Our Team

Josette obtained her dental degree from the University of Malta in 1992. She was a full time house-wife and mother of two daughters for 7 years post-graduation until she joined the NHS service in Malta in 2000 where she worked as a Registrar in Restorative Dentistry till 2007. From 2003-2007 she undertook a part time PhD supervised by the late Professor Tom Pitt Ford, at Guy’s Hospital, King’s College London. Following the completion of her PhD, she had a career change and was employed till 2011 as Deputy Director of Civil Engineering labs at the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta Faculty where she was promoted to Associate professor in 2009 as a recognition of her research in building materials used both in construction and as biomaterials. In 2011 Josette returned back to the Faculty of Dental Surgery, University of Malta where she was responsible for setting up the first post-graduate taught course in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering.

In 2017, Josette was head hunted by the University of Birmingham and was employed as Senior lecturer in Restorative Dentistry. She was promoted to Reader in 2019 and to Clinical Professor in 2022. She is also visiting professor at KU Leuven, Leuven Belgium and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. While in Birmingham, Josette has maintained her extensive industrial collaborations and together with Will Palin, she has set up a University Operational Division called Birmingham Material Testing Services (BiMaTS). She is also the founder and lead of the MSc Endodontics which is now in its second year of recruitment. She is Lead for Global Engagement and Quality Assurance for the School of Dentistry, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead for the Institute of Clinical Sciences and Post-graduate Research Lead – Dubai for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. She is also the Chief Specialty Editor for Dental Materials in Frontiers in Dental Medicine, a senior editorial board member of Scientific Reports (Nature) and currently Vice-president Elect of the Dental Materials Group of the International Society of Oral and Dental Research with her presidency year being in 2025. Josette is also an expert for British Standards Institution and International Standards Organization.

Her research interests span from endodontics to dental materials with specific focus on clinical protocols, hydraulic cements and in particular lab to clinical translation. Since completing her PhD degree in 2007, Josette has published over 150 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and her work is cited over 13,000 times. She has an international ranking both as a clinical researcher and also as a materials scientist. Three of her publications on the chemistry of mineral trioxide aggregate have been placed in the top 50 most cited papers in International Endodontic Journal. In 2018, she has been awarded the Louis Grossman prize by the French Endodontic Society and is the first female recipient of this prestigious award. Her strong international presence sees her invited to a number of international meetings thus keeping the university in the limelight. Josette was promoted to Clinical Professor of Endodontics and Applied Materials in 2022 for her contribution to research, teaching and industry on an international level.