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Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C

Associate Professor

Department Chair

Dr. Paul B. Allen Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, is Chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and a tenured Associate Professor at The University of Texas San Antonio. He joined the U.S. Army in 1989, serving first in Military Intelligence before becoming a Special Forces Medical Sergeant and National Registry Paramedic. Following graduation from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program, he served as a Battalion Physician Assistant with the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After deployment to Iraq, Dr. Allen was selected as a Surgical Resuscitation Team Leader within the special operations community, supporting combat operations worldwide. He led austere surgical teams in remote environments, specializing in combat casualty care, damage control resuscitation, prolonged field care, and damage control surgery. To further advance his expertise, he completed the U.S. Army/Baylor University Physician Assistant Doctoral Residency in Emergency Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center.

Dr. Allen subsequently served as Research Director, Associate Program Director, and Program Director for the Army Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency while maintaining operational support roles for special operations forces. He retired from military service after 27 years at the rank of Major.

Since entering academia, Dr. Allen has led major curriculum redesign efforts, developed competency-based educational frameworks, and advanced physician assistant education nationally. He remains active in military and prehospital medicine, teaching tactical and operational medical topics to military healthcare providers and serving as a subject-matter expert for the Defense Health Agency. He currently advises the Committees on Surgical Combat Casualty Care (CoSCCC) and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC). In May 2026, he assumed the presidency of the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA), the premier international organization dedicated to advancing austere, operational, and special operations medicine.

Dr. Allen’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, four Bronze Star Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Combat Medical Badge, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Tab, and the Order of Military Medical Merit.

His research and scholarly interests include emergency medicine, prehospital and austere medicine, combat trauma management, damage control resuscitation, surgical systems in resource-limited environments, and health professions education.