The British Orthodontic Society alongside The Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 research awards. This year’s pump-priming grants have been awarded to two early career researchers whose projects are primed to make a massive impact, in different ways, to the transformation of lives; one related to the condition cleft lip and palate, and the other to the mitigation of climate change.
The recipients of the FDS-BOS pump-priming grants were:
• Joshua Kennedy: e-Learning resource on cleft lip and/or palate for undergraduate dental students in the United Kingdom
• Daakshini Patel: Carbon Footprint of Orthodontic Patient Travel in NHS Highland
Joshua Kennedy, an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Bristol, has spent several years involved with CLEFT Bridging the Gap, a UK-based charity focused on long-term sustainable cleft care in underserved regions of the world. He is also an active member of early careers research groups and national committees, including those of the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the BDA. It is this combination of clinical, research, and advocacy experience that has driven him to develop an evidence-based e-learning resource he hopes will be embedded in undergraduate dental curricula across the UK.
Joshua adds: “I am deeply grateful to the Society and FDS for this investment. Cleft lip and/or palate affects families across the UK and worldwide, and I hope this resource gives every future dentist the knowledge and confidence to make a real difference to those patients from day one.”
Daakshini Patel is based in the Highlands of Scotland and access in this area has been a hot topic in recent years. The distances and time involved for orthodontic patients can be considerable – especially as there is now only a full clinic in Inverness and a satellite in Wick to cover the entire Highland region. Daakshini said, “I want to find out exactly how much people are travelling and how they are doing that – public transport is somewhat limited in this area. A patient/public group has been involved in the design of the study and this will hopefully provide evidence as a pilot study for a larger one to follow. I am so thankful to have the support of BOS and FDS – it really means a lot.”
Director of Research, BOS, Professor Peter Mossey commented, “I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 BOS/FDS Research Awards. The quality of submissions this year was exceptionally high and I think this reflects the strength and diversity within the orthodontic specialty. We are proud to support and celebrate your achievements and look forward to seeing the impact of your work on clinical education, patient care and environmental sustainability.”
