Costalonga named 2025 Century Club Professor of the Year

Massimo Costalonga, DMD, PhD, is the 2025 Century Club Professor of the Year. The honor was announced at Research Day on Friday, March 6, 2026.

Instituted by Dean Erwin Schaffer, DDS, in 1967, the Century Club Professor of the Year Award recognizes one faculty member each year for their outstanding contributions to the school in the areas of education, research and service. The award is one of the school’s greatest traditions and the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member.

Each year, the honoree is selected by a committee chaired by the previous year’s award recipient, with faculty representation from each department and student participation from the graduate, dental, dental therapy and dental hygiene programs.

Massimo Costalonga is a professor in the Division of Basic Sciences, where he teaches periodontology and oral biology. He completed his Doctor of Medical Dentistry at the University of Milan in 1991. He earned a certificate in periodontology from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in 1998, a PhD in Oral Biology from the school in 1999, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota Medical School from 1999-2003. He joined the School of Dentistry in 2002 and has served as assistant professor, associate professor and professor. He was director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontology and Implant Dentistry from 2016-2020.

Costalonga is funded by the National Institutes of Health and has served on the Oral, Dental and Craniofacial Sciences Study Section at the NIH as an ad hoc member for mucosal immunology. His research centers around mucosal immunology and animal models of periodontitis. Costalonga and his lab study the host-microbe interaction at the mucosal interface, hoping to understand the immune cellular phenotype that makes individuals susceptible to periodontal destruction and candida infections.

Costalonga is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a diplomat of the American Dental Association. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Periodontology, the International Association of Dental Research, the American Association of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research, the European Association of Osseointegration, the American Dental Education Association and the Society of Mucosal Immunology. He is an editorial board member for the Journal of Periodontal Research and associate editor for the Journal of Peridontology.

Costalonga teaches clinical periodontology and implantology to residents, including one-on-one teaching on complex perio-implantology cases. He has advised and mentored numerous graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and residents, and served as a committee member on theses.

Costalonga was chosen by the committee in honor of his broad body of worth, his international expertise, his dedication as a mentor to residents and his engagement with students across programs.

“Dr. Costalonga is an expert, a mentor and a teacher with a long history of service to the school and to the professional community,” reflected Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, as he announced Costalonga as the honoree. “Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for our school, our students, our profession and our community.”

Costalonga reflected on the honor at Research Day, addressing the gathered audience. “As Dean Mays reviewed my career, all 34 years came right back to me,” he reflected. “When I left Italy for the United States, I told my parents I’d be gone for maybe six months—and here I am, 34 years later.  I owe this recognition to all my mentors and I’m lucky to be part of this outstanding and welcoming  institution. This was a pleasant surprise, and a great honor.”