Dr. Aaron LeBlanc is a Canadian researcher who joined the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences as a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in October, 2020. He is a palaeontologist by training and has an avid interest in the evolution and development of teeth in everything from fish, to reptiles, to mammals. Dr. LeBlanc’s expertise is in making, imaging, and interpreting histological sections of fossil teeth and jaws, but he also compares these with sections of modern species to understand how structures might have developed in the distant past. His previous work has focused on the evolutionary origins of the periodontal tissues (cementum, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone), as well as dental adaptations to herbivory in extinct reptiles.

Dr. LeBlanc completed his BSc and MSc at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) and his PhD at the University of Toronto (Canada). He is now a Lecturer in the Centre for Oral, Clinical & Translational Sciences where his lab studies the structure, chemistry, and development of dental tissues in non-mammalian vertebrates. His current focus is in three areas: (1) the structural and chemical specializations of enamel in reptiles; (2) the evolution and development of ligamentous forms of tooth attachment across reptiles and fish; and (3) the mechanisms by which vertebrates continually replace older teeth.

Dr. LeBlanc is also passionate about outreach and widening participation in dentistry, palaeontology, and science in general. As a result, he helps organize numerous public engagement programs and activities.