Mr. Vito Frank Leonardo

Chairman of Institutional Review Board

Vito Frank Leonardo is the Chairman of the Institutional Review Board overseeing approval of research at the International Socioeconomics Laboratory on the basis of United States Department of Health and Human Services regulations, as a graduate student at North Carolina State University studying Statistics with an undergraduate background in Econometrics and Quantitative Finance. He is passionate about applying statistics and mathematics to real-world data to quantify uncertainty, establish causality, and make predictions. Vito has 1.5 years of Economic research experience stemming from his supervised undergraduate thesis and employment as a Research Assistant for Dr. Núria Rodríguez-Planas of the Economics Department at CUNY Queens College. He has conducted research quantifying the effect of gun regulations on neighboring counties, analyzing the effect of COVID-19 on college students’ academic success, studying how steadily improving internet access has affected women's rights in developing countries, and more. Most recently, he has volunteered as a Principal Investigator for the International Socioeconomics Laboratory where he supervised a team of undergraduate interns and led healthcare research aimed at influencing public policy. With his work in the institute, he is leading the way in passing four research-backed public health bills in the California State Assembly, New York State Legislator, and Massachusetts State Senate. After his graduation in August of 2021, Vito plans to apply his education and research experience in the private sector as a Quantitative Analyst.

Vito achieved High Honors and was subsequently awarded the Mary O’Connor Scholarship for outstanding research and academics. Vito was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society.