Rate My Professor Lara Friedlander

Friedlander's research specializations encompass endodontics, immunopathology, pulp biology and systemic disease, clinical endodontics, practice-based research, and dental education. As Deputy Director of the Molecular and Immunopathology Research Group in the Sir John Walsh Research Institute, she has supervised multiple undergraduate, Clinical Doctorate, and PhD students. She engages in practice-based research with clinicians, contributing to the development of a national clinical guideline for managing patients with deep caries. Friedlander serves as an international reviewer for peer-reviewed journals and research funding applications, and holds memberships on the New Zealand Dental Research Foundation Board, the New Zealand Ministry of Health Oral Health Research Fund, and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons Research Panel. She is Chief Examiner for the Final examination for Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. Her awards include the 2024 University of Otago Teaching Excellence Award and the 2018 Faculty Award for outstanding postgraduate supervision. Key publications include 'Differential expressions of inflammatory, dentinogenic, regulatory, proliferative and stemness genes in non-carious and carious human dental pulp tissues: An ex vivo proof-of-concept study' (International Endodontic Journal, 2026), 'Endodontic complexity: A scoping review of case difficulty assessment tools and indices' (International Endodontic Journal, 2026), 'Root canal treatment for older adults: New Zealand dentists' experiences and approach to practice' (Australian Dental Journal, 2026), and 'A critical review of in vitro methodologies for studying inflammatory responses in human dental pulp cell cultures' (International Endodontic Journal, 2025). She maintains ongoing national and international collaborations and has received competitive grant funding.