Thomas Diekwisch, D.M.D., Ph.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas (Tom) Diekwisch received a Ph.D. in Anatomy from the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (1988, "summa cum laude"), a Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Science from the Institute for Philosophy (2005, "magna cum laude"), and a DMD from the School of Dentistry at Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany (1986). From 1994 until 2001, Diekwisch served as an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Dentistry in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. During this time, he taught General and Oral Histology, developed a developmental biology research program, and directed the award-winning community science education outreach program Habitat for Science. In 2001, Diekwisch was recruited to the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry to become the first Director of the Brodie Laboratory for Craniofacial Genetics and the Allan G. Brodie Endowed Chair. Two years later, he was appointed professor and head of the Department of Oral Biology at the UIC College of Dentistry. Dr. Diekwisch returned to Texas A&M College of Dentistry in 2014 as Professor and Head, Department of Periodontics and Director of the Center for Craniofacial Research and Diagnosis. Since then, Diekwisch has improved undergraduate and graduate periodontal program performance as well as research productivity in the Department. In 2017, he was appointed the Bernhard Gottlieb Endowed Chair in Craniofacial Research.

Continuing his work at the interface between clinical, translational and basic sciences, Diekwisch was appointed to lead Eastman's new Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at the University of Rochester in 2022. This new entity seeks to build upon Eastman's clinical strength and the scientific excellence at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry to develop novel translational research opportunities for the health of Americans and understand mechanisms of development and disease.