In conversation with Donald Simone, PhD, 2023 Professor of the Year

Donald Simone, PhD, professor and Director of the Division of Basic Sciences and Chair of the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, is the 2023 Century Club Professor of the Year. Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, announced the award at Research Day on Friday, February 29, 2024.

Instituted by Dean Erwin Schaffer, DDS, in 1967, the Century Club Professor of the Year Award recognizes one faculty member each year for their outstanding contributions to the school in the areas of education, research and service. The award is one of the school’s greatest traditions and the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member. The honoree is selected by a committee chaired by the previous year’s award recipient, with faculty representation from each department and student participation from the graduate, dental, dental therapy and dental hygiene programs.

Simone is Chair of the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences and director of the Division of Basic Sciences. He studies the neural encoding of pain and hyperalgesia, in a combined behavioral and neurophysiological approach. His current areas of study include the mechanisms by which cancer cells interact with neurons to produce pain, mechanisms of pain in sickle cell disease, as well as new pharmacological approaches to treat pain. He has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1992, has published more than 128 peer-reviewed papers and has acted as a reviewer for more than 20 research journals. In addition to teaching neuroscience courses, Simone has mentored junior colleagues throughout his career, both as teachers and as researchers.

“Simone is someone with a passion for research, collaboration and teaching,” Mays said as he announced the award. He shared that one colleague called Simone “approachable and with a depth of knowledge that has contributed to him being seen as an outstanding researcher and mentor—one who is dependable and passionate about his work.”

We heard from Simone on what receiving the award means to him.

What does it mean to you to be named Professor of the Year?

It is certainly an honor to receive this prestigious award from my peers. It is gratifying to know that my contributions to the school and to my field have been recognized.

As you reflect on your contributions to dental education and research, which aspects have you most enjoyed?

Although I enjoy participating in all missions of the school, what I love most is conducting research on pain mechanisms and making new discoveries that may help people who are suffering from chronic pain. A large part of my research program includes mentoring students at all levels in research. To see these students get excited about the research they are doing, and to then go on and have research be a focus of their careers, is particularly rewarding. I have fully enjoyed my research, and the entrepreneurship, creativity and free lifestyle that it brings.

What is your favorite thing about being a professor?

This has to be the daily interactions I have with students, faculty and staff. Working with professionals who have common goals to achieve excellence in each of our school’s missions has been inspiring and gratifying. I also enjoy developing new collaborations with faculty both within and outside our school to discuss and tackle new research initiatives that address important problems. These collaborations are not only important for discovery and to move the field forward, but they serve as a platform for me to learn new approaches to answer research questions through discussions and experimentation.

What words of wisdom would you pass along to those in dental research or considering dental research?

An academic career in research offers the opportunity to pursue the problems that interest you the most. To be successful, it is critical to find your passion, identify significant problems, obtain outstanding training in research methods and scientific writing, and have excellent mentors along the way. It is also important to be creative by not pursuing the next obvious steps in research, but to think several steps beyond. I believe this is where significant advances are made.

This story initially appeared in the 2024 edition of Dentistry Magazine.