Bruna Garcia, DDS, MS, PhD

Bruna Garcia is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, Division of Prosthodontics at UF College of Dentistry. She supervises all aspects of restorative dentistry, including treatment planning, operative, fixed, and removable prosthodontics, and also assists with instruction in the divisions of operative and general dentistry. She additionally provides care in the college’s faculty practice. Dr. Garcia earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2014 from the 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 the 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. Garcia embarked upon Gainesville in 2019 as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Oral Biology and has spent three years as a trainee on a T90/R90 NIH Research Training and Career Development grant. Her research interests are in Oral Microbiology, Cariology, and Clinical-translational Science focused on identifying microbial biomarkers associated with caries. Garcia is a published author in a number of publications and has numerous research awards for both oral and poster presentations throughout 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 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.