Gladys M. Ayala, MD, MPH, is the Dean and Chief Academic Officer at NYU Long Island School of Medicine. Dr. Ayala became dean of the medical school on January 3, 2023, taking over from its founding dean, Dr. Steven P. Shelov. Dr. Ayala joined what was then a newly established medical school in 2018, overseeing its curriculum development, admissions and diversity initiatives. The undergraduate education platform emphasizes primary care, population health, and health systems sciences in an accelerated three-year M.D. degree-granting program and provides directed pathways into the school’s residency programs in the primary care fields of internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics & gynecology. Dr. Ayala initially served as the school’s senior associate dean for medical education and in 2020 assumed the role of vice dean. In her time at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, she led the school’s provisional and full LCME- accreditation processes, as well as the school’s recent strategic planning process that focuses on advancing medical education through innovation, developing a diverse workforce and addressing disparities in the access to high-quality health care. Dr. Ayala brings to her role as dean over twenty-five years of leadership experiences in the areas academic affairs, accreditation, diversity, education, and student affairs and is passionate about building and teaching in diverse and collaborative learning, working and patient care environments. She is a primary care general internist by training and a professor of medicine. She has worked with, and trained countless medical students and residents in the principles of primary care, clinical skills development, and teaching cultural competency and humility in the delivery of patient care.