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Daniel L Dent, M.D.

Chair of the Department of Medical Education

Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery

Associate Director for Workforce Development, Mays Cancer Center

Dr. Daniel L. Dent is the Chair of the Department of Medical Education, Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, and the Associate Director for Workforce Development for the Mays Cancer Center at the University of Texas (UT) Health San Antonio. His clinical practice is in trauma, critical care, and acute care surgery.  He is a native of Orlando, Florida who completed a bachelor's degree in Psychology at Duke University and obtained his medical degree from the University of South Florida. As a student, he worked summers and holidays for the Walt Disney Company for 11 years. He subsequently completed his residency at the University of Tennessee in Memphis; his residency included an additional year of research in Trauma and Nutrition Support.

Dr. Dent joined the faculty at UT Health San Antonio in 1996 and has received numerous teaching excellence awards as voted by medical students and residents. He has mentored and advocated for medical students and residents such that they have received awards or national recognition from the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Surgical Council on Resident Education, the Residency Review Committee for Surgery, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, the Association for Surgical Education, the Shock Society, and Archives of Surgery. As a result of his commitment to surgical and medical education, he was named a Distinguished Teaching Professor by the University of Texas System in 2010 and received the UT Health San Antonio Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence in 2016. 

Dr. Dent has published more than 100 scientific articles. His clinical and translational research focus is on autotransfusion, where he has mentored medical students as they coordinated a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, researchers, and hematologists to investigate and better define the makeup of hemothorax and its suitability for autotransfusion. He also leads a research team in surgical education that has investigated patient acceptance of surgical residents in their care, factors affecting boards pass rates, and the fate of preliminary surgical residents, among other topics. 

Dr. Dent’s previous national leadership positions include: 

  • President, Association of Program Directors in Surgery
  • Chair, Organization of Program Director Associations
  • Chair, General Surgery Board, American Board of Surgery
  • Secretary, American College of Surgeons Board of Governors
  • Vice Chair, American College of Surgeons Board of Governors
  • American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Representative to the American College of Surgeons Advisory Council for General Surgery

He currently serves in the following regional and national leadership positions: 

  • President, Southwestern Surgical Congress
  • Board of Directors, American Board of Surgery
  • Board of Directors and Executive Committee, ACGME
  • Board of Regents, American College of Surgeons
  • Editorial Board of the Journal of Surgical Education
  • American College of Surgeons Delegate to the American Medical Association House of Delegates