King's College London

The symposium, aptly titled the Sharpe Edge, brought together scientists in craniofacial biology, including collaborators and friends of Paul, current and previous members of the Sharpe team and of course the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology (CCRB) at King’s College London.

The world leading Centre was established by Professor Sharpe over 30 years ago, and saw craniofacial biology launched as a key research theme at the then Guy’s Hospital Dental School. The Centre has gone from strength to strength, with now more than 100 researchers that are driven by a diverse range of interests, from tissue engineering to techniques that have the potential to restore hearing loss.

Current CCRB Centre Head Professor Andrea Streit said of the symposium: “It was wonderful to see so many former members of the Sharpe team, friends, previous and current colleagues - a thoroughly enjoyable day of science, anecdotes and reminiscence in honour of Paul. He not only established a world-class centre of craniofacial biology but also created an environment that allowed everyone to pursue their own goals and succeed.”

Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences Executive Dean, Professor Michael Escudier said: “Paul Sharpe has been pivotal in establishing craniofacial biology as a key research theme at the faculty. The significant number of attendees at the symposium and the efforts they have made to attend the event is a testimony to the excellence of the research and the global influence it has had.”

At King’s Paul Sharpe was appointed the Dickinson Professor of Craniofacial Biology and remains an Emeritus Professor. During his time at King’s Paul has published well over 300 research papers including articles in Nature, Science, PNAS and Cell press. He has also supervised over 50 PhD students, some of whom are here today, and received funding from the MRC, NIHR and NIH.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh (2010) and a recipient of the Gregor Mendel Memorial Medal (2003). He was awarded the Craniofacial Biology Research Award by the International Association for Dental Research (2004) and also received the William J Gies award for the best publication in Biomaterials and Bioengineering (2013).