Professor David Locker Scholarship in Social Science, Oral Health and Dentistry
A scholarship established in 2016 as a permanent endowment thanks to a generous legacy from the estate of the late Professor David Locker.
About the award
The University of Sheffield is pleased to announce the David Locker Scholarship in Social Science, Oral Health and Dentistry.
Professor David Locker completed his degree in Dentistry at the University of Sheffield in 1971. He gained his BDS (Distinction) from Charles Clifford Dental School Sheffield in 1971 before gaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Services Management in Leeds a year later. He went on to study Sociology at the University of Kent where he completed a Postgraduate Diploma and eventually a PhD in 1975. From the outset he had an interest in research that broke disciplinary boundaries publishing his PhD on disability in 1983 and a later book on social and behavioural sciences in dentistry.
He started his career as Lecturer in Social Science at St. Thomas' Hospital Medical School but eventually he was appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Dentistry in the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. He subsequently became a Professor there in 1990 and became the Director of the Community Dental Health Services Research Unit in 1991. He eventually went on to become Associate Dean for Graduate and Postgraduate Studies in 2003. He was also a Visiting Professor at Guys Hospital Dental School, King’s College London and the Turner Dental School, Manchester from 2000 and at the Peninsular Dental School from 2007.
In his later career Professor Locker maintained strong links with The University of Sheffield working with colleagues at the Unit of Dental Public Health. Professor Locker’s passion was for Applied Social Science and Dental Public Health. He believed that good quality applied social science and dental public health would make a difference to the lives of patients and to oral health care in general. He worked closely with colleagues at the University of Sheffield and had a very deep bond with the University. After his death he bequeathed a sum of money that he wanted to be used to support International students seeking to do social science research in the field of oral health and dental public health.
How to apply
Please contact Professor Barry Gibson (b.j.gibson@sheffield.ac.uk).
What: £7,500 scholarship for postgraduate study.
Who can apply: Students with a background in social science and/or dentistry who are/will be registered on the Masters in Dental Public Health course at the University of Sheffield for the academic year 2023-24. Details of the Dental Public Health course can be found here, or via the link below.
Criteria for assessment: Preference will be given to high calibre candidates who are nationals or domicile in Low and Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
How to apply: Application is by CV and a covering letter detailing your interest in social science in dentistry and dental public health. In this letter you should explain how you will use your training in Dental Public Health to improve the oral health of your country of origin (1,000 words maximum). This should be sent to the David Locker Scholarship Committee c/o Professor Barry Gibson, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK (b.j.gibson@sheffield.ac.uk)
Application deadline: Friday 1st September 2023 (5pm GMT time)
Interviews: Virtual interviews will be held with members of the David Locker Scholarship Committee which comprises the Director of Postgraduate Taught Courses, the Head of the Unit of Oral Health, Dentistry and Society, the Course Director, Dental Public Health in collaboration with other colleagues subject to availability.