“Please, Call Me Foti”
Dr. Fotinos Panagakos doesn’t go by that title. Instead, as he reaches out to shake hands, his first words are often a humble request: “Please, call me Foti.”
A proud son of Greek immigrants (his father arrived in America in the 1950s), the name “Foti” was perfectly cast for Dr. Panagakos’ New Jersey hometown, where his dad owned a diner and his mom worked as a secretary. There, Foti grew up with a front-row seat – or diner stool – to the humble heroism of working-class sacrifice.
“My father had a very simple rule… if you wanted to work for him, you just had to be dedicated to the work.”
The people who worked at Foti’s father’s diner came from different backgrounds. Many of them were immigrants themselves. “My father had a very simple rule,” explained Dr. Panagakos: “He didn’t care who you were, where you came from, what language you spoke… if you wanted to work for him, you just had to be dedicated to the work.”
His father rewarded that dedication by taking care of the people who worked for him, including Foti, who started at the diner when he was just 11 years old. Wide-eyed, he quickly began picturing his future: running the diner, working with different people every day, and doing the best he could. His dad, who worked 364 days a year, quickly dissuaded that.
“My parents always wanted a better life for their kids,” said Dr. Panagakos. “I think, like all parents, and especially immigrant parents, they wanted us to do something more than what they were able to accomplish.”
Committed to making his parents proud, Foti worked hard in school, earning an ROTC scholarship to help fund his education at a private college. Coming from a family with a strong history of service, he found a natural fit in ROTC and anticipated a future in the U.S. Army after graduation. Early on, he also began pursuing a path toward medicine — an aspiration shaped by his love of science and working with people.
A Change in Course
However, after his first year of college, Foti realized that medicine wasn’t the right fit for him. It was a difficult decision, especially given the high expectations of his parents, but he chose to shift his focus while continuing to study biology, a subject he genuinely enjoyed.
The turning point came during his third year, when he enrolled in a psychology course that required community volunteer service.
Looking to fulfill the requirement, he visited the local hospital and was offered a spot in the dental clinic—a placement typically avoided by other volunteers. “I’ve always had a good experience with dentistry,” he recalled, “so I thought, ‘I’ll do that.’”
What began as a check-the-box assignment quickly evolved into something more.
In the hospital’s residency clinic, Foti witnessed firsthand the transformative power of dental care for underserved patients who had nowhere else to turn. He was drawn to the way dentistry integrated science, medicine, and manual skill, and he was inspired by the compassion and expertise of the supervising doctors.
“I just saw the transformation of patients who got the care they needed.”
“I just saw the transformation of patients who got the care they needed,” he explained. “A lot of the patients we saw were underserved. They had no other place to go.”
“By the middle of that experience,” he said, “I decided that’s what I want to do.”
He had not only discovered his passion but had reconnected with his purpose. He began preparing his dental school application and, upon sharing his decision with his parents, was met with their enthusiastic support — marking the beginning of his journey into a meaningful career in oral health.
Nearly three decades later, Dr. Panagakos’ career has been shaped by impactful service across just about every corner of the dental profession.
After earning his dental degree, Dr. Panagakos practiced clinically, led innovative research initiatives, educated future dental professionals, and held senior leadership roles in both academia and industry. All the while, his work came back to that fundamental inspiration: improving oral health outcomes for people in underserved communities.
Leading with Heart at PNWU
Today, that commitment has brought him to Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, where he serves as the Founding Dean of the School of Dental Medicine (SDM). Drawing from his extensive experience, including time as Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Research at West Virginia University’s School of Dentistry, Dr. Panagakos is leading PNWU’s latest mission-driven program to educate primary care dentists capable of serving rural and underserved populations across the Northwest.
Charged with leading one of the country’s newest and most innovative dental schools, Panagakos sees the effort as deeply personal — and deeply needed.
“I’ve always wanted to do something meaningful. Dentistry gave me the opportunity to connect with people – to help them.”
“I’ve always wanted to do something meaningful,” he reflects. “Dentistry gave me the opportunity to connect with people – to help them.”
“When this opportunity at PNWU came up, it was the perfect intersection of everything I care about: innovation, community, education, and service,” said Dr. Panagakos. “We’re building a dental school from the ground up. That doesn’t happen very often.”
A New Model for Dental Education
Designed to upend traditional models of dental education, PNWU’s SDM is rooted in interprofessional collaboration, community partnerships, and whole-person care. The program aims to train dentists who understand more than oral anatomy — they understand people.
“We are creating a program that integrates oral health and overall health.”
“We are creating a program that integrates oral health and overall health — that prepares students to work in teams, to serve the underserved, and to understand their patients as whole people,” Dr. Panagakos explained.
This approach is not only innovative; it’s essential.
In many parts of the country, particularly rural regions like Central Washington, dental care is out of reach for far too many. By preparing students to practice where the need is greatest, PNWU’s dental school is helping close the gap in care.
“I think we’re going to change lives — not just the lives of our students, but the lives of the people they go on to serve.”
“This is a mission I believe in,” says Panagakos. “And I think we’re going to change lives — not just the lives of our students, but the lives of the people they go on to serve.”
It’s the kind of work Foti is proud to do, because it’s the kind of dedication to others that his parents instilled in him — grounded in service, driven by compassion, and capable of truly changing lives.
