Profile
Dr D’Onofrio graduated in Dentistry at the University of Rome in 2011. In 2013 she won a 1-year scholarship from the Italian Society of Osseointegration, which funded her research fellowship at the Institute of Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London. The research work conducted during this year led to a successful grant in 2015 which funded her PhD study on the development of novel formulations of bioactive based calcium phosphate cements for bone grafting, which she awarded in 2019.
In 2018 Alessia was appointed as Teaching Fellow in Dental Materials at QMUL and then as NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow/Specialty Registrar in Periodontology at the Barts and the Royal London Hospital, QMUL, her current position.
Centre: Centre for Oral Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine
Centre: Centre for Oral Clinical Research
Teaching
Dr D’Onofrio has been involved in teaching activities with undergraduate students at QMUL during her Teaching Fellowship in 2018 where she delivered lectures, seminars and assessments on various topics in Dental Materials.
She is currently involved in teaching activities for the BDS Periodontology module at QMUL, where she delivers lectures and hands-on sessions in non-surgical periodontal therapy.
She is also involved in supervision of undergraduate research projects in collaboration with the Dental Material Department at QMUL
Research
Research Interests:
Dr D’Onofrio research interests centres around bone grafts materials for alveolar bone and periodontal regeneration. Her PhD work focused on the development of novel formulations of bioactive glass based calcium phosphate cements for bone grafting applications, with in vitro and in vivo experimental work. The study was funded by a large MRC grant. During her PhD she was also involved in small projects for the use of bioactive glasses and calcium phosphate cements as toothpaste and desensitising agent.
Dr D'Onofrio presented the results of her research at several national and international conferences and has received multiple research awards and scholarship , included the Voco Prize for Dental Biomaterials Research in 2017 and a Research Training Fellowship funded by Barts Charity in 2018.
Currently she is supervising an undergraduate research project focused on the effect of the addition of strontium in a aerogel based bone graft material in collaboration with University College London
At present, as part of her Academic Clinical Fellowship, Alessia is planning to undertake a clinical trial to assess short and medium term outcomes following periodontal regenerative surgeries in a cohort of patients treated at the Royal London Dental Hospital, supported by the COCR at the Institute of Dentistry.
