The Dennis G. Pappas Historical Collections Gallery is the exhibition space for the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences, the Reynolds-Finley Historical Library, and the UAB Archives. The UAB Libraries’ Historical Collections boast an invaluable wealth of preeminent historical record and scholarship. Located inside the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, the Gallery has over 3,000 square feet of exhibition space.
The Dennis G. Pappas Historical Collections Gallery is named for Dennis G. Pappas, Sr., MD, and Dr. Dennis G. Pappas, Jr., MD. They are longtime supporters of the UAB Libraries Historical Collections, investing time, resources, and donations of books and artifacts. Both Dr. Pappas, Sr., and Dr. Pappas, Jr., are otolaryngologists, more commonly known as ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctors, in Birmingham, AL, specializing in the practice of otology – the study and treatment of the ear.
Dennis G. Pappas, Sr., was born in Birmingham to Greek immigrant parents and grew up in the city’s West End neighborhood. He graduated from the University of Alabama and obtained his medical degree (MD) in 1958 from the University of Tennessee medical school in Memphis. He completed a radiology residency at the Mayo Clinic and an otolaryngology residency at New York University and Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Pappas was stationed in Landstuhl, Germany, with the U.S. Army at the Second General Hospital.
Dennis G. Pappas Sr., M.D., and Dennis G. Pappas Jr., M.D.Following military service, he returned to Alabama to establish his own practice, the Pappas Ear Clinic, now Alabama Ear Specialists, in the Lakeview neighborhood of Birmingham. He was the first surgeon in the state of Alabama to perform a cochlear implant. Dr. Pappas has also served as a member of the clinical faculty at the UAB medical school and authored numerous books and scientific papers. After 1994 Dr. Pappas maintained his clinic with his son, Dennis G. Pappas, Jr., MD. Pappas is now retired from his day-to-day practice.
During 60 years of otological practice, Dr. Dennis G. Pappas, Sr., has taken every opportunity to promote medical history. He speaks on historical topics and has, alongside his wife, Patti, assembled a monumental collection of medical artifacts, which they proudly display in their home and the Alabama Ear Specialists clinic.
Dennis G. Pappas, Jr., graduated from the University of Alabama and obtained his medical degree in 1988 from the UAB medical school. He completed residencies in General Surgery and ENT at New York’s University Hospital, followed by a fellowship at the Ear Foundation in Nashville, TN, where he received training in otology, neurotology, and skull base surgery. He joined his father at the Pappas Ear Clinic, now Alabama Ear Specialists, in 1994 and continues to operate the practice. In 2010, Dr. Pappas became board certified in neurotology. He is a member of the American Otological Society, lectures nationally, and is the author of several scientific papers in the fields of neurotology and otology.