Simone, Nixdorf take on leadership roles in Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain

Multiple transitions in leadership took place in September in the Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain.

Donald Simone, PhD, professor, chair of the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences and Director of the Division of Basic Sciences, assumed the role of interim director of the Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain effective September 1.

Simone, who also holds an appointment in the Departments of Neuroscience, earned his PhD from the City University of New York before completing postdoctoral training in psychophysics and neurophysiology at Yale Medical School. His primary research interest is in the neural encoding of pain and hyperalgesia, and he  studies the detection, sensation and modulation of pain, including chronic pain.

Simone joined the School of Dentistry in 2001, after spending nine years at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He has served as an assistant processor, associate professor, professor, interim chair and chair of various committees. In 2023, he was named Century Club Professor of the Year, one of the school’s greatest traditions and the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member.

Simone takes on the role as Donald Nixdorf, DDS, MS, steps down to focus on his roles as professor.

At the same time, Nixdorf assumed the role of director of the Advanced Education Program in TMD and Orofacial Pain on September 14.

Nixdorf earned his DDS from the University of Alberta, a Master of Science from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the University of Minnesota. He has held fellowships in dental anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins University, in Orofacial Pain at the University of Alberta and as a researcher at the University of Oxford. He completed a General Practice Residency in Hospital Dentistry at The Ohio State University. He joined the University of Minnesota in 2002 as a clinical assistant professor and has held numerous roles in the School of Dentistry, Medical School and College of Science and Engineering.

Nixdorf’s teaching and clinical interests include the diagnosis and management of chronic TMD pain, headaches and neuropathic pain. He studies persistent non-odontogenic pain, including classification, diagnosis and imaging. In addition to directing the advanced education program for Orofacial Pain.

Nixdorf takes on this role as Shanti Kaimal, BDS, MS, moves on to private practice.

“I am grateful to Dr. Kaimal for her years of service to the school and wish her the best of luck on her new journey. I also want to thank Dr. Nixdorf and Dr. Simone for their continued service to the school,” shared Interim Dean Kristin Artinger, PhD, in an email to the school community.