A well-known researcher in the field of oral biology, Thomas Diekwisch has served as the Allan G. Brodie Endowed Chair and Director of the Brodie Laboratory for Craniofacial Genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 2001. In 2003, Thomas Diekwisch also became head of the oral biology department.

Dr. Diekwisch grew up in Bielefeld, Germany. He spent his early career as a photographer, journalist, and newspaper editor, working for the Zeitung Westfalen Blatt, a daily paper. He then decided to enter the sciences and enrolled at the Philipps-University of Marburg. He holds a dental medicine degree and two doctorates from the university, one in anatomy and one in philosophy.

Seeking to enter the field of oral biology in the United States, he accepted a position at the University of Southern California in 1990. Four years later, he joined Baylor College of Dentistry as an assistant professor, where he stayed until he came to Chicago in 2001. At the University of Illinois at Chicago he was appointed the first Allan G. Brodie Endowed Chair for Craniofacial Genetics and two years later Professor and Head of the UIC Department of Oral Biology. Dr. Diekwisch holds both positions until today.