Dr. Alawi earned his D.D.S. degree from McGill University in 1996. He subsequently completed a General Practice Residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, New York, serving as a Resident (1996–1997) and then as Chief Resident (1997–1998). He went on to pursue specialized training as a Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens (1998–2001).
In 2001, Dr. Alawi joined the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor, holding appointments in the Department of Pathology at the School of Dental Medicine, the Department of Dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine, and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. He was promoted to Full Professor of Pathology in 2020. He also serves as Director of Penn Oral Pathology Services and Clinical Laboratory Director at Penn Dental Medicine.
Dr. Alawi has also held several key leadership roles. In 2015, he was appointed Assistant Dean for Curriculum, followed by Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2017. In 2024, he was named Vice Dean for Academics. In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Alawi was selected as a member of the prestigious Penn Fellows cohort in 2020. He was also conferred the status of Honorary Alumnus of Penn Dental Medicine in 2026.
Dr. Alawi’s academic and research interests include oral epithelial dysplasia and oral cancer, and the integration of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence into dental education and diagnostic pathology.
