Bruna Albuquerque Garcia, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., joined the UF College of Dentistry in a full-time capacity at the end of July as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, Division of Prosthodontics. Garcia will supervise all aspects of restorative dentistry, including treatment planning, operative, fixed and removable prosthodontics, and will also assist with instruction in the divisions of operative and general dentistry. Garcia will additionally provide care in the college’s faculty practice.
Garcia embarked upon Gainesville in 2019 as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Oral Biology, and has spent the last three years as a trainee on a T90/R90 NIH Research Training and Career Development grant.
Garcia earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2014 from Federal University of Ceara in Brazil, a specialist certificate in dental radiology from the Institute of Dental Specialties and a master’s in dentistry in prosthodontics from Federal University of Ceara, both in 2016. From there, she began her Ph.D. in prosthodontics at Federal University, picking up a specialty certificate in prosthodontics in 2018, and then serving as a visiting research scholar at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis as part of an exchange program fellowship.
Her research interests are in applied microbiology, oral biofilms, multispecies biofilms, biomarkers, biofilms’ extracellular matrix, molecular biology, antimicrobial resistance and anti-biofilm therapies. Garcia is a published author in a number of publications, and has numerous research awards for both oral and poster presentations through her academic career.
Through the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel program in Brazil, Garcia was in research fellowship programs while pursuing her dental, master’s and doctorate degrees.
She has served as a research mentor at all of her academic stops in Brazil, Indiana and Gainesville, including serving as a mentor in the college’s Summer Research Program, and has extensive teaching experience in prosthodontics.
Garcia is a current member of the American Academy of Cariology, the American Dental Association, the European Organization for Caries Research and the International Association for Dental Research.