Gavin Pearson trained as a dentist at UCL Dental School. In 1969 he was appointed as a lecturer in Conservative Dentistry at UCL Dental School and subsequently at the London Hospital Medical College Dental Institute. During this time he carried out work on the early composite filling materials. He was appointed Senior Lecturer/Hon Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at UCL in 1979 and in 1987 he became Head of Biomaterials at Eastman Dental Institute and Hon Consultant in Restorative Dentistry. He was appointed Reader in 1990 and was awarded a personal Chair in Biomaterials in 1996. He became head of Biomaterials in relation to Dentistry at QMUL in 1999 and was also Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Biomedical Materials at QMUL until his retirement in 2006. He has collaborated on a number of research projects with dental manufacturers.His research has concentrated on the clinical problems associated with dental material and has been involved in the research and development of minimally invasive techniques using antibacterial PDT and glass ionomer cements. He has published over 140 peer reviewed papers. He has been associated with the University of Bristol Open Learning for Dentistry [BUOLD] courses since their inception in 1990. He has lectured in both the US and Europe and has been the UK Principle Expert on Glass Ionomer Cements at a number of ISO meetings.