ANZSPD-Colgate Postgraduate Research Award
SPONSORED BY Colgate
The ANZSPD-Colgate Postgraduate Research Award is an annual accolade presented by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry (ANZSPD) in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive. Postgraduate Students who are currently enrolled in a Masters Degree, Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry (or equivalent) or PhD program at a university in Australia or New Zealand, or who have completed one of these programs since the last ANZSPD Federal Convention, may enter for the award to be judged on an oral presentation at the ANZSPD Federal Convention. The research must be completed for presentation and must be related to Paediatric Dentistry. Entrants will need to be ANZSPD members.
The Award:
Applications:
The award provides support from Colgate Oral Care to enable attendance at an international paediatric dentistry meeting, as approved by the ANZSPD Federal Council. It includes reimbursement (up to AUD $2,250) for eligible expenses including return economy airfares, accommodation and conference registration, along with an additional AUD $750 cash prize.
Applications for the award must be made at least three calendar months prior to the ANZSPD Federal Convention. The Closing Date for 2026 applications is 1st February 2026. Applications are to be to the Federal Secretary of ANZSPD. Applications must be accompanied by a supporting letter from the supervisor of the applicant to ensure compliance with the Award Protocol. Nominations will only be accepted when accompanied by an abstract. The abstract should be structured and include the following sections: Objectives, Design, Setting (where relevant), Sample and Methods (where relevant), Results and Conclusions. The abstract should not exceed 300 words.
Abstracts will be provided to the judges prior to the meeting where possible, and if the abstract does not comply, the applicant shall be given the opportunity to rewrite the abstract. If the abstract still does not comply, the applicant may be excluded.
No previous applicant will be eligible to compete again.
Conditions:
- The judging panel retains the right to withhold the award for any reason.
- No correspondence into the award judging will be entered into.
- Award winners must be willing to present their research at an international conference, in a form determined by the organising committee of the international conference. The award winner must acknowledge the support of Colgate Oral Care when presenting at the international meeting.
- All participants must be prepared to have the abstract of their presentation published in Synopses.
- Finalists will be limited to the number of presentations that can be accommodated in a single session of the conference. If necessary, the Keynote Speaker will determine the finalists based on the abstracts submitted.
- The award winner must advise ANZSPD Federal Council of their choice of conference within 30 days of the prize being awarded.
The Judges:
The judging panel shall be:
- A representation from Colgate Oral Care
- The ANZSPD Federal Convention Colgate Key Note speaker
- A member of the ANZSPD with specialist registration as determined by the Federal Council
Members of ANZSPD who have had some supervisory role in any of the research being presented shall be exempt from the judging panel.
The Chairperson:
A Chairperson will be appointed by Federal Council. This person shall meet with the judges and then with the applicants prior to the presentations. The purpose of these meetings will be to confirm the rules which will apply for the presentations.
Proposed Judging Criteria:
The criteria used to determine the recipient of the award shall be:
Judging Criteria | Weight | |
Abstract |
| 10% |
Presentation | Organisation of material | 10% |
| Quality of audio-visual material | 10% |
| Manner of presentation | 10% |
| Answering of questions | 10% |
Research | Methology/protocol | 10% |
| Interpretation/statistics | 10% |
| Conclusions | 10% |
Value | Value of research to Paediatric Dentistry | 20% |
Total |
| 100% |
Presentation Rules:
The order of presenting will be determined by a draw from a hat, to be conducted by the Chairperson. Presentations will be of 10 minutes duration, with a bell sounding at this time and also 2 minutes before this time (ie at 8 minutes). Presentations will be followed by a 5 minute question period, with the judges having first right of question, followed by questions from the floor.
Past Winners
2026 Winner (Sydney, NSW)
Dr Thomas Hogerheyde
The University of Sydney
TITLE: The effects of decontamination and sterilisation protocols on the structural integrity, aesthetics, biocompatibility, and acid resistance of preformed paediatric crowns (PPCs), and the implications for clinical safety, material performance, and practitioner guidance.
2023 Winner (Christchurch, NZ)
Dr Maleeha Gilani
The University of Western Australia
TITLE: Unravelling the Genetic Basis of Dentinogenesis Imperfecta
2020 Winner (Hobart, TAS)
TITLE
2018 Winner (Gold Coast, QLD)
Dr Greg Celine &
Dr Lloyd Hurrell
The University of Western Australia &
The University of Adelaide
TITLE: Eyetracking in Paediatric Dentistry / …