The fellowship, which is made annually to dental researchers who have made a significant contribution in their field, seeks to bridge the knowledge and gap in clinical and basic science research, academic career development, and training methodologies so that researchers globally are exposed to best practices beyond their own schools, mentors, or programmes.
To date, Dr Farrugia, a National Institute for Health Care Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Fellow at Bristol Dental School has 12 publications in a range of international peer-reviewed journals, served as a committee member on several initiatives of the European Cooperation in Science & Technology and currently serves as a British Division of IADR (BSODR) Councillor. In addition, she has secured funding grants and prestigous prizes to supplement her research work, including a Marie Sktodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, the British Society of Periodontology's Sir Wilfred Fish Prize, and the British Division of IADR's Senior Colgate Prize in 2020 and President's Prize in 2022.