Dr. Diogenes honored with prestigious 2022 Piper Professor Award

Anibal Diogenes, DDS, MS, PhD, professor and vice-chair of the Department of Endodontics within the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, was named a 2022 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation is a local non-profit, charitable corporation that awards excellence in teaching and supports Texas students through scholarship and student loan programs. The Piper Professor Award was established in 1958 to recognize superior teaching at the university level and is made annually to only 10 educators across Texas, honoring their outstanding achievements in teaching. Dr. Diogenes will receive a $5,000 award, certificate and gold pin. At the foundation’s request, the award will be presented by William L. Henrich, MD, MACP, president of UT Health San Antonio.

“To be named a Piper Professor is a fantastic surprise as it recognizes my passion in teaching from a broader perspective, not only by the dental and biomedical community. It is a tremendous treat to be recognized for doing something that you so love to do.”

Since joining UT Health San Antonio as a full-time educator in 2009, Dr. Diogenes has received numerous honors and awards. Notable awards include the 2015 and 2017 Journal of Endodontics Basic Science Research Award. In 2019 he was named a Pulp Biology and Regeneration Distinguished Scientist by the International Association of Dental Research. Additionally in 2021, he received the Journal of Endodontics Clinical Research Award and the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry Faculty Research Award.

Dr. Diogenes noted that the most significant highlight of his teaching career was receiving the 2020 American Association of Endodontists Edward M. Osetek Educator Award, presented annually to one full-time educator chosen from among all American dental schools.

“It was truly an honor to receive an award that was designed to recognize an educator that ‘has demonstrated status as an outstanding educator by earning the esteem and respect of students and faculty associates.’ I was very humbled and touched by this recognition since it is considered one of the most prestigious national recognitions for an educator in endodontics,” he said.

He has served as an advisor and mentor to many students at both graduate and undergraduate levels and is proud of the numerous research awards his students have received.

In addition to his work at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Diogenes has lectured in over 15 different countries and at national and international meetings over the past decade. His dedication to the education of future generations of clinicians and clinician-scientists led him to become a director of the American Board of Endodontics and an associate editor of the Journal of Endodontics.

Dr. Anibal Diogenes received his DDS from the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil in 1998. His love for academics brought him to the United States to further his education. As a result, he earned his Master of Science in molecular biology from the University of Nebraska, his doctoral degree in pharmacology and a certificate in endodontics from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.



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