonable, what is a professional requirement and what is achievable?

Becky qualified in 2000, she worked across NHS hospital, GP and community dentistry, going on to complete a PhD (2011) and Clinical Specialist Training (2019).

As a Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University, she was awarded an NIHR Transitional Research Fellowship to undertake postdoctoral research into the organisation and delivery of person-centred dental services for older people living in care homes.

Her work seeks to celebrate and promote the humanistic aspects of dental care for adults with significant health and care needs while also embracing the opportunities of research and innovation to change everyday practice and improve oral health services for vulnerable groups and people with disabilities.

As an enthusiastic and committed teacher she is always willing to share skills, knowledge and practise with more junior colleagues. Under her supervision, two early career researchers have now secured NIHR fellowships within the field of Special Care Dentistry.

More recently, she was recognised by the Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, for her efforts as the Director of Student Support and Progress to both maximise student experience and mitigate risk in relation to the Equality Act and Fitness to Practice. Her work has impacted attainment rates for students with a disclosed disability and improved equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to succeed at dental school.