Anthony Morlandt, D.D.S., M.D., F.A.C.S., was named first holder of the Peter D. Waite Endowed Professorship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees during its April 2023 meeting.
Morlandt is a Professor with dual appointment in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the School of Dentistry and the Department of Otolaryngology in the Heersink School of Medicine at UAB. He serves as Director of the Head and Neck Oncology Fellowship Program and is the Vice Chairman of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, serving under Chairman Dr. Patrick Louis. He also serves as Chief of the Section of Oral Oncology within UAB Medicine and is a full-time academic head and neck surgeon, practicing at UAB Kirklin Clinic. He is a Scientist in the Cancer Chemoprevention Program with the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and is passionate about improving outcomes in oral cancer.
Earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, Morlandt completed his M.D. and internship and residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery through The University of Alabama School of Medicine. He went on to complete a fellowship in head and neck oncology and microsurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine before joining the UAB faculty in 2014.
Helping establish and engage the dental community in Alabama to support the new OMS Oral Oncology unit at UAB, Morlandt educated dentists regarding the value of early diagnosis and timely referral of head and neck cancers. He now serves as the clinic’s medical director. Since inception, the clinic has become a leader in the Southeast by embracing technology to improve surgical outcomes.
“At the forefront of innovation, Dr. Morlandt has provided outstanding leadership in oral oncology and surgery,” said Dean Russell Taichman. “It is a pleasure to be able to recognize his contributions as the first holder of this endowment.”
Among his awards and recognitions, Morlandt received the AAOMS Faculty Educator Development Award, has been inducted into the American Head and Neck Society, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Named after the school’s long time department chair, the Peter D. Waite Endowed Professorship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was approved by The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama in 2016.
“It is an honor to be named first holder of this prestigious endowed professorship,” Morlandt said. “It is especially meaningful that it is named after Dr. Waite, an accomplished and beloved former department chair. Dr. Waite, like Drs. McCallum, Matukas, and others, embodies the ideals of servant leadership in academic oral surgery, and I am proud to receive this distinguished honor.”