James receiving congratulations from OTA President, Mr Bill Ip at the recent OTA conference in York

James is the Maxillofacial and Dental Laboratory Manager for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London and Broomfield Hospital in Essex and the North Thames Cleft Centre. He trained as a dental technician at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s school of Medicine and Dentistry in association with Lambeth College and qualified in 2001. He spent a year at the Royal London as part of his vocational training and then went on to spend the next two years at the Eastman Dental Hospital, UCLH. During which he gained his HNC in Orthodontics and received the award for BOS Student Technician, before being appointed as an Orthodontic technician at Great Ormond Street hospital in 2004. James has also been a lecturer on the HNC/HND Orthodontic programmes at Lambeth college and has been a long-standing council member of the OTA since 2006; holding roles such as Treasurer and Secretary. He has also been closely involved with the DTA (Dental Technicians Association) first as an OTA representative and then council member, before becoming it’s President from 2016-2018.

During his time working at Great Ormond Street, James has published many papers in various peer-reviewed journals, most notably his articles on Medical Device regulations. James’ attention to detail is one of his great strengths and proof of how important he is to our profession as these articles have been a valuable source of information for all the Dental team. He has been an invited speaker both nationally and internationally and his topics have ranged from Cleft lip and palate management to designing dental laboratory databases to constructing orthodontic appliances for patients Epidermolysis Bullosa.

James’ passion for his work, attention to detail, and involvement with the wider team and professional organisations make him a much deserved recipient of the OTA’s Outstanding contribution to technology award.

Congratulations James, on your remarkable achievement!

Written by Kerry Lancaster