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Associate Dean for Patient Care
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dr. Shalizeh A. “Shelly” Patel serves as the Associate Dean for Patient Care at the University of Texas School of Dentistry, where she is also a professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Prosthodontics.
Dr. Patel is a distinguished educator and scholar. She received the ADEA/Colgate-Palmolive Co. Excellence in Teaching Award and the Academy of Laser Dentistry’s T.H. Maiman Award for Excellence in Laser Research in 2019. In 2020, she was inducted into The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education and recognized as a Distinguished Teaching Professor by UTHealth. Most recently, Dr. Patel was selected as a 2025 recipient of the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, honoring her exceptional classroom leadership and innovative teaching strategies.
At UTSD, Dr. Patel’s contributions have also been recognized through numerous institutional honors, including the John H. Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching (2014), Dean’s Excellence Awards for Teaching (2012, 2015), the Dean’s Excellence Award for Mentoring (2019), and the Dean's Excellence Award for Application (2020). She is a graduate of both the ADEA Leadership Institute and the UTHealth Health Educators Fellowship Program. In 2019, she earned a master’s degree in education, curriculum, and instruction in health science education from the University of Houston.