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, professor of endodontics and director of the Center for Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research at ������ School of Dentistry, has been named the recipient of the . This honor will be presented at the 2025 meeting in Boston, celebrating Hargreaves' remarkable contributions to endodontics. 

Named after the field’s pioneer, Edgar D. Coolidge, this award represents the AAE’s highest recognition for leadership and dedication, honoring individuals who have significantly shaped the specialty.

The Edgar D. Coolidge Award: Recognizing leadership and dedication

As the AAE's most distinguished award, the Edgar D. Coolidge Award is given to those who exemplify Coolidge’s legacy of leadership and innovation. 

Recipients of this honor are selected based on their exceptional service to endodontics, with nominations submitted by peers and accompanied by multiple letters of support. The stringent nomination process underscores the value the endodontic community places on recipients’ contributions. 

Hargreaves’ selection reflects his contributions and role as a leading figure whose influence resonates across the field of endodontics. 

A legacy of mentorship and education

Hargreaves’ influence extends beyond research and into his dedication to educating future leaders in endodontics. 

Anibal R. Diogenes, DDS, MS, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Endodontics, reflected on Hargreaves’ commitment to mentorship: “Training the next generation of clinician-scientists and educators is one of Hargreaves’ priorities and passions. I am a living example of the profound effect that he has had on many of us.” 

Diogenes went on to explain that through his mentorship, Hargreaves has instilled leadership, scientific and organizational skills in his trainees, fostering a generation of experts dedicated to making significant contributions to the field.

Groundbreaking research and contributions to endodontics

Hargreaves’ research has significantly advanced the understanding of orofacial pain, dental inflammation and tissue regeneration. With over 300 publications and over 33,500 citations, his work appears in renowned journals such as Nature Metabolism and the Journal of Neuroscience, establishing him as a leading researcher in pain science. 

Hargreaves’ textbooks, including Seltzer and Bender’s Dental Pulp and Pathways of the Pulp, are widely used in dental education worldwide, and his research has impacted not only endodontics but also broader biomedical fields.

Global leadership in research and service

In addition to his longstanding contributions as chair of the Department of Endodontics at the School of Dentistry for 26 years, Hargreaves was recently named the inaugural director of the school’s Center for Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research. 

This appointment marks a significant step in the School of Dentistry’s path toward addressing critical health challenges in pain and addiction while reinforcing its continued ascendance as one of the world’s top NIH-funded dental schools. 

With over $139 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and other foundations, Hargreaves has led projects of global impact, advancing treatments for pain and addiction. His service as an advisor to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and collaborations worldwide underscore his influential role in shaping pain science and dental research.