Professor in Integrative Odontology

• with focus on education and research

Are you a medical doctor or a dentist and would like to contribute to groundbreaking research, development, and knowledge exchange at the interface between dentistry and healthcare?

Oral health and disease should be a natural part of general health. Today this is not the case. According to WHO, oral diseases are the most common non-communicable diseases with an estimated global disease burden of 3.5 billion people. An increasing number of studies indicate a clear connection between oral health and general health, and there is a great need to develop this research area. Despite this, knowledge and communication between odontology and medicine is often insufficient, with the potential consequence of suboptimal or delayed care.

Karolinska Institutet wishes to appoint a Professor in Integrative Odontology, at the Department of Dental Medicine, to bridge this knowledge gap and develop this subject area.

The Department of Dental Medicine is world-renowned for its research and education in odontology and has three times been ranked first in the world's universities on the QS Subject ranking for dentistry. At the Department of Dental Medicine translational odontological research with the goal to improve oral health, prevent and treat oral diseases, and to understand connections with systemic oral health is conducted. Based at Campus Flemingsberg, the University Dental Clinic and our research laboratories are based in the collaborative environment of ANA Futura supporting the latest technological innovations. We train dental hygienists, dentists, specialist dentists, researchers and provide complementary education for dentists trained outside the EU

Description of the subject area

This donation professorship is directed towards the integration of oral health as an essential part of general health and shall contribute to increased knowledge about the connection between oral diseases and diseases of other body organs. There is a generous funding package with the position of 30 million SEK over a 7-year period to cover salary, rent, project-related costs, and for establishing a research group.

An increasing amount of evidence supports the connection between oral disease and different general disorders such as some types of cancer, dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Serious general health conditions can be misinterpreted as isolated oral conditions despite a significant impact on the general health. The reverse may also occur where the impact of different oral infections, mucosal lesions, and chronic maxillofacial pain on the total health are not always understood and provided for. Insufficient interaction between medicine and odontology can cause inadequate or delayed care for patients. Furthermore, poor integration and communication may prevent necessary research, development, and knowledge exchange at the interface between dentistry and other health professions. Both individuals and society would benefit from a close collaboration between dentistry and other healthcare specialties.

To increase knowledge and develop individualized preventive and therapeutic possibilities, collaborating research that integrates the oral cavity as an organ in the body is required.

Your mission

We are seeking a candidate with strong engagement for driving long-term development where oral health is integrated with general health. You have good cooperation skills and an interest for multidisciplinary approaches to build a new cross-boundary research environment. You will lead your own research group with supervision of research students at undergraduate, master, and doctoral level to a high international standard at the interface of odontology and medicine.

An important part of the mission is that through information and educational efforts you will contribute to the spread of knowledge regarding oral health and its correlation to general health among different health care professions, decision makers, and society. Therefore, you are creative, with strong communication skills and an ability to inspire, collaborate, and drive change.

You are expected to take an active part in educational activities by leading, planning, and developing both theoretical and clinical undergraduate education, as well as educational assignments at advanced and research level. You are also expected to contribute to the formation of an academic multidisciplinary structure for the investigation and treatment of non-solved oral conditions in the collaboration between dentistry and health care. Therefore, you are visionary and strategically oriented.

The mission is to bridge the traditional division of dentistry and medicine; therefore, your basic training can be either as a medical doctor (MD) or a dentist (DDS), and a significant part of the mission will be outreach with interplay within academia, health care, and the surrounding society. The mission can also contain a leadership role, and you also should be interested in trust- and dialogue-based leadership.

The possibility of a combined employment (academia and clinic) can be discussed in the long term, if relevant for the applicant and the needs of the organization.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for an employment as Professor with focus on education and research the applicant must have demonstrated excellent pedagogical skills; very good scientific skills; and, clinical skills.

See the instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure for Teachers at Karolinska Institutet.

Further eligibility requirements

• Registered medical doctor (MD) or dentist (DDS)

It is a requirement that you have completed 10 weeks of courses on teaching in higher education, as indicated in the recommendations of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institution. If you lack such education at the time of employment, you must undergo such education during the first two years of employment.

Assessment criteria

The Professorship has a focus on education and research. The assessment will weight qualifications as follows: scientific skills (3), pedagogical skills (3), leadership and collaboration skills (2), and clinical skills (2).

For employment as Professor at Karolinska Institutet, the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria stated in the Instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure are applied in relation to established profile of employment.

See the instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure for Teachers at Karolinska Institutet.

In addition to the assessment criteria specified in the guidelines for the appointment procedure, it is particularly meritorious if you have demonstrated:

• Research with clear connection to oral-systemic correlations with translational or interdisciplinary emphasis.
• Very good communicative and collaborative skills both scientifically and within popular science with experience of the interplay within the health care system, authorities, the surrounding society, and media.
• Engagement for, and experience of, knowledge dissemination, interprofessional teaching and collaboration, policy work, and implementation of research results in recommendations and guidelines.
• Familiarity with the Swedish dental and healthcare systems, their organization and steering.

After an overall assessment of the expertise and merits of the applicants in relation to the subject area, Karolinska Institutet will determine which of them has the best potential to contribute to a positive development of the activities at KI.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Flemingsberg

Department of Dental Medicine | Karolinska Institutet

Your career continues here

Application

Your application must contain the following documents in English: a cover letter as well as a resumé and a qualifications portfolio including a description of your research plan, both presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet’s template (http://ki.se/qualificationsportfolio). You may change or add to your application at any time up to and including the application deadline date. After the deadline, the process closes, and no amendment or addition can be made to your application.

The applications will be reviewed by external reviewers, most often both national and international. For that reason, all the submitted documents should be written in English.

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!

Anställningsform: tillsvidareanställning | Anställningens omfattning: heltid | Antal lediga befattningar: 1 | Sysselsättningsgrad: 100 | Ort: Flemingsberg | Län: Stockholms län | Land: Sweden | Referensnummer: STÖD 2-2681/2025 | Kontakt: Bodil Lund [email protected], | Facklig företrädare: Tatiana Tourova, SACO [email protected], Stavroula Stamouli, Saco [email protected], | Publicerat: 2025-08-22 | Sista ansökningsdag: 2025-10-20