A widely recognised dental clinician-scientist, Laurie has made extensive contributions to advanced technologies (such as lasers and biomaterials), dental microbiology, preventive dentistry, and infection control. He is a specialist in Special Needs Dentistry.

Laurie was Professor of Dental Science at the University of Queensland from 2000–2020, and also served as the Head of School from 2004–2013. He was appointed as an Emeritus Professor at UQ upon his retirement. He also holds a clinical title as an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University.

Laurie has held numerous positions within the ADA at state and national level, the RACDS, the ANZ Academy of Special Needs Dentistry and other professional bodies including the Dental Board of Queensland. He has represented ADA on committees of Standards Australia since 1992, and contributed to the development of standards and guidelines for the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia and the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care.

In his active retirement, Laurie supervises research postgraduate students at UQ, Griffith and ANU, and contributes as an examiner and guest lecturer for multiple universities. Continuing his lifelong interest in innovation, he is also involved in several technology start-up companies and in clinical trials of new devices and materials.

As a dental scientist, Laurie has authored over 440 journal publications and contributed to 12 textbooks. Based on citations to his publications, he is ranked in the top 150 dental scientists of all time, and in the top 10 in Australia in world rankings of scientists such as the Stanford Index and GPS Scholar. Laurie was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2018, and has been made a life member of ADAQ, ADA Inc, and the ANZ Academy of Special Needs Dentistry.