• NEW FACES
• Mar 2023
• Bulletin

Welcome to HKU

Academic Staff Joins the Dental Family

The Faculty extends its warmest regards to all newly joined academic staff and wishes them a great beginning and life at HKU.

Dr Tarce comes from Romania. He first studied software engineering at Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, and then dentistry at Universitatea din Oradea, Romania. During his six-year stay in Belgium, he completed his postgraduate training in Periodontology and PhD at KU Leuven which consistently ranks among the top 100 universities in the world by major ranking tables. As of 2022, it is ranked 11th in the QS World University Rankings for Dentistry.

“The University of Hong Kong is world-renowned for dentistry. It excels in research through innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in the region and worldwide. I was, therefore, excited to learn that a position had become available in the periodontology division,” Dr Tarce said. His main research interest is bridging the gap between dentistry and digital technologies. “While digital dentistry has evolved tremendously in the last decade, I believe there is much more to be discovered, making this a fascinating field for me to research. Currently, my primary areas of research interest cover digital technologies relating to the virtual patient, AI-assisted treatment planning and peri-implantitis prevention,” he further expressed.

Dr Tarce has loved photography since long before he was a dentist, specialising in landscape and portraiture. He has been able to incorporate it into his work in recent years by developing a clinical photography course which he now gives internationally, including KU Leuven, Belgium; the Queen Mary University of London, the UK and Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

To achieve work-life balance, he plays tennis regularly amid his hectic work schedules. If you're looking for a tennis partner, Dr Tarce might be the one! “I also enjoy travelling and hiking, so I can’t wait to explore more of Hong Kong and the rest of Asia. I've found Hong Kong and its people to be very warm and welcoming, so I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends here,” he mentioned.

Dr Tarce enjoys travelling and photography.