Cataldo W. Leone

Cataldo “Aldo” Leone is Dean and the Spencer N. Frankl Professor in Dental Medicine at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) as well as a board-certified periodontist.

Over an academic career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Leone has garnered enormous respect as an administrator, teacher, researcher, and faculty colleague. Dually appointed as Professor of Periodontology and Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology at GSDM, Dr. Leone served as the dental school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs prior to his appointment in 2021 as the school’s fourth Dean. He also holds a hospital appointment at Boston Medical Center. Prior to joining GSDM in 1999, he was on the faculty at the University of Florida and Tufts University.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Leone was engaged in structure-function investigations of proteoglycans and salivary proteins, as well as immuno-inflammatory mechanisms in periodontal disease. More recent studies have focused on educational outcomes. Dean Leone has published over 100 original articles, abstracts and book chapters and has served as a reviewer for the Journal of Periodontology, Journal of Dental Education, Journal of Dental Research, and New England Journal of Medicine.

Upon his appointment as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2008, Dr. Leone established himself as a nationally recognized educator and leader in dental education and administration through his work as a dental Curriculum Consultant/Site Visitor for the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), which accredits dental schools. Most recently, he was elected as Commissioner for the ADA’s Commission on Dental Accreditation for the term 2022-2026. He also previously served as Chair, ADA Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), which launched both the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) and the Dental Licensing Objective Structured Clinical Licensing Examination (DLOSCE) under his tenure.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Leone has participated on BU’s University and Faculty Councils, and is a recent past chair of the latter body.

Nationally, Dean Leone holds membership to Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) Dental Honor Society and is a fellow of the International College of Dentists and the American College of Dentists. He is also active in numerous professional organizations.

For his contributions to student and resident education, Dean Leone was recognized with the dental school’s distinguished Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012. He has also been recognized with The American Academy of Periodontology’s Educator Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics.

Dean Leone holds a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a graduate certificate in Periodontology and a Doctor of Medical Sciences degree in Oral Biology from Harvard University (in conjunction with the Department of Biology at M.I.T.).