Staff Profile

Background

I am a clinical researcher and dental educator with a clinical background in Oral Surgery. I am currently undertaking a doctoral Fellowship, funded by the Wellcome Trust looking at the dispersion of viruses in aerosols produced during dental procedures.

My research interests include bioaerosols in healthcare, orofacial pain, and three-dimensional imaging. My main teaching interest is clinical teaching of Oral Surgery. Clinically, I work in Oral Surgery and in Maxillofacial Surgery and am involved in training Dental Core Trainees.

X(Twitter): @JamesR_Allison

Roles and Responsibilities

School of Dental Sciences

Deputy Director of Admissions

Lead for Stage 1 and 5 SPA/gateway

Clinical teaching lead for Clinical Introduction Course

External

MFDS Examiner for Royal College of Surgeons of England

International Network for Orofacial Pain and Related Disorders Methodology (INFORM): Member of Communications and Translation committees

Ad hoc peer reviewer for several journals

Qualifications

PGCert - Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice; Newcastle University

FHEA - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

MFDS RCPS(Glasg) - Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery; Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

BDS (Hons) - Bachelor of Dental Surgery with Honours, with merit in clinical and academic dentistry; Newcastle University.

Previous Positions

Clinical Fellow in Oral Surgery; Newcastle University

Dental Core Trainee in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Royal Victoria Infirmary

Trust Doctor in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Sunderland Royal Hospital

General Professional Trainee; Health Education North East

Memberships

International Network for Orofacial Pain and Related Disorders Methodology (INFORM)

Faculty of Dental Surgery; Royal College of Surgeons of England & Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow

Faculty of Dental Trainers; Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Higher Education Academy (Fellow)

International Association for Dental Research

Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

The Aerosol Society

The Cochrane Collaboration

Awards and Esteem Indicators

INSIGHTS Public Lecture Doctoral Thesis Prize; Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, 2024

Doctoral Research Student Competition Prize, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, 2023

Research Student Competition Prize, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, 2022

International Orofacial Pain Early-Career Network Poster Prize, 2021

Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship; Wellcome 4Ward Clinical PhD Academy, 2021

Faculty of Dental Surgery Research Fellowship; Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2021

Association of British Academic Oral And Maxillofacial Surgeons Best Oral Presentation, 2021

Helen Tonge Award; Newcastle University, 2019

Northern OMFS Regional Audit Meeting Best Presentation, 2017

Invited speaker at European Academy of Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction (2024), British Association of Oral Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting (2022, 2024), British Endodontic Society Scientific Meeting (2021), and European Association for Osseointegration Congress (2020).

Research Interests

Bioaerosols in healthcare

Orofacial pain

Three-dimensional imaging

Funding Held

• National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment (Co-I/ MRI sub-study lead), 2023 - 2027: Managing chronic Myalgia Temporomandibular Disorder (M-TMD): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of Botulinum toxin type A, Lidocaine, and Amitriptyline/Gabapentin, with internal pilot and cost-effectiveness analysis (MiTiGate trial). £2.04m
• Leverhulme Trust (Co-I), 2023 - 2025: Investigating the oral microbiome over 600 years; £100,000
• Wellcome Trust 4Ward North Clinical PhD Fellowship, 2021 - 2024: VICINITY—Understanding viral carriage in bioaerosols using dentistry as a model; £186,676
• Faculty of Dental Surgery Research Fellowship, RCS Eng, 2021 - 2022: VICINITY—Understanding viral carriage in bioaerosols using dentistry as a model; £62,426
• ME Research UK (PI), 2021 - 2025: EluCidATe: Exploring pain and autonomic dysfunction in CFS/ME and TMD; £13,576
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (PI), 2020 - 2021: Evaluating bioaerosol and splatter following dental aerosol generating procedures—preliminary investigation; £9,562
• British Endodontic Society (PI), 2021 - 2021: Dental aerosol generating procedures: assessment of risk and mitigation strategies; £8,841
• Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (PI), 2019 - 2021: Magnetic resonance imaging’s effects on mercury release from dental amalgam; £6,000
• Helen Tonge Award (PI), School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, 2019 - 2021: Does the multidimensional pain inventory predict outcome in persistent orofacial pain?; £1,005

• Commercial research funding > £85,000

Research Supervision

Research supervisor for Academic Dental Core, Dental Foundation, and Dental Therapy Foundation Training programme placements.

External Links

Google Scholar

Research Gate

ORCID

Undergraduate Teaching

Deputy Director of Admissions, School of Dental Sciences

Stage 1 & 2 BDS

Lead for Stage 1 Student Progress Appraisal (SPA)/Gateway

Contributor to Craniofacial and Tooth Biology and Neurobiology courses

Previous course lead for Neurobiology Course (2018 – 2021)

Stage 3 & 4 BDS

Clinical teaching lead for Clinical Introduction Course (2018 – 2021; 2024 – present)

Stage 4 Board of Examiners member

Contributor to Human Diseases and Temporomandibular Disorders courses

Clinical teacher on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinical Attachments

Stage 5 BDS

Lead for Stage 5 Student Progress Appraisal (SPA)/Gateway

BDS Finals examiner

Postgraduate Teaching

Teaching on dental bioaerosols on the Oral and Dental Sciences module of the Master of Research programme.

Teaching on local anaesthesia, pain management, dental pharmacology, and prescribing for Dental Core and Foundation Trainees and General Dental Practitioners as part of study programme for Health Education England North East and North Cumbria.

Clinical teaching and training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for General Professional Trainees and Dental Core Trainees at Newcastle Dental Hospital and the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

• Articles

  • Beecroft EV, Edwards D, Allison JR. Other Secondary Headaches: Odontogenic Pain and Other Painful Orofacial Conditions. Neurologic Clinics 2024, 42(2), 615-632.
  • Allison JR, Tiede S, Holliday R, Durham J, Jakubovics NS. Bioaerosols and Airborne Transmission in the Dental Clinic. International Dental Journal 2024, 74(2), S418-S428.
  • Allison JR, Offen E, Cowley T, Clare D, Bergman S, Ginsburg Feldman J, Schmidt LM, Kalinowski T, Türp JC, Manfredini D, Nixdorf DR, DePalma AMC, Durham J, International Network for Orofacial Pain and Related Disorders Methodology (INfORM). How dental teams can help patients with temporomandibular disorders receive general dental care: an international Delphi process. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2023, 50(6), 482-487.
  • Offen E, Allison JR. What is the malignant transformation potential of oral lichen planus?. Evidence Based Dentistry 2022, 23, 36-37.
  • Allison JR, Dowson C, Jakubovics NS, Nile C, Durham J, Holliday R. Waterline Disinfectants Reduce Dental Bioaerosols: A Multitracer Validation. Journal of Dental Research 2022, 101(10), 1198-1204.
  • Allison JR, Chary K, Ottley C, Vuong QC, German MJ, Durham J, Thelwall P. The effect of magnetic resonance imaging on mercury release from dental amalgam at 3T and 7T. Journal of Dentistry 2022, 127, 104322.
  • Zemouri C, Beltrán EO, Holliday R, Jakubovics NS, Allison JR. Monkeypox: what do dental professionals need to know?. British Dental Journal 2022, 233, 569-574.
  • Allison JR, Dowson C, Pickering K, Cervinskyte G, Durham J, Jakubovics N, Holliday R. Local Exhaust Ventilation to Control Dental Aerosols and Droplets. Journal of Dental Research 2022, 101(4), 384-391.
  • Offen E, Allison JR. Do oral piercings cause problems in the mouth?. Evidence-Based Dentistry 2022, 23, 126-127.
  • Allison JR, Edwards DC, Bowes C, Pickering K, Dowson C, Stone SJ, Lumb J, Durham J, Jakubovics N, Holliday R. The effect of high-speed dental handpiece coolant delivery and design on aerosol and droplet production. Journal of Dentistry 2021, 112, 103746.
  • Beecroft EV, Penlington C, Allison JR, Palmer J, Durham J. Pharmacological interventions for painful persistent temporomandibular disorders (TMD) (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, (12), CD014919.
  • Holliday R, Allison JR, Currie CC, Edwards DC, Bowes C, Pickering K, Reay S, Durham J, Lumb J, Rostami N, Coulter J, Nile CJ, Jakubovics N. Evaluating contaminated dental aerosol and splatter in an open plan clinic environment: Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Dentistry 2021, 105, 103565.
  • Allison JR, Currie CC, Edwards DC, Bowes C, Coulter J, Pickering K, Kozhevnikova E, Durham J, Nile CJ, Jakubovics N, Rostami N, Holliday R. Evaluating aerosol and splatter following dental procedures: Addressing new challenges for oral health care and rehabilitation. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2021, 48(1), 61-72.
  • Llandro H, Allison JR, Currie CC, Edwards DC, Bowes C, Durham J, Jakubovics N, Rostami N, Holliday R. Evaluating aerosol and splatter during orthodontic debonding: implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. British Dental Journal 2021, (ePub ahead of Print).
  • Rasaiah SR, Allison JR, Edwards DC. Endodontic procedures produce bacterial droplet contamination - but what about viruses?. Evidence-Based Dentistry 2021, 22(2), 76-77.
  • Allison JR, Penlington C, Durham J. DEEP Study: Utility of the multidimensional pain inventory in persistent orofacial pain. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2021, 48(11), 1210-1218.
  • Allison JR, Stone SJ, Pigg M. The painful tooth – mechanisms, presentation and differential diagnosis of odontogenic pain. Oral Surgery 2020, 13(4), 309-320.
  • Allison JR, Kearns A, Banks RJ. Predicting orbital fractures in head injury: a preliminary study of clinical findings. Emergency Radiology: A Journal of Practical Imaging 2020, 27(1), 31-36.
  • Allison JR, Currie C, Trainor J, Corson M, Durham J. Patient satisfaction with a postal service for occlusal splints. Oral Surgery 2019, 12(3), 224-229.
  • Vuong QC, Allison JR, Finkelmeyer A, Newton J, Durham J. Brain Responses in CFS and TMD to Autonomic Challenges: An Exploratory fMRI Study. JDR Clinical & Translational Research 2019, 5(3), 224-232.
  • Allison JR, Kearns A, Banks R. An assessment tool for orbital trauma - should the orbits be included in head CT?. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2018, 56(10), e66-e66.
  • Allison JR, Kearns A. To scan or not to scan - a service improvement project for CT in facial trauma. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2017, 55(10), e129-e130.
  • Allison JR, Carr A. A prevalence study of bifid mandibular canals using cone beam computed tomography. Oral Surgery 2017, 10(4), e55-e61.

• Letters

  • Patel N, Docherty C, Allison JR, Walton G, Cole B, Durham J, Jakubovics N, Holliday R. Ventilation is key, open a window. OSF Preprints 2020.
  • Allison JR, Garlington G. Orthodontics: Treating avulsed permanent teeth. British Dental Journal 2015, 219, 514–515.

• Review

  • Allison JR, Garlington G. The value of cone beam computed tomography in the management of dentigerous cysts-a review and case report. Dental Update 2017, 44(3), 182-188.