Every year in June, the ITI opens its Scholarship application portal. We took this opportunity to ask one of our former Scholars, Dr. Marisca Austin Pereira from Mumbai, India, about her experience, her daily work and what she liked most about it. She started her Scholarship year in September 2022 at the ITI Scholarship Center – The University of Queensland – in Brisbane, Australia.
What are the three most memorable things you will take away from your Scholarship year?
Ahh! This question has made me reminisce about my journey as an ITI Scholar. The experiences that I had during the ITI Scholarship year at The University of Queensland have indeed shaped my future. Undoubtedly, it was the first day at the University! I was happy and yet anxious.
Something very noteworthy about my Scholarship experience was that I got a complete understanding of the role of a researcher.
Secondly, I met many good people and learned so much from each one of them. It’s a steep learning curve when you work in a new country. I feel so fortunate that I spent most of my time under the leadership of Prof. Saso Ivanovski, who was my principal supervisor and the Head of the School of Dentistry. Even though he is so busy throughout the day, he completely supported me and helped me swim up through the learning curve unperturbed.
Thirdly, I think the ITI Scholarship experience has helped me build my personality as a dentist and a researcher, which indeed will reverberate throughout my career and personal life.
Could you give us an idea of how your working week was structured? Did you feel you were learning a lot?
Yes, without a doubt I can say that I learned a lot. The whole week, from Monday to Friday was split between clinical research and clinics. When I wasn’t shadowing my supervisors, I would work in the research lab. I never had any Monday blues because every Monday we would start by discussing interesting cases, digital implant planning and reading about special cases.
Three days a week, I would shadow Prof. Saso Ivanovski in his clinical cases along with my involvement in digital implant planning. I would document some interesting cases and pick his brains asking him about any doubts.
Dr. Himanshu Arora (prosthodontist), taught me digital implant workflow especially Co-Diagnostix and he guided me throughout the whole of my ITI Scholarship year.
I was always keen to observe A/Prof. Ryan Lee (Head of Dept. of Periodontology, UQ) harvesting that thin slice of CTG /FGG and every time I would be left spellbound to see the amazing work of his hand.
Once every two weeks, I would observe Dr. Jamil Alayan (Senior Lecturer at UQ) during theater sessions at the hospital. The most important thing that I would note after watching his cases were perfect case planning and management. He would perform complicated cases with a very calm mind and with ease. He would teach me something new every time, maybe a new suture technique or novel incision design.
Tuesdays and Fridays were research days. I got to know how research projects are planned and executed, which is as important as the research idea. I worked a lot on animal projects. I got to learn the know-how of doing animal research, which was all new to me in the beginning. Apart from that, I learned sample processing and histology.
Every Wednesday evening, I attended journal clubs with the D Clin. Dent students at the university.
Last but not the least, I would also attend the ITI Study Club meetings and CPD courses.
Why did you choose this particular Scholarship Center?
I’m a periodontist, and I was very keen to go for a research center aligned with periodontology.
Secondly, Prof. Saso and his team have done very good research in 3D printing for hard & soft tissue augmentations. This is what I always wanted to get involved in. The University of Queensland is also a very prestigious university.
The University of Queensland is the first ITI Scholarship Center in Australia and it gives me immense joy to say that “I’m the flag-bearer of the ITI Scholarship in Australia” which is chaired by Prof. Saso Ivanovski.
Did you get enough support to do your job well?
I think both the ITI Committee and The University of Queensland supported me throughout my Scholarship year. I cannot recall a single moment where I had to regret my decision to devote a year to being an ITI Scholar.
How did this experience as an ITI Scholar influence your current position?
Before joining as an ITI Scholar, I was a full-time practicing clinician in Mumbai. I practiced general dentistry as well as working as a periodontist.
As I started my ITI journey, I realized that there are many questions in implant dentistry that are yet to be answered. I worked with an amazing group of researchers at the University of Queensland. This motivated me to apply for Higher Degree Research at the same university. The motivation to continue research was greatly driven by my ITI Scholarship experience.
Why would you recommend our Scholarship program to other young professionals?
International Team of Implantology (ITI) doesn’t need an introduction. It is a very well-known and reputed organization. The ITI provides complete support and guidance to the ITI Scholar throughout the year.
I’m grateful to the entire ITI for giving me this opportunity and complete support throughout my journey as an ITI Scholar. I got a chance to meet some of the members of the ITI Leadership Committee at the ITI Annual Conference in Lisbon. I also had a brief interaction with the ITI President, Dr. Charlotte Stilwell at the conference. She motivated and encouraged me to stay in touch with the ITI even after the Scholarship ends. It was also nice to meet Jacob O’Brien, Yasmina Penas, Katalina Cano, Petra Werder and other members of ITI Headquarters who are “miles away but just a mail away” staying in touch with you.
With such a supportive and interactive ITI family, I feel every implantologist should become a member of the ITI. Young professionals will definitely benefit in their career as a clinician or researcher by applying for the ITI Scholarship program!
Find out how an ITI Scholarship can boost your career
Each year we enable young implant dentistry talent to spend a year abroad at a highly regarded university being mentored by an ITI Fellow at one of our 34 ITI Scholarship Centers around the globe. Are you keen on getting insight into every aspect of implant treatment? Would you like to dive into the complex world of case planning, implant surgery and prosthetic restorations in an international context? Our application portal is open from June 1 to June 30. Don’t hesitate any longer and apply as soon as it opens!
More information is available on our website.
