Vida Zohoori is a Professor of Public Health and Nutrition, with research interest and expertise in fluorides and public health. She leads the ‘Centre for Public Health Research' in School of Health and Life Sciences.

Vida is an internationally recognised researcher in the field of fluoride and general health in different age groups, particularly pregnant women and young children. Her work is aligned with the work programme of the WHO on fluoride and oral health. She has served as an expert panel member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Oral Health using fluoride as well as the rapporteur at the ‘Fluoride Symposium: Guidelines for Fluoride Intake - Are They Appropriate?’ (San Francisco - USA). Her research on fluoride underpinned the WHO Guidelines on 'Monitoring of Renal Fluoride Excretion in Community Preventive Programmes on Oral Health'.

She has delivered numerous invited lectures at different institutes including Indiana University/USA,Harbin Commerce University/China, University of Glasgow/Scotland, Sao-Paulo University/Brazil, Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre TFNC /Tanzania as keynotes speech at different events such as the ‘Researcher links Workshop on fluoride metabolism’ in Brazil, a ‘Milk Fluoridation’ meeting in Spain and a ‘Fluoride’ meeting in Hungary.

• Fluoride metabolism including interaction of fluoride with other nutrients
• Development of biomarkers for fluoride exposure
• Genetic and fluoride metabolism
• Fluoride and gut microbiome

Current on-going projects:

Effects of milk supplemented with fluoride and/or probiotics on controlling cariogenic biofilm growth using an in vitro experimental model [Principal Investigator]. The Borrow Foundation. (2022-2024)

FLuOridated WAter: Public Values & Evaluation of Cost-Benefit (FLO-WAVE) [Co-Investigator]. The Borrow Foundation (2022-2023).

Improving the oral hEalth of oLder aDults using milk supplEmented with fluoRide and probiotics (ELDER) [Principal Investigator]. Eklund Foundation for Odontological Research and Education (2022-2024)

Advanced manufacturing of biochar in UK/China/Malaysia/Nigeria. [Co-Investigator]. British Council and Ministry of Education China; UK-China-BRI Countries Education Partnership Initiative (2020-2024)

Urinary fluoride parameters in spot urine samples associated with exposure to systemic fluoride through fluoridated toothpastes, waters, salts and milks [Principal-Investigator]. Borrow Foundation (2019-2023)

Mapping the evidence for monitoring fluoride exposure in community prevention programmes for oral health using nail clippings and spot urine samples: A scoping review [Principal Investigator]. The Borrow Foundation (2021-2022)

Towards the first implementation of groundwater remediation using nanotechnology in Brazil – Delivering new policies and designing the first pilot-scale case study [Co-Investigator]. Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF): QR Fund (2020-2022)

On-going PhD projects:

• Association between early exposure to fluoride and cognitive outcomes in Children
• The impact of Covid-19 on oral health
• Predictor of fluorosis: total fluoride intake or subsequent fluoride absorption?
• eHealth to promote Oral Health
• Public Perception of Community Water Fluoridation
• Effects of systemic fluoride exposure on iodine status and thyroid function during pregnancy

The following research topics available to potential PhD students:

• Association between fluoride exposure and incidence of canine osteosarcoma
• Vegetarianism and fluoride metabolism

Please contact me by email in the first instance if you are interested in any of the above.

Vida is an expert on methods for assessment of renal fluoride excretion in community prevention programmes for oral health and has contributed her expertise to the fluoridated milk monitoring exercise, in St Helens – Merseyside, to measure the impact of drinking milk containing 0.8mg F/189 ml milk on urinary fluoride excretion of three year old children in 2013. She was the lead author of the monitoring exercise report for the National Fluoridated Milk Group (NFMG). She also provided a consultancy role for Blackpool City Council for a fluoride monitoring survey in May 2015. As an invited speaker, she has delivered several seminars and lectures for those who are involved in fluoridated milk schemes at schools.

She is also an expert on fluoride analysis of different biological and non-biological samples including food and drink products. She has been invited to run several training courses on the topic for industry and had a key role in a project for the UK ‘Food & Environment Research Agency (fera)’ in which more than 250 food and drink samples were analysed for their fluoride concentrations for the Food Safety Authority Ireland. She has developed a unique fluoride database which provides information on fluoride concentrations of the most commonly consumed food and drink items in the UK (https://www.tees.ac.uk/docs/DocRepo/Research/FinalFluorideDatabase.pdf).

She led a project for ‘Johnson & Johnson’ to test the potential benefit of the combined use of a fluoridated toothpaste and a fluoridated mouthwash.

Vida currently teaches on the Doctorate of Public Health programme and supervises a number of PhD students.

She has delivered invited lectures at several different institutes, including:  Indiana University/USA, Harbin Commerce University/China, University of Glasgow/Scotland and Sao-Paulo University/Brazil.

She has been running several training courses on fluoride analysis for industry as well as seminars/lectures for public/oral health professionals.

• Editorial board member for the Journal of Community Dental Health
• Associate Editor for Frontiers in Oral Health – Oral Health and Nutrition
• Guest Editor for International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Diet, Nutrition and Oral Health
• Guest Editor for Metabolites – Fluoride Metabolism
• Member of International Association for Dental Research (IADR)
• Member of British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR)
• Member of European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA)
• Member of Centre of Translational Research in Public Health (FUSE)