CDR James Hawkins currently serves as Chair of the Orofacial Pain Center at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School (NPDS) in Bethesda, MD, as well as the Orofacial Pain Specialty Leader to the Navy Surgeon General. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he attended Dental School at The Ohio State University, graduating with his DDS in 2010. His first assignment was at 32nd St Dental Clinic in San Diego, California as an Advanced Education General Dentistry resident. He was then stationed at the Naval Branch Health Clinic Bahrain as a general dentist. In 2015 he completed a residency in Orofacial Pain at NPDS and received a Master’s Degree in Oral Biology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He next served as the sole Department of Defense Orofacial Pain Specialist in the Southwestern region of the United States while at Naval Medical Center San Diego from 2015-2018. In 2017, he received a certificate in Medical Acupuncture from Helms Medical Institute. He assumed the role of Program Director for the TriService Oroafacial Pain residency program in Bethesda, Maryland from 2019-2022. In 2024, he received his Master of Education in Health Professions Education from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

CDR Hawkins is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. His military awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards), the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Navy and Marine Crops Achievement Medal. His recent academic awards include the Postgraduate Dental College Outstanding Senior Educator Award (2024) and the Naval Postgraduate Dental School’s Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2021), as well as the Walter Reed Associate Master Clinician Award (2021). CDR Hawkins currently serves as an oral board examiner for the American Board of Orofacial Pain, as well as an Assistant Editor for CRANIO: The Journal of Craniomandibular Disorders & Sleep Practice.