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International Exchange

Message from Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden
(participant of JICA Dental Education Course)

Right after the completion of my doctoral thesis, I came across an opportunity to attend the JICA course at Kyushu University in Japan. We were young dentists from 10 different countries who came together in the host country Japan. We were lucky because we had this experience in an institution like Kyushu University Faculty of Dentistry, with its well-equipped faculty members, advanced research infrastructure, and academic and administrative staff who willingly and enthusiastically wanted to transfer all their facilities to our trainees. Our connections with some trainees continue today, but I have never severed my ties with Kyushu University.

What I saw at Kyushu University in my first professional abroad experience has shed light on my future studies. The head of the prosthesis department, Prof. Suetsugu, and all the academicians working on the temporomandibular joint in other departments, informed us so well in the courses that, I conducted studies such as “Occlusal rehabilitation in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders” and “Clinical aspects of temporomadibular disorders”.

With the enlightening information and practical works given by Prof. Morimoto and his team about the implants that have just started to be used in dentistry; I treated patients in the clinic with great care and teamwork. In addition, the thesis studies that I have had my doctoral students do, such as “Examination of the effect of crown/implant ratio on stress distribution in short implants with dynamic loading”, are always studies whose foundations were laid at Kyushu University.

I want to thank to the founder of this organization, Prof.Dr. Minoru Nakata and all the staff of the esteemed Kyushu University Faculty of Dentistry for touching my life.

Currently, I am privileged to work in Eastern Mediterranean University, faculty of dentistry in Northern Cyprus which is ranked in the top 501-600 Universities worldwide. EMU has international collaborations with prominent universities in many countries. Now my dream is to ensure the continuity of these beautiful relations that started with Kyushu University in the 90s and to continue these relations for generations by collaborating with Eastern Mediterranean University in research and other academic/social activities.

Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden
Professor
Eastern Mediterranean University,
Faculty of Dentistry

Dr. Asiye Nehir Özden is wearing pink and standing at the center right at the back of the picture.

Campus of Eastern Mediterranean University

Message from Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson
(participant of JICA Dental Education Course)

After an unforgettable experience as a member of the 2004 JICA Dental Education Course at Kyushu University, I came back to Chile to continue with my career as an Oral Surgeon. The exposure to a new environment such as Kyushu University sparked my interest for the academic career and was selected as junior Professor in the OMS department at Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile soon after returning from Japan.

I started my academic career in 2005 and enjoyed the opportunity of teaching in the areas of Semiology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. During my stay in Kyushu University, I was exposed to high quality research in the field of OMS, led by Professor Dr. Yuiji Shiratsuchi who was a big inspiration for me since he showed me that it was possible to combine the passion for surgery along with my ever-growing interest in research. Years passed and in 2018 I was appointed Head of the OMS Department at Universidad de los Andes which gave me the opportunity to design many interesting programs. The most iconic one was the 4-year specialty course in OMS that was greatly inspired by what I could see and experience in the Kyushu University OMS Program. It was the first 4-year program that leveled up the education in OMS to international standards in Chile!

Now, I am finishing my PhD at Universidad Internacional de Catalunya, Spain and are currently developing a new osteoconductive xenograft derived from salmon bone. Part of the metabolic study is being conducted at Kyushu University under Professor Eijiro Jimi and his team.

I would like to thank everybody at Kyushu University for your decisive input at the beginning of my career and for being an important support up to this date.

I look forward to keeping nourishing this lifelong relationship!

Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson
Professor, Head of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Department
Universidad de los Andes Dental School

Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson at Universidad de los Andes Dental School

Dr. Francisco Muñoz Thomson (second from the right) and his team