There is still a great deal to be done to improve health globally. Some challenges have relatively straightforward solutions on paper, while others require deeper thought and sustained effort. We all have opportunities to contribute to this goal in different capacities. I often feel that I could do more, and it is this feeling that continues to motivate me.
I am an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Cambridge in the UK, where I lead programmes of research focused on health service improvement. One of my key areas of work is dental access and innovation.
As a native of Kenya, where I completed my undergraduate degree in dental surgery, and worked in rural and informal settings, I have seen firsthand the consequences of failed or late presentation to dental services. In many cases, this results from multiple compounding factors, but in my view a central issue is that global systems for managing oral health conditions, most of which are preventable, remain inadequate.
Following my undergraduate training, I worked in one of the largest trauma hospitals in East and Southern Africa, where I encountered the severity of oral disease and trauma. I later worked in a rural county hospital and in a clinic located within informal settlements. These experiences reinforced for me the scale and seriousness of unmet oral health need.
I subsequently moved to the United Kingdom to pursue further training in public health. It had become clear that the small number of dentists available at the time was insufficient to meet population needs, and that stronger population- and systems-level approaches were required. This decision marked the beginning of my academic journey. I went on to complete a PhD and to work as an academic in higher education institutions in the UK.
Alongside my academic roles, I have held international leadership positions within the dental community, including serving as President of the IADR Global Oral Health Inequalities Research Network (GOHIRN) in 2023–24. My work in the East Africa has included activity in both Kenya and Ethiopia. Much of this has involved short-term teaching and capacity-building initiatives, as well as supporting researchers and PhD students. Securing momentum for larger, sustained programmes of work remains an ongoing pursuit.
At the same time, I contribute substantially to health services research in the United Kingdom, addressing questions related to inequities in access to care both in oral health and across wider healthcare systems, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
More recently, I’m proud of the work with colleagues leading workshops on oral health in humanitarian settings. I am especially committed to creating opportunities for emerging researchers to gain recognition and encouragement, a priority that was central to my time as President of GOHIRN.
I encourage early-career researchers to persist, seek support and collaboration where possible, and do the best they can within the spaces they occupy.
Kristina Wanyonyi-Kay BDS, MPH, Ph.D, DDPH. RCS Eng, FHEA
Asssistant Research Professor and Research Programme Leader
Principal Investigator, Dental Access and Innovation programme and BRIDGE study
Co-director PhD admissions Department of Public Health and Primary Care
THIS Institute (The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute)
University of Cambridge
Strangeways Research Laboratory
2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN
Bennett Visiting Fellow in Data Infrastructure, University of Oxford
Homerton College Research Associate
kristina.wanyonyi-kay@thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk