This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Interview


foremost medical research centres based at Bethesda, Maryland, USA. He said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for me. This was one of the world’s most renowned centres exclusively focused on research and I was working with and surrounded by some of the world’s leading scientists in their fields. “To give some idea of the size of the place: there were 26,000 people working on the campus – 26 of them Nobel Prize winners – and at the time I was working in the largest brick- built building in the world! “And when you went to lectures in


the evening, you weren’t being taught by teachers – you were being told first-hand by the very people that had made the medical breakthroughs. “It was such a hothouse of research


excellence – you couldn’t help but be successful!” After his two years at NIH, Prof


Wray returned to the UK to work at the Royal Dental Hospital in London and then moved to Scotland to take up the post of senior lecturer in oral medicine at the University of Edinburgh – and just in time to


witness the explosion in HIV which hit the city in the early 1980s. He said: “Patients were starting to


present with oral manifestations of HIV, first from the gay population and then from IV drug users. Edinburgh was the first significantly affected city in the UK so our research on this subject was cutting edge. The knowledge we were able to build up on understanding the disease process proved to be world- leading.” His research on the disease was also able to allay the fears of dentists and other healthworkers about contracting HIV from treating patients with AIDS. He said: “It was a steep learning


curve, but our research was able to calm the panic and to show that treating patients while wearing rubber gloves was enough to stop any transference of the disease.” In 1993, his old mentor Prof Mason


retired from Glasgow Dental School so Prof Wray returned to his alma mater to take up the chair of oral medicine. He was later promoted to associate dean for research, then


“When you went to lectures in the evening, you were being told first-hand by the very people that had made the medical break-


throughs” Prof David Wray


dean of dental education and clinical director of Glasgow Dental Hospital. “I had no real intention of


coming back to Glasgow, but the opportunity was to good to miss. I’ve benefited from a career spanning 40 years in research, which has enriched my intellect and given me a very broad and in-depth knowledge of dentistry and medicine. This is a good way to use my experience and pass it on to students wanting to develop a career in the profession.” Although Prof Wray’s role is


largely administrative, he ensures that he spends at least half of his time taking four patient surgeries a week with students and giving several hours of lectures. “It’s the part of my job I really


enjoy: the students are young and enthusiastic, thirsty for knowledge… and great fun to be with!”


® Professor David Wray


MD (Honours), BDS, MB ChB, FDS RCPS, FDS RCS (Edinburgh), F Med Sci Professor of Oral Medicine, University of Glasgow Dental School.


Scottish Dental magazine 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76