Leon is the inaugural Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Western Australia since 1998. He is Director of the Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing. He led the reorganization of undergraduate and postgraduate education in geriatric medicine in Western Australia. He remains a practicing geriatrician and is a consultant geriatrician at Royal Perth Hospital.
Leon’s research activities have focused on the major health issues of older people, including falls, depression, cognitive impairment and dementia. He has performed and reported many studies about frailty and successful ageing. Leon has published 16 book chapters and 520 peer-reviewed articles. He has been Chair of the Asia Pacific Geriatric Network for the last 18 years. In 2017 he was honored to receive an Officer of the Order of Australia for his contributions to geriatric medicine and dementia prevention and care. He is the current Co-Chief Editor of the journal Maturitas.