Marc Tennant

Marc Tennant is a Winthrop Professor at the School of Health and Clinical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, with nearly three decades of academic service. He has held leadership roles including Clinical Dean and Head of School, and currently serves as Chair of the Academic Board (commencing 2024) and leads the International Research Collaborative - Oral Health and Equity.

His educational background includes a Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc) and PhD from The University of Western Australia. Professor Tennant's research centers on dental public health with a strong commitment to equity and justice, particularly for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. He is recognized as the founding driving force in the sub-discipline of rural, remote and Indigenous oral health, addressing health inequality and workforce development through UN Sustainable Development Goals alignment.

His recent publications (2025) demonstrate a sustained focus on geographic disparities in health care access, including dental and eye services in rural Australia, the impact of global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic on oral health outcomes, and barriers to oral health education for vulnerable populations.

His accolades include:

• Member of the Order of Australia (2022)
• Life Member of the Dental Student Society

Professor Tennant has supervised over 50 graduate students and leads a global research collaborative with more than 120 Fellows. He has secured over $20 million in research funding from bodies including the Department of Health (Western Australia) and NHMRC for innovative projects such as AI-driven tooth decay detection and tele-screening systems.

He founded the Centre for Rural and Remote Oral Health and currently directs the International Research Collaborative - Oral Health and Equity, a network spanning the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific that has driven structural reforms in dental education and workforce development across Australia.