Leonardo Seoane, MD, FACP
Founding Dean, Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine
Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Ochsner Health
Professor of Medicine, University of Queensland Ochsner School of Medicine
Dr. Leonardo Seoane has been named as the Founding Dean for the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine (XOCOM). XOCOM has a bold mission to develop the 5th HBCU medical school in the United States to train more underrepresented physicians for the U.S. Dr. Seoane also serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for Ochsner Health. In this position, he leads Ochsner’s continuum of education including undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education programs as well as all research initiatives. Dr. Seoane oversees Ochsner’s Academic partnerships with the University of Queensland School of Medicine, Louisiana State University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Loyola University of New Orleans. In addition, he leads Ochsner Health in North Louisiana and the partnership with LSU Health Shreveport.
Dr. Seoane graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University in New Orleans, with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha honors, an elite designation recognizing excellence in scholarship and the highest ideals in the profession of medicine. After medical school, he completed an internship at the University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center and residency in Internal Medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans. He continued his education by completing a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine through a combined LSUHSC New Orleans and Ochsner Medical Center program. He went on to complete a research and clinical fellowship in Lung Transplant at the Ochsner Medical Center where he has been a staff physician since 2002.
He has held many leadership roles at Ochsner including Interim CEO of Ochsner LSU Health System in Shreveport, Head of University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School, Senior Deputy Head of Ochsner Clinical School for Curriculum, Clerkship Director for Medical Specialties course, Clerkship Director for Medicine in Society course, Associate Program Director for the Ochsner Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program, Medical Director of the Ochsner Medical Center Lung Transplant Program, and Chair of the Sepsis Performance Improvement Committee at the Ochsner Medical Center.
He also served as the inaugural executive leader for Healthy State, Ochsner’s ongoing commitment to building a healthier Louisiana for all people. His work plays a vital role in supporting the priorities outlined to address the state’s top 20 drivers of poor health outcomes and is instrumental in leveraging academic partnerships with other educational institutions to spearhead workforce development initiatives within Ochsner. He also helped develop the Xavier of Louisiana Physician Assistant Program and the Ochsner Xavier Institute for Health Equity and Research. As a proud first generation Cuban American, this vision to create health equity for the diverse communities Ochsner serves are professionally and personally meaningful for Dr. Seoane.
Dr. Seoane has won numerous teaching and leadership awards, including the Hurst B. Hatch Award for Outstanding Teacher of the Year, the Ochsner Health Spirit of Leadership Award for Teaching in 2006, the Ochsner Health Physician Academic Contributor of the Year in 2016 and Ochsner Executive Leadership Award for Physician Leader in 2016.
Administrative Leader Award 2018, and CEO Award of Excellence 2019. He has also been recognized by New Orleans City Business as a Health Care Hero for his work during the pandemic and by Becker’s Healthcare as one of the top 100 academic medical center CEO’s to know. He is regarded as an expert in the management of sepsis and medical education and has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences.
Dr. Seoane has dedicated his career to training the next generation of physicians, improving the clinical learning environment, and improving the health of the communities of Louisiana. He gives back to the community by serving on the Loyola University of New Orléans Board of Trustees, founding the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) and serving on the Executive NHMA Board Nationally. But most importantly, he is loving husband to his wife, Dr. Michelle Seoane, and proud father of Eddy and Leo.