John D. McDowell, DDS, MS, is a tenured professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. He received his D.D.S. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Dentistry. Dr. McDowell completed a five-year residency and fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Texas. He has also received a Masters of Science degree from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas where his thesis compared the radiographic features of facial fractures in battered women and women victims of motor vehicle accidents.
Dr. McDowell presently serves as the Director of Oral Medicine and Forensic Sciences at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. He is also principal investigator on a $1.5M Ryan White grant from the Federal Health Resource Services Administration.
Dr. McDowell has been a president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Society of Forensic Odontology. For more than 20 years, he was a member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. He is presently a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect. He has authored multiple articles in the professional literature and is the author or contributing author of multiple chapters in forensic textbooks. He is co-editor (with two medical radiologists) of an award-winning textbook, A Radiologic Atlas of Abuse, Torture, Terrorism and Inflicted Trauma.
Dr. McDowell has served two terms on the Board of Directors for the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, an organization representing over 3 million American scientists. He also served as Chairman of the Forensic Sciences Foundation, the research funding arm of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He has also served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Prevention Center.
Dr. McDowell served more than 30 years in the United States Army Reserves retiring as a colonel. During his military career, he served in command positions multiple times finishing his career as a Command Dental Surgeon. Upon retirement in 2007, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his contributions to the United States military.
For nearly 20 years, Dr. McDowell has been active in shared governance at the University of Colorado. He has served two terms as Chair of the Faculty Council for the University and is presently chair of the Personnel Committee for the Faculty Council.