Dr Cecilia Gonzales-Marin, BDS, MSc(Perio), PhD, FHEA

Profile

I am a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Periodontology at Queen Mary University of London, where I integrate undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, leadership roles, and research. I hold a PhD in molecular microbiology, specialist training in Periodontology, a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE).

As co-director of the MSc Dental Science for Clinical Practice, I lead a program for internationally qualified dental graduates interested in UK general and specialist practice. I also contribute to the specialist-level Doctorate in Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) in Periodontology, teaching scientific foundations and clinical modules, and supervising research projects across various programs. From 2020 to 2023, I coordinated the Fundamentals of Research Methods course, enhancing postgraduate study design and planning skills.

I play an active role in internal committees, including the Dentistry Internationalisation Group, Curriculum Development, and the Dental Postgraduate Committee. I have served on the Athena Swan self-assessment team to promote inclusivity and equality. Additionally, I am an examiner for the Overseas Registration Examination for foreign-trained dentists seeking UK registration, a process I successfully completed in 2014.

As the Undergraduate Lead for Periodontology, I oversee the periodontal curriculum, integrating the latest guidelines into training and providing calibration for clinical tutors. My research, particularly on maternal oral health and its impact on pregnancy, has earned several awards and funding for my research group, including award from the UK government (ORSAS), the prestigious UNESCO-L'OREAL Fellowship For Women in Science (2009), Barts Charity, and the Royal Society, as well as grants on public engagement and improving student experience in research. I have published extensively and actively review for international journals.

I began my career at Barts and The London as a clinical tutor during my PhD studies. I have formal teaching training and have participated in numerous leadership courses. My early education includes a clinical Master’s in Periodontology and a dental degree from the University of San Martin de Porres, where I excelled academically.

Committed to lifelong learning and professional development, I balance my academic, leadership, and research endeavors with a busy family life.

Centre: Centre for Oral Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine

Research

Research Interests:

Cecilia's research interests are in the following areas:

Periodontal medicine: Her PhD project focused on the association between periodontal disease and pregnancy complications. Particularly the use of the latest molecular techniques to identify patterns of bacteria in infection-related complicated pregnancies demonstrated the possibility that Fusobacterium nucleatum, in combination with Porphyromonas gingivalis and other periodontal pathogens, could translocate from the maternal oral cavity to the amniotic environment and thus be involved in pregnancy complications.

Molecular Microbiology:  The use of molecular techniques allows the study of associations not previously able to be investigated with routine culture. A range of molecular microbial technologies such as PCR, quantitative-PCR, DGGE, cloning and sequencing and new generation sequencing can be applied with particular interest in F. nucleatum and its ability to interact and translocate distantly with other periodontal pathogens. Also, the different subspecies of F. nucleatum and patterns of colonisation intraorally and in different body sites is the topic of her interest.

Clinical Periodontology: Other areas of interest include patterns of bacteria in the oral cavity in periodontal health and disease. Cecilia is currently designing a simplified technique for the investigation of F. nucleatum and subspecies which will allow its use in clinical trials to help understand their association with periodontal and systemic diseases.

Other research: The use of tissue culture and animal experimentation could be applied to understand bacterial interactions, pathogenicity and means of translocation of these bacteria.

Publications

Key publications

1. Gonzales-Marin C,Spratt DA, Kempley S, Millar MR, Simmonds M, Allaker RP. Levels of periodontal pathogens in neonatal gastric aspirates and possible maternal sites of origin. Molecular Oral Microbiology 2011 Oct;2(5):277-90.
2. Gonzales-Marin C, pratt DA, Kempley S, Millar MR, Simmonds M,  Allaker RP. Identification of bacteria in neonates at risk of infection delivered by caesarean and vaginal birth. Journal of Medical Microbiology 2012 Jan;61(Pt 1):31-41
3. Gonzales-Marin C, Spratt DA, Millar MR, Allaker RP. The 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region to determine the precise origin of Fusobacterium nucleatum in neonates. Submitted to the Journal of Medical Microbiology, Dec 2012. In review

 All publications