Dr Flavia Pires Rodrigues

Profile

I am a Lecturer in Dental Materials (Teaching & Research) at Faculty of Medicine and Health, the School of Dentistry, University of Leeds. I completed my MSc in Mechanical Engineering and my PhD in Dentistry (Dental Materials) with distinction. I also completed an internship at the University of Manchester sponsored by the Sao Paulo State Foundation (FAPESP) in Biomaterials. I was awarded as a Visiting Fellow within the Brazil-UK Scheme at the University of Birmingham, UK, during four short-term consecutively years (2011 to 2014). After my Ph.D, I also had postdoctoral short-term opportunities at Kings College of London (Jan-Feb 2010 and 2011), and, most recently, post-doctoral short-term studies at the Łukasiewicz Research Network - Poznań Institute of Technology in Poland (Jan-Feb 2022 and 2023).

I am also involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education and supervision of postgraduate projects including MSc and PhD students as well as acting as final year projects and postgraduate projects internal and external examiner.

I am active internationally, involving activities of co-supervisions, and overseas supervisions, joint publications, and joint lectures during visits to universities overseas as well as during international conferences.

Apart from the academic life, I have three other workplace experiences:

• I acted for 13 years as a Research Collaboration Representative for the University of Birmingham enable to provide intelligence and key contact points to help support their work and collaborative networks in Brazil, until they launched the Brazil Institute.
• I acted as a founder and CEO of a small business in Mentoring and Coaching for Academics in Brazil and abroad (Confidence – Professional & Academic Skills)
• I acted as a founder and CEO of a small business in Tea Blending and Wellbeing ( My Tea Blending).

Although I have left these non-academic duties to move from Brazil to Leeds, the expertise related to these activities are now translated to my academic duties at the University of Leeds to improve my teaching, research, mentoring, tutoring, coaching, and supervision skills with my students and my colleagues at work.

Responsibilities

• Lecturer in Dental Materials (Teaching & Research) and Post-graduate Module Lead in Dental Materials
• MSc and PhD research supervisor in Dental Materials
• Mentor (University of Leeds Mentoring Scheme)

Research interests

• Physicochemical, Mechanical, and Biological Characterisation of Dental Materials: including Metals, Polymers, Ceramics, Composites, and Natural Materials.
• Digital Dentistry, including 3D and 4D Printing, and Finite Element Analysis.
• Artificial Inteligence: including Python Coding applied to Machine learning, Finite Element Analysis, and Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINN).
• Multiphysics and Multidisciplinary Approaches to understand Global Dental Problems: including the Ethiology of Non-Carious Cervical Lesions, the formation of Biofilms, Degradation, and Cell-attachment to Dental Materials, Ctotoxicity and Biocompatibility of Dental Materials, Hard and Soft Tissue Remodeling as a result of Masticatory Parafunctions, and Antimicrobial Dental Materials.

Qualifications

• BDS with Awarded Scientific Initiation in Dental Materials- UNESP - Brazil
• MSc in Mechanical Engineering - Materials and Technology - FEG-UNESP-Brazil (Distinction)
• Dental Materials Specialist - FEG-UNESP-Brazil (Distinction)
• Ph.D in Dentistry - Dental Materials - University of Sao Paulo (FOUSP) - Brazil (Distinction)
• Ph.D Internship in Biomaterials - University of Manchester - United Kingdom

Professional memberships

• International Association of Dental Research (IADR)
• Academy of Dental Materials (ADM)
• Brazilian Association of Dental Research (SBPqO)
• British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR)

Student education

• Lecturer in Dental Materials at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• MSc and PhD supervisor.
• Dental Materials Module Lead at UoL Taugh MSc Programme in Dental Materials.
• Overseas supervisor at Paulista University – UNIP in Sao Paulo Brazil.
• Overseas mentor in Finite Element Analysis – Indonesia.