Researchers

Monica Prasad Gibson BDS, MS, PhD, FRCD(C), Diplomate (ABP)
mgibson@ualberta.ca

Dr. Monica Gibson is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Dr. Gibson is also the co-director of Periodontology graduate program. Dr. Gibson’s research is focused on a member of non-collagenous proteins, dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP). DSPP is an extracellular matrix protein that plays a vital role in the formation and mineralization of dentin and supporting periodontal tissues. Her clinical research is focused on bone biology and regeneration in Periodontal procedures. She also has done clinical studies examining the association of systemic conditions and periodontitis.


Carlos Flores-Mir, DDS, MSc, DSc
carlosflores@ualberta.ca

Dr. Carlos Flores-Mir is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Dr. Flores-Mir is the Interim, Graduate Orthodontic Program Director and the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies for the School of Dentistry. Dr. Flores-Mir research mainly focuses on the areas of clinical decision-making processes, Class II malocclusion camouflage treatment, screening for pediatric sleep disorder breathing, knowledge translation of synthesized evidence. He has supervised several MSc and PhD students, as well as postdoctoral fellows. He is assistant/associate editor in several major orthodontic journals. Dr. Flores-Mir has published more than 300 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. He has lectured internationally more than 100 times. His current H-Index is 38. Dr. Flores-Mir is an associate orthodontist in a private practice in Edmonton, Alberta.


Manuel Lagravère Vich, DDS, MSc, PhD
mlagravere@ualberta.ca

Dr. Manuel Lagravère is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Dr. Lagravère is also the Discipline Lead for Undergraduate Orthodontics. Presently he runs several clinical trials involving orthodontic treatments and its impact on airway, skeletal, and dental changes. In several of these trials, he works jointly with universities from the US, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Mexico. His research mainly focuses on the areas of maxillary expansion, bone-anchored mechanics, and three-dimensional analysis. Dr. Lagravère has published more than 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. He has supervised more than 25 MSc and two PhD students. He has also lectured internationally.


Reid Friesen. BMSc, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C)
rtfriese@ualberta.ca

Dr. Reid Friesen is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Dr. Friesen is the Discipline Lead for Oral Medicine and Pathology, and co-Director of the Oral Medicine Graduate Program. His research interests include radiographic features of temporomandibular disorders, alternative management approaches for chronic masticatory myalgia and management of oral lichen planus.


Hollis Lai, PhD, MBA, MEd
hollis.lai@ualberta.ca

Dr. Hollis Lai is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Education Quality and Accreditation in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. He is an expert in psychometrics and quantitative methods.

Dr. Lai’s research focuses on applying intelligent methods and data-centric solutions to improve education outcomes. Testing agencies around the world use his research on automatic item generation. He also contributes to methods design of data-mining studies in different fields across disciplines. Dr. Lai was recognized last year with the David Cook Award for contribution to medical education at the University of Alberta and in 2016 was awarded the annual award by the National Council for Measurement in Education.


Maryam Sharifzadeh-Amin, DMD, MSc, PhD
maryam.amin@ualberta.ca

Dr. Maryam Amin is a Professor in the division of Pediatric Dentistry and the Director of Graduate Program - Dentistry, in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. She leads the Clinical and Population Oral Health Research Unit. Her research interests are social and behavioral aspects of children’s oral health with a focus on understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on the oral health of children particularly from disadvantaged populations. Her research team aims to identify risk factors that result in adverse oral health outcomes and strategies/interventions for promoting health and preventing oral disease. She is also interested in the use of general anesthesia and other sedation modalities in pediatric patients.


Minn N. Yoon, PhD 
minnyou@ualberta.ca

Dr. Minn N. Yoon is an associate professor who joined the School of Dentistry at the University of Alberta in 2012 following her PhD from the University of Toronto.

Her primary research focus is on improving oral health and care for vulnerable populations. She is leading the study “see me, hear me, heal me”, which aims to transform our understanding of head and neck cancer patient and family illness experiences. Her work has led to the development of the arts-based, relational research framework called Living Stories.

Her primary areas of research interests include oral health of vulnerable populations (older adults, marginalized populations), access to care, dental humanities, dental/dental hygiene education, and interprofessional education.


Paul Major, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C)
major@ualberta.ca

Dr. Paul Major is the Chair, School of Dentistry and Senior Associate Dean of Dental Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. 

Dr. Major is also a Professor of Orthodontics. He leads an orthodontic biomechanics research group, which is a collaboration between mechanical engineering and dentistry. This group investigates complex force systems associated with orthodontic treatment modalities. He also investigates craniofacial morphology with advanced imaging with particular focus on understanding skeletal and dental changes due to growth and orthodontic treatment.


Liran Levin, DMD, FRCD(C), FIADT, FICD
liran@ualberta.ca

Liran Levin is a professor of periodontology at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. He is also a visiting professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston (Massachussetts).

Prof. Levin was the Head of Research at the School of Dentistry, Rambam Health Care Campus, and Faculty of Medicine - Technion IIT Haifa (Israel). He received his DMD degree with distinction at Tel Aviv University and completed his Post Graduate Periodontology Program at the Department of Periodontology, Rambam Health Care Campus. He also received his Periodontology Specialist Certificate from the European Federation of Periodontology as well as a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada in Periodontology.


Tarek El-Bialy, BDS, MSc, LLP, PhD, EMBA, Dr. Med. Dent.
telbialy@ualberta.ca

Dr. Tarek El-Bialy joined the orthodontic team at the University of Alberta as an Associate professor in July 2005. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Orthodontics and Bioengineering and the Director of the Orthodontic Clinic at the King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. He was a lecturer in orthodontics at Tanta University in Egypt prior to his appointment at the King Abdul-Aziz University.

He obtained his BDS and MSc in Orthodontics in 1987 and 1993 respectively, and his License of Law degree in 1994, all from the University of Tanta. In 2001, he received his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois where he studied the effect of therapeutic ultrasound on bone formation during mandibular osteodistraction. He also received his Certificate of Specialty in Orthodontics in 2001 and his MSc in Oral Sciences in 2000 from the University of Illinois. In 2012, he received an Executive Masters of Business and Administration degree from the University of Alberta. In 2016, he became a full Professor.


Camila Pacheco-Pereira, DDS, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist, MBA, MSc, MS, PhD
cppereir@ualberta.ca

Dr. Pacheco-Pereira completed her dentistry studies in Brazil. After finishing dental school, she slowly but surely realized that her strong interests were related to oral health diagnosis. Accordingly, she completed an Oral Radiology specialty program. Her interests are also related to health services delivery, which led to the completion of her Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in Health Management. This experience opened her mind to the administrative side of Dentistry.

Having been in Alberta since 2013, Dr. Pacheco-Pereira completed a Masters in Dentistry program at the University of Alberta and she is proud to be an alumni of the school where she teaches today. She is involved with DDS, Dental Hygiene, undergraduate and graduate programs in addition to the radiology clinic. 

Her interest is focused on generating good translational research. With a substantial number of scientific papers in Evidence-based Dentistry, patient and student satisfaction/blended learning, and Oral Maxillofacial related topics, Dr Pacheco-Pereira is an active and awarded member of academia. She is a collaborator in a number of dental evidence-based studies to systematic review topics that need to be translated to the practitioner. Another research interest of hers is the variation in the trabecular bone pattern in conventional and advanced imaging.