Professor Will Palin BMedSc MPhil PhD FADM

Will Palin

School of Dentistry
Professor in Biomedical Materials Science
Director of Research

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 466 5547
Email
w.m.palin@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
The School of Dentistry
5 Mill Pool Way
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B5 7EG
United Kingdom

Will Palin is a Professor and Chair in Biomedical Materials Science at the School of Dentistry in the Institute of Clinical Sciences. His main area of research into photocurable materials used for both dental and wider biomaterial applications, has attracted grant funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and National Institute for Health Research and industry.

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Qualifications

  • PhD Biomaterials 2004: “The development of a novel dental composite material as a substitute for amalgam”.
  • MPhil Biomaterials 2001: “The mechanical and microscopic properties of a hydrothermal dental ceramic”.
  • BMedSc (Biomedical Materials Science) 1998.

Teaching

  • Head of the Bachelor of Dental Sciences (BDS) Biomaterials teaching speciality
  • Development of innovative and progressive teaching and assessment structure
  • Teaching and assessment for BDS, BMedSc, Dental Therapy courses
  • BDS/BMedSc/DT curriculum review

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Palin's current research themes for doctoral supervision include:

Materials chemistry (investigating polymerisation efficiencies of photoactive biomaterials and mproving photoinitiator systems for dental and novel medical applications
Mechanical properties of biomaterials (mechanical response and fatigue of resin composites, characteristics of bulk resin-ceramic hybrid materials, and reliability statistics for brittle materials)
Materials science-biological interface (effects of anti-bacterial additives on polymerisation kinetics and cellular behaviour and wavelength/irradiance effects on photoinitiator efficiency and cellular behaviour)

Other activities

Other posts

  • 2009-11: Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Dental Materials Science, James Cook University, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
  • External Examiner for BDS Part 3; Kings College London, 2014-19

Consultancy

  • 2008- : Betts Metals Group (Charles Booth), Birmingham. Technical advice for the use of metal alloys in dentistry.

Editorial

  • Subject Editor for Biomaterials Adhesion, International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives

Editorial Boards

  • Dental Materials
  • Journal of Dentistry
  • Journal of Biomaterial Applications

Awards

  • Paffenbarger Award, Academy of Dental Materials, 2009. “Photoinitiator type and applicability of exposure reciprocity law in filled and unfilled photoactive resins”. J Leprince, M Hadis, AC Shortall, JL Ferracane, J Devaux, G Leloup, WM Palin
  • Heraeus Kulzer Award for innovation in materials testing, International Association for Dental Research, Barcelona, 2010. “Competitive light absorbers in curing photoactive resins”. M Hadis, AC Shortall, WM Palin

Local, National and International Citizenship

  • Fellowship of the Academy of Dental Materials (FADM); October 2013
  • Committee member of the British Standards Institute and International Organisation for Standardisation for Dental Restorative and Orthodontic Materials (CH/106/1) and Prosthodontic Materials (CH/106/2) since 2011.
  • Serving member of the Guidance Panel for the Funds for Scientific Research (FRNS, Brussels, Belgium)
  • Knowledge Transfer Network Development Panel for Dental Technologies (2013-4)
  • Chair of the Organising Committee for the European Dental Materials Conference, 2013
  • Secretary of UK Dental Materials Group; 2008-11
  • School of Dentistry Strategic Research Committee
  • Health and Safety Advisory Group Committee (Laser Safety Officer for the School of Dentistry)
  • College of Medical and Dental Sciences (MDS) eLearning Committee
  • College of MDS Alumni Impact Fund Panel
  • College of MDS Business Engagement Strategic Panel
  • Prima Facie Panel member for primary appeals across the University of Birmingham

Knowledge Exchange

  • Delivery of continued professional development programs
  • Expert consultancy to industry
  • Development of curricula for external clients
  • Active public-patient involvement in research

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Wang, M, Jiang, M, Wang, Q, Sun, Y, Nie, Z, Palin, WM & Zhang, Z 2025, 'An in vitro bioinspired approach to enhance the bioactivity of titanium implants via electrophoretic deposition and biomimetic mineralization of type i collagen', Biomaterials advances, vol. 167, 214110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.214110

Hassan Elnadif, H, Palin, W, Hadis, MA & Darvell, BW 2025, 'Bond strength of a 3-step total-etch bonding system to dentine – An improved approach', Dental Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2025.02.007

Stevens, AR, Hadis, M, Alldrit, H, Milward, MR, Di Pietro, V, Gendoo, DMA, Belli, A, Palin, W, Davies, DJ & Ahmed, Z 2025, 'Evaluation of transcriptomic changes after photobiomodulation in spinal cord injury', Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 1, 3193. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87300-4

Dressano, D, Salvador, MVO, Aguiar, FHB, Gonçalves, LS, Palin, WM, Watts, DC, Hadis, MA, Lima, AF & Marchi, GM 2024, 'Achieving property enhancements in dental resin composites via reduced concentrations of camphorquinone within a ternary initiator system', Dental Materials, vol. 40, no. 9, pp. 1400-1408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2024.06.022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2024.06.022

Palin, W 2024, 'Dental materials - is the future ‘smart'?', British Dental Journal, vol. 236, no. 6, 463. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-024-7182-5

Hamidi, AS, Hadis, MA, Williams, RL, Grover, LM & Palin, WM 2024, 'Design and development of a new flowable and photocurable lactide and caprolactone-based polymer for bone repair and augmentation', Materials Advances. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ma01049j

Maier, E, Ruben, J, Palin, WM, Bronkhorst, E, Olmos, M, Matta, RE & Loomans, B 2024, 'Developing an optimised method for accurate wear testing of dental materials using the ‘Rub&Roll’ device', Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, 17885. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-68873-y

Gigante, AM, Hadis, MA, Secker, B, Shaw, SC, Cooper, PR, Palin, WM, Milward, MR & Atterbury, RJ 2024, 'Exposure to blue light reduces antimicrobial resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from dog ear infections', Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 15, 1414412. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1414412

Stevens, AR, Hadis, M, Phillips, A, Thareja, A, Milward, M, Belli, A, Palin, W, Davies, DJ & Ahmed, Z 2024, 'Implantable and transcutaneous photobiomodulation promote neuroregeneration and recovery of lost function after spinal cord injury', Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10674

Bhandari, SS, Palin, W, Kuehne, SA & Camilleri, J 2024, 'Investigating best practice for specimen preparation for biological testing of root canal sealers', Dental Materials, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 387-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2023.12.001

Stevens, A, Hadis, M, Thareja, A, Anderson, FG, Milward, M, Di Pietro, V, Belli, T, Palin, W, Davies, D & Ahmed, Z 2024, 'Photobiomodulation improves functional recovery after mild traumatic brain injury', Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10727

Ali, N, Scheven, BA, Palin, WM & Camilleri, J 2024, 'Proposing new standards for testing solubility of pulp preservation materials', Dental Materials, vol. 40, no. 8, pp. 1252-1258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2024.05.028

Badaoui Strazzi Sahyon, H, Hadis, M, dos Santos, PH & Palin, W 2024, 'The effect of photoinitiator type and filler load on physicochemical and mechanical properties of experimental light-cured resin cements through lithium disilicate ceramics of different shades and thicknesses', Dental Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2024.06.020

Karatas, E, Hadis, M, Palin, WM, Milward, MR, Kuehne, SA & Camilleri, J 2023, 'Minimally invasive management of vital teeth requiring root canal therapy', Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, 20389 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47682-9

Review article

Hadis, MA, Shortall, AC & Palin, WM 2024, 'The power of light – From dental materials processing to diagnostics and therapeutics', Biomaterial Investigations in Dentistry, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.2340/biid.v11.40308

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Biomedial Materials