Frank A. Catalanotto, D.M.D. 

Pediatrics

Professor
352-392-6905 
fcatalanotto@dental.ufl.edu

D.M.D., (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) Fellowship in Pediatric Dentistry (Harvard University and Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston)

Biographical information:
  Dr. Frank Catalanotto graduated from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1968 and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in pediatric dentistry at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Children's Hospital Medical Center from 1968-1971. During this training, he worked at the Experimental Therapeutics Branch of the National Heart and Lung Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, studying chemosensory disorders. During 1971-72, he served as a full-time faculty member at Harvard. From 1972-74 he was associate epidemiologist at the U.S. Navy Great Lakes Dental Research Institute.

Dr. Catalanotto joined the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Connecticut Health Center in 1974 as assistant professor of pediatric dentistry. Over the ensuing 11 years, he was promoted to the position of professor and held various administrative titles within the department and dental school including the founding director of the school's faculty practice, and director of both the predoctoral program and postdoctoral residency in pediatric dentistry. During his tenure at Connecticut, he also received a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. During the last year of this award, he worked in the laboratories of Drs. Carl Pfaffmann and Marion Frank at Rockefeller University studying the neurophysiology of taste. Following his return to the University of Connecticut in 1980, he cofounded and was the Principal Investigator of the NIH-supported Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center; this Center conducted basic and clinic research on taste and smell disorders in humans.

Dr. Catalanotto left Connecticut in 1985 to become chairperson of pediatric dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. His major activities while chair were the implementation of a revised curriculum with a strong emphasis on preventive dentistry, the recruitment of an outstanding research team studying the molecular biology of oral bacterial pathogens, and the rebuilding of the hospital component of the residency program.

In 1988, Dr. Catalanotto was recruited to the University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey-New Jersey Dental School as associate dean for academic planning and faculty development. One year later he was named associate dean for research, industrial relations and professional development. During his seven-year tenure at the New Jersey Dental School, he worked on a variety of academic issues including student evaluation and grading systems, faculty development, the recruitment of new research faculty, and budgetary and finance matters. In 1992, he co-founded and was Principal Investigator of the Northeastern Minority Oral Health Research Center, supported by a Regional Research Centers in Minority Oral Health grant from the National Institute of Dental Research. The purpose of this center was to study issues of minority oral health and to recruit and train minority research investigators.

On March 1, 1995, Dr. Catalanotto assumed the position of Dean of the University of Florida College of Dentistry. His primary focus in Florida was predoctoral curriculum revision with an emphasis on integration of contemporary biology and comprehensive dental care, expansion of the research mission, increased financial resources and flexibility for the college, renovation of the physical plant, and developing a statewide presence for the college focused on the linkage of indigent care with the teaching mission. He stepped down from the Dean’s position in June of 2002 and has resumed activities as a professor of pediatric dentistry.

Throughout his career Dr. Catalanotto has had extensive involvement in national dental education issues, including pediatric dentistry education, basic and clinical research, and community service. He has chaired a number of committees in the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and has served on the Editorial Board of the Academy's journal, Pediatric Dentistry. In addition, he was a member of the National Affairs Committee of the American Association for Dental Research from 1989 - 1995: this committee works with the federal congressional delegation to increase funding for dental research, particularly for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. He has also been a member and Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) which advises and lobbies on federal policies and appropriations related to dental education and practice. He served for four years on the administrative board of the ADEA Council of Deans, from 1996-2000. He served as Vice President for Deans of the Board of Directors of ADEA from 2000-2003. In 2002-2003, he served Chair of the ADEA Commission on Access Improving Access to Oral Health for All Americans: Roles and Responsibilities of Academic Dental Institutions. In March of 2003, he was elected as President-elect of ADEA. He was also a consultant on basic sciences curriculum to the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association from 1989 – 1997. He recently completed a five year term as a consultant to the Commission, serving as chair for accreditation site visit teams and as a member of the Predoctoral Review Committee of the Commission. He is a member of the Executive Committee of The Compendium’s Editorial Board. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry of the United States Department of Health’s Health Resources and Services Administration.

Dr. Catalanotto is the co-author of more than 60 scientific publications and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous federal and other research grants totaling almost $7,000,000 in funding. His research interests continue to be clinical aspects of taste and smell function while his dental education interests include accreditation, community based dental education and access to dental care for the underserved.

August 19, 2003

Click here to view Dr. Catalanotto's Curriculum Vita