Meet Prof. Marie Cornelis

I moved to Australia from Europe with my husband and two small children in February 2022, as I was offered the position of Professor and Head of Orthodontics at the Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne. Alongside my position at the University of Melbourne, I have chosen to have my private clinical orthodontic activity at Riversdale Orthodontics.

Education

I received both my dental degree (1999) and postgraduate specialist degree in orthodontics (2003) from the University of Louvain, in Brussels, Belgium. In 2007, I was visiting research scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA then defended my PhD in Brussels in 2008. In 2010, I finished a 2-year degree in lingual orthodontics at the Université Descartes (Paris, France).

Professional life

Between 2009 and 2014, I shared my time between the Department of Orthodontics of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, where I was Assistant Professor, and a private specialist orthodontic practice in Geneva.

From 2014 to 2020, I was Associate Professor and Postgraduate Program Director of Orthodontics, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), and in 2015 I became Head of Section. At the same time, I maintained my private orthodontic practice in Geneva a few days per month.

I was awarded the WJB Houston Oral Research Award of the European Orthodontic Society in 2008 and the Dewel award as an author of the best clinical paper in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics in 2012 and in 2023.

In 2021, I became Professor and Head of Orthodontics at the Melbourne Dental School. My research interests are focused on clinical orthodontics, mainly skeletal anchorage, digital workflows, and stability after orthodontic treatment. I publish extensively and lecture internationally on these and other topics.

Among many other affiliations, I am an Active Member of the prestigious Angle Society of Europe and a full member of the European Board of Orthodontists and the Australian Society of Orthodontics. I also serve as Associate Editor for the journal Seminars in Orthodontics.

Outside the office

My husband Paolo is a biomechanical engineer with extensive experience in orthodontic research and teaching and is Associate Professor in Research at the Melbourne Dental School. We have two young children, Simon, and Anna. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, as well as running, biking, and hiking.