Florida Physician Summer 2013 by Mickey Cuthbertson

ISSUE NO.

S U M M E R 2 013

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

FLORIDA PHYSICIAN

PERSONALIZING

MEDICINE

UF's archetype for transferring the latest findings into the patient care setting is a powerful example of collaboration and innovation

ANNOUNCING | UF&SHANDS IS NOW UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA HEALTH | PAGE 30

FROM THE DEAN

Dear Alumni and Friends, I am very excited to let you know about a historic development at the University of Florida Academic Health Center. As of May 20, UF&Shands is University of Florida Health, a name change that represents the next stage in our evolution as one of the nation’s most successful academic health centers. The rebranding effort is the result of the strengthening partnership between Shands and the Health Science Center. Our momentum has been building for a while, beginning three years ago when Dr. David Guzick, senior vice president of health affairs and president of UF Health, brought the UF and Shands teams together under a common vision with shared goals through the Forward Together joint strategic plan. The new name is an avowal that the partnership, which has bolstered both organizations, has reached a new stage. While the College of Medicine name remains the same, we believe renaming the academic health center and health system with a universitycentric brand not only provides broader name recognition but also communicates the unique value of university-wide collaborations in our goal to deliver excellence in research, teaching and patient care. A powerful example of our strengthened partnership is the Personalized Medicine Program, which is featured in this issue of the Florida Physician. The story reports how a team of researchers, physicians and many others from across UF Health successfully implemented personalized medicine in the cardiac catheterization lab. But more than that, it reveals what makes our academic health center so unique. We have some the brightest and most creative

minds in the world on our campus, and when we take the collaborative approach to clinical and translational research — when we are willing to cross traditional boundaries to discover new ways to improve health care — there is no limit to what we can achieve. You also may have noticed a new look for the Florida Physician. The modern, updated design includes a new front cover, featuring the FP prominently in the upper left corner. We will continue to use the magazine to keep you informed on the accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff and on the programs and initiatives designed to help us reach the top of American medical education. But more importantly, we want to keep you informed about each other. The success of the College of Medicine is measured, first and foremost, by the excellence of our graduates. Your achievements help define our reputation and inspire our students to learn and to care for others. In this issue, for example, we look at how the rigorous demands of world-class athletic competition helped some of our graduates be successful in medical school and later in their medical practice. As we enter a new era with a new name for our academic health center, a reinvigorated medical education curriculum and a plan for a new medical education building, I want to thank all of you who have supported the College of Medicine through your friendship, guidance and philanthropy. We cannot make the strides we are poised to make without your continued support.

Sincerely,

Michael L. Good, MD Dean

Feature Stories: Finding Their Passion

New requirement for med students provides pathway to leadership

Jocks to Docs

On the cover: Ushered in by advances in science and technology, personalized medicine is poised to shape the future of medicine. But how does a health care system efficiently translate discoveries from the lab, such as those made in genomic medicine, into real-world patient care settings? A team at the University of Florida has developed a blueprint for doing just that and is ready to share what they’ve learned with other hospitals and community practices. Florida Physician is produced by UF Health Communications for alumni, faculty and friends of the UF College of Medicine.

World-class athletes find their way to a career in medicine 8

Personalized Medicine Paving a new frontier in health care

Please send address changes and other correspondence to: Editor, Karen M. Dooley Florida Physician P.O. Box 100253 Gainesville, FL 32610-0253 352-273-5865 dooleyk@ufl.edu

Rewarding Merit

Founding faculty member and his wife inspire academic excellence

ANNOUNCING UF&SHANDS IS NOW UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA HEALTH PAGE 30

Dean Michael L. Good, MD mgood@ufl.edu Associate Vice President for Development, UF Health Science Center; Vice President for Development, UF Health Mary Ann Kiely 352-273-9622 / mkiely@ufl.edu Director of Advancement Communications for the College of Medicine and Editor Karen M. Dooley 352-273-5865 / dooleyk@ufl.edu

Assistant Editor Christine Velasquez Contributing Writers Andrea Billups April Frawley Birdwell Matt Galnor Marilee Griffin Erica A. Hernandez Nicole La Hoz Mina Radman Melanie Stawicki Azam

Photography Seth Affoumado Maria Belen Farias Jesse S. Jones Ray Stanyard Art Direction Mary Cecelia, Madelyn West

Contributing Editor Melanie Fridl Ross, MSJ, ELS

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FINDING THEIR

PASSION

New program is designed to put UF medical students on a path toward leadership and innovation

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BY MELANIE STAWICKI AZAM

This installment of the How We Learn Defines How We Care series of stories, which highlights the changing face of medical education at the College of Medicine, examines the new comprehensive Discovery Pathways Program. The new research requirement is part of the medical school’s revised curriculum, designed to rely less on passive learning and more on active learning methods. To accommodate the new curriculum and its innovative teaching approaches, the college plans to build a new medical education facility. Islande Joseph speaks fluent Creole, but has few memories of Haiti. This summer, the first-year UF College of Medicine student, who left the island nation when she was in preschool, will return there to spend 10 weeks working with researchers from UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. She will work on one of several infectious disease projects being conducted in Haiti at a UF-established lab. Over the next four years, Joseph will perform research abroad and develop a sustainable global health project as part of the college’s local and global health equity pathway. “By working on a project in Haiti I’ll be able to apply a lot of what I’m learning in school,” she said. “I also think it’s important that you know where you come from and try to help.” By the time she graduates, Joseph will be trained as a physician who understands how to develop an international health program, said J. Glenn Morris Jr., MD, MPH & TM, director of UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute and Joseph’s mentor. “She would be poised to move into a career in global health,” Morris said. “I hope what she learns in this program will become a part of who she is in her career.” To learn more about the new curriculum and to take a virtual tour of the College of Medicine’s proposed new education building, please visit HowWeLearn.med.ufl.edu.

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UF’s Discovery Pathways Program offers five areas of exploration, ranging from global health to medical humanities, expanding the scope of scholarly research beyond laboratory work.

AREAS OF EXPLORATION: • Medical Education

• Medical Humanities • Medical Informatics • Medical and Health Sciences – Biomedical, Clinical and Translational Research – Patient Safety and Quality – Health Outcomes and Policy – Local and Global Health Equity • Other/Individualized

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PHOTO BY MARIA BELEN FARIAS

Islande Joseph will work with J. Glenn Morris Jr., MD, MPH & TM, director of UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, on one of several infectious disease projects underway at a UF-established lab in Haiti. Joseph, a first-year UF medical student, is pursuing the college’s Local and Global Health Equity pathway.

Joseph won’t be the only UF College of Medicine student embarking on a journey of discovery. As the College of Medicine transitions to a revised medical education curriculum and innovative learning environment, it will introduce a new, comprehensive Discovery Pathways Program this year designed to help students identify an area of academic study that matches their passion. “I believe we are one of the first medical schools in the country that accommodates learning communities within specific pathways,” said Michael L. Good, MD, dean of the College of Medicine. “This innovative approach will help arm our graduates with the kind of leadership skills and vision needed for improving health and health care in the future.” By requiring all students, beginning with the class of 2017, to complete a research project, UF joins the ranks of other top medical schools that require research for graduation. “This is the trend across leading medical schools — to build a discovery program into the core curriculum,” said Gregory Schultz,

PhD, the Pathways course director and UF Research Foundation professor of obstetrics and gynecology. UF’s Pathways program offers five pathways, ranging from global health to medical humanities, expanding the scope of scholarly research beyond laboratory work. Learners in all pathways discover, through their four years of study and with the guidance of a faculty mentor, how to lead, advocate and advance the improvements they want to make in health sciences and health care. In the past, many first-year UF medical students have participated in the college’s Medical Student Research Program, which involves lab research for 10 weeks during the summer. The Pathways program is different in that it broadens the range of research topics to include those beyond traditional lab research and results in a long-term scholarly project. “I think the Discovery Pathways Program will produce better medical students,” said Schultz. “They’ve got to have these research tools to be lifelong learners.”

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“I REALIZED UF WAS THE PERFECT FIT BECAUSE IT OFFERED ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A NONTRADITIONAL MD/PHD.”

– Martin Wegman, third-year MD/PhD student

Third-year UF MD/PhD student Martin Wegman, who has a passion for health care disparities research, has spent the past three years working with Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, (background) chair of the department of health outcomes and policy and director of the UF Institute for Child Health Policy. The college’s Discovery Pathways Program helps foster future leaders in health care.

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First-year UF medical students Ryan St. Pierre-Hetz and Amber Himmler will travel with pediatrics professor David Wood, MD, to Ecuador this summer to conduct research as part of the college’s new Discovery Pathways Program.

“MY BELIEF IS THE GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERIENCE WILL TEACH STUDENTS TECHNICAL SKILLS, AND IT ALSO WILL CHANGE THEIR HEARTS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES.”

When third-year MD/PhD student Martin Wegman was an undergraduate biomedical engineering student at the University of Rochester, he conducted lab research, but it was a six-month public health fellowship in South Africa that helped him find his passion for health care disparities research. “I realized UF was the perfect fit because it offered me an opportunity to do a nontraditional MD/PhD,” said Wegman, who has spent the past three years working with Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, chair of the department of health outcomes and policy and director of the UF Institute for Child Health Policy. First-year medical students who know what they want to specialize in can choose research in that specialty, but some pathways can apply to any area. For example, Mark Correa, who is still undecided about his specialty, plans to pursue the patient safety and quality pathway. “I wanted a broad topic that could apply to any specialty,” said Correa, who has an interest in hospital administration. The global health equity pathway will expand the international experiences available to medical students, said David Wood, MD, MPH, a professor of pediatrics at the

– David Wood, MD, MPH

UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville and program director for the college’s International Medical Education programs. “My belief is the global health experience will teach students technical skills, and it also will change their hearts about what they want to do with their lives,” he said. The plan is to incorporate the spring service trips into long-term sustainable international projects that involve partnering with universities and organizations in that country, as opposed to more short-term service trips, said Wood, who is the co-track leader for the local and global health equity pathway. Wood described a partnership the college forged in Ecuador with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito College of Medicine. Wood is collaborating on public health research with that college’s dean, Gonzalo Mantilla, MD, who completed his pediatrics residency and neonatology fellowship 30 years ago at UF, and Fernando Ortega, a medical anthropologist at USFQ. First-year medical students Ryan St. Pierre-Hetz, Amber Himmler and Faiz Jiwani will travel to Ecuador this summer to assist in the research alongside Wood and Mantilla. St. Pierre-Hetz and Himmler were UF junior honors students who are adept at lab research but now want to follow their passion for helping to improve health on a global scale. “This program provides another aspect to medicine — something you can work on for four years, making it a substantial project that could make a real difference,” said Himmler.

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BY ANDREA BILLUPS

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Determination.Teamwork. Self-motivation. Before they entered their rigorous days of medical school, the alumni featured on the following pages relied on these qualities to be successful on the playing field — and later learned they are the shared traits of a successful physician.

PHOTO BY JESSE JONES

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Michael Gilmore, MD ’99 G AT O R F O O T B A L L

PHOTO BY RAY STANYARD

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Michael Gilmore  Michael Gilmore, MD ‘99, played as an All-American free safety and defensive captain of the ’93 and ’94 SEC Champion Florida Gators.  In 1993, Gilmore was a first- team Academic All-American and was the state of Florida’s lone national finalist for the Rhodes Scholar program.

| H I G H L I G H T S

 In 1994, Gilmore was again named first-team Academic All-American and was a recipient of a National Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

COURTESY UF ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

When Dr. Michael Gilmore recalls his days playing Gator football, he remembers the tough workouts and grueling practices in the steaming humidity where he and teammates would push it to the limit under the fierce eyes of then-UF Coach Steve Spurrier. Most weekdays, around 5:30 or 6 p.m., Gilmore, a 1999 graduate of the College of Medicine, would do some serious sprinting. Not just on the field, mind you, but across the UF campus where he would arrive at his chemistry lab, some days wearing the football pants and pads he’d donned for the day’s practice. “They locked you out if you were late,” said Gilmore, who wasn’t late very often. His hustle on the field and in the classroom paid off in 1993, when Gilmore earned not only an undergraduate degree, but also was honored as a first-team Academic All-American. The classroom standout, who majored in microbiology, was also Florida’s lone finalist for the coveted Rhodes Scholarship that year. Looking back, the juggle of playing in an elite football program and being a top scholar was tough. “Most of those classes, you had to make A’s and it was not without a lot of stress,” Gilmore recalled. But the competition and on-the-field lessons have paved the way for his success and that of other Division 1 athletes who became doctors after graduating from the UF College of Medicine. The spirit cultivated through elite athletic programs continues to inspire their work years after their dreams of service were first sparked on the UF campus. Gilmore, a native of Chipley, now lives in Sandestin with wife, Laura, a 1998 graduate from the College of Medicine’s physician assistant master’s program, and his two children, daughter, Madison, 10, and son, Grant, 5. He praises his time

at UF because it taught him perseverance, a trait he still leans on in his busy offices. “Dealing with pressure and stress early in my life helped get me ready to deal with the stress of being on the frontlines of a private practice — whether I knew it then or not,” says Gilmore, who completed his residency at UF in 2004 and is an orthopaedic surgeon in the Florida Panhandle. Some surgical cases are trying, forcing him, as a doctor, to dig in and see them through. But that fortitude was learned at UF, where excellence and high expectations were microchipped in recruits by the Gator faithful. The struggle to be a Gator great, he adds, made him strong. “There were many times on the field when you were trying to be a winner and win championships, and things weren’t going the team’s way. Well, there are a great deal of things in life that may or may not go your way,” he says. “One of the things I learned was how to persevere and not make excuses.” Gilmore, who still works out with a trainer three days a week to stay in top physical shape, says Spurrier’s devotion to peak conditioning — and some trying workouts in the Gator weight room — helped toughen him up, not only physically but mentally as well. “Orthopedic surgery takes a lot of stamina — to stand in the operating room all day doing what amounts to manual labor,” he says. “It certainly is difficult on your body.” But he loves his work, knowing that he can make the difference in someone’s quality of life, whether it’s mobility in a young pitcher’s arm or helping a senior retain his or her physical independence. “I just try to concentrate on being as good as I can be,” he says. “I try to give them the best care and knowledge I have.”

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Stacey Stevens Schmiedecke

| HIGHLIGHTS

 In 2007, UF pitcher Stacey Stevens Schmiedecke, MD ‘12, was a four-year starter for the Gators. That season she had school records for career strikeouts, wins, starts and innings pitched.  Stevens Schmiedecke was a three-time SEC Honor Roll recipient and was twice named ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District.  Stevens Schmiedecke was named a Brad Davis Community Service Scholarship recipient by the Southeastern Conference in 2007.

COURTESY UF ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

It’s a funny comparison, but Dr. Stacey Stevens Schmiedecke is not without a sense of humor, even as she puts in 13-hour days on the job at the Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Balboa Hospital, where she is an intern and firstyear resident. For two years, Schmiedecke, a Gainesville native and Buchholz High School standout, set pitching records as a UF softball star. And now she’s catching — as in babies — training to become an OB-GYN surgeon for the U.S. Navy after her 2012 graduation from the College of Medicine. Her profession, caring for expectant mothers and delivering babies, she says with a laugh, “chose me.” “Everyone asked me the first year (of med school) what I wanted to do, and the only thing I said I didn’t want was to be an OB-GYN,” said Schmiedecke, 28. Within a couple weeks into her rotation, however, she was hooked. “I think delivering babies is the most rewarding thing in the world.” The Navy took away her worries of how to fund her medical education. But it was her time playing softball that laid the foundation for the drive and focus it takes to succeed as a physician.

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While she set records in 2004 and 2005 on the mound, playing with her twin sister, Shelley, she knew fully that her success as an athlete was due in no small part to the players on the field around her. “When Shelley (a UF College of Pharmacy grad) and I first started at UF, we quickly realized you don’t pick your teammates. You have been selected to be a part of a bigger process,” she said. “In medicine it’s really important to have that understanding that this is not all about you but the team you are involved in — from pharmacists to nurses to technicians. “The most important part of that team is the patient,” she continued. “You have the mentality that you are doing something bigger than yourself. That is why medicine feels like such a natural process for me and for a lot of athletes.” Stevens explained that as an obstetrician, it is important to be patient — like a pitcher. “You are taking care of women who have been pregnant for nine months. You are trying to plan out their delivery,” she said. “I use those athletic skills even more each day. For sure, they overlap.”

PHOTO BY SETH AFFOUMADO

Stacey Stevens Schmiedecke, MD ’12 G AT O R S O F T B A L L

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PHOTO BY MARIA BELEN FARIAS

Eric Castaldo |

HIGHLIGHTS

 Eric Castaldo, MD ‘02, was a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection  He batted .317 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs in helping Florida to the1996 College World Series.  In 1996, he was named the SEC and NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team’s catcher.

COURTESY UF ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

   The UF College of Medicine has many graduates who have excelled in both sports and medicine, including:

Michael Lukowski, MD ’77

Karen Vloedman, MD ’94

West Virginia University swimming

UF women’s basketball

Garrison “Gary” Rolle, MD ’90

Bart Edmiston, MD ’03

UF football

Please share your success in NCAA sports and upload photos of your athletic career with fellow UF medical graduates. Go to facebook.com/ufdrgator.

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Eric Castaldo, MD ’02 G AT O R B A S E B A L L

Dr. Eric Castaldo knew he was destined to be a doctor at 19 — when he witnessed an ER trauma team at work. The son of a gynecological oncologist, Castaldo, now 38, was working a part-time job in the emergency room at Orlando Regional Medical Center when a young man about his age was airlifted to the hospital and fighting to keep the only leg he had left. The teen’s other leg had to be amputated on site when he fell into some farm equipment. It was intense, chaotic, focused. And Castaldo got the bug. “I just remember seeing that scene and how everyone was working together to try to save this kid’s life,” he recalled. “I wanted to be a part of that team. It was that sort of single, defining event.” Already, Castaldo had the determination needed for the long haul of medical school. After walking on as a catcher at UF after graduating from Orlando’s Lake Brantley High

School, Castaldo saw limited time behind the plate until his senior year, when he’d worked his way up to the starting rotation. His team that year went on to play in the College World Series, and his coach, Andy Lopez, told the Orlando Sentinel that Castaldo was the team’s most valuable player. Now a general surgeon working in a Gainesville practice group, Castaldo, a father of two boys, Casey, 8, and Cale, 6, with wife, Miki, says baseball has helped him be the best he can be in the operating room. “There is no question that medicine has that team mentality,” says Castaldo, who graduated from medical school at UF In 2002 and completed his surgical residency at Vanderbilt University in 2009. “The teamwork — it’s very similar to sports. Surgery can’t be won by yourself. You’re really a part of a group of folks as you operate.”

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Joe Camps, MD ’82 SEMINOLE FOOTBALL

PHOTO BY RAY STANYARD

Dr. Joe Camps played only one season for Bobby Bowden, but the legendary football coach remembers his hard-working team captain. “He was a real good, tough football player,” Bowden said. “The kind you like to have on your team.” Camps, who grew up in Gainesville and attended Gainesville High School, played free safety for Florida State University from 1973-76, earning team captain status and the Bob Crenshaw Award for the player with the “fightingest heart” during his senior year, which was Bowden’s first season at FSU. Despite his success on the football field, Camps remained focused on his primary goal. “I was in school to get an education,” said Camps, who graduated from the College of

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Medicine in 1982. “At 2:30 when practice was over, most guys would go eat or just hang out. I would go to the library. It became my best friend.” Camps credits football with teaching him about discipline as well as mental and physical toughness. “If you’re going to be competitive, you better learn how to pull yourself up when you’re down,” he said. “If you apply these traits to everything involved with your life, then it’s easy to be dedicated and successful.” That philosophy explains why Camps says the proudest moment of his FSU career comes from a loss. The Seminoles were playing defending national champions Alabama Crimson Tide in 1974, and for four quarters, the FSU defense kept Alabama out of the end zone. They lost in

Joe Camps |

HIGHLIGHTS

 Joe Camps, MD ‘82, was one of the first great defensive backs of the Bobby Bowden era at Florida State University and earned three varsity letters (1974-76) as a member of Bowden’s first Seminole team.  He was a starting strong safety on the Seminoles’ 1975 team, which ranked second in the nation against the pass, allowing only 63.5 yards passing per game. Camps tied for the team lead with three fumble recoveries as a junior.  During his senior year, Camps earned the Bob Crenshaw Award, which is given annually to the “player with the biggest heart” as voted on by the members of the team. Camps was Bowden’s first player at FSU to become a physician.

COURTESY FSU ATHLETICS

the final minutes 8 -7, having given up two field goals and one safety. “That was a highlight of my career,” Camps recalled. “I remember coming off the field and (Coach Paul) Bear Bryant was complimenting us on how we played. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to win that game more than anything, but if you do the right things and you are relentless enough, you can find victory in defeat.” That is a lesson Camps carries with him today as a urologic oncologist in Tallahassee who often must deal with the most difficult defeat of all. “As physicians, we must understand that we are involved with our patient’s life and wellbeing when they are most vulnerable,” Camps said. “I take pride in earning my patients’ trust

and in trying to transition that fear to hope. Even when it’s bad news, I can help.” Camps, a graduate of the FSU Program in Medical Sciences, completed his residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. He and his wife, Marion, have three children, Joseph III, Jasmine and Jonathan. After his education, he returned to the Florida Panhandle, where he practices with the Southeastern Urological Center. The eightphysician group includes six satellite clinics and serves one of the state’s most medically underserved regions. “Serving an area that lacked adequate medical care was important to me,” Camps said. “Even if I wasn’t always welcomed with open arms at the beginning — it wasn’t so

fashionable 23 years ago for a black man to go into a Southern rural community to deliver health care. “But people began to see through my color and see me for who I am,” he continued. “I walk into counties around Tallahassee with my team, and we are embraced. You really can transform people’s thinking by who you are.” And his relationship with his old football coach is stronger than ever. In fact, Bowden turned to Camps to treat his prostate cancer nearly 10 years ago, rejecting suggestions to leave the state for treatment, saying, “No. I trust my captain.” (Karen Dooley contributed to this story.)

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PERSONALIZING

MEDICINE

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Paving a new frontier in health care:

UF is designing an archetype for transferring the latest laboratory findings into the patient care setting BY K AREN DOOLEY

It has been 10 years since the Human Genome Project was completed, and as promised, deciphering the human genetic code has led to new avenues for medicine and biotechnology. One of the most promising and anticipated advancements in health based on what we now know about the human genome is personalized medicine, which tailors therapies based on an individual’s unique genetic makeup. “We know that our genes influence all kinds of things, like hair color or how tall you are,” said Julie Johnson, PharmD, director of the UF College of Pharmacy’s Center for Pharmacogenomics. “But we also know, for example, that it affects how well you respond to certain medications.” Armed with knowledge of a person’s genetic information, physicians at UF Health have implemented a new standard of care that will help doctors ward off heart attacks and strokes after heart procedures. A simple blood test for patients receiving treatment in the catheterization lab for blocked vessels in the heart will provide genetic information indicating how well a patient responds to a

common anti-clotting drug called clopidogrel. If results suggest clopidogrel, also known as Plavix, is not the best treatment option, the electronic medical record system will alert the cardiologist and recommend alternative drugs. “This helps us prescribe the right medication the first time and absolutely has the potential to reduce complications,” said R. David Anderson, MD, director of interventional cardiology. The new program may be a clear-cut example of the translational-research approach to modern health care, but there was nothing simple about developing the rigorous process that made it possible to transfer this scientific finding into the patient-care setting. With its successful implementation of this method of personalized medicine, the University of Florida, through Johnson’s vision and the resources of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has created a model for moving genetic advances from bench to bedside. UF is now preparing to share it with other academic institutions, large hospitals and community practices. “The model we’ve developed can provide a blueprint for other health systems that want

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“We’re excited to be one of the first places in the state to use genetic information to guide treatment decisions ...” – Julie Johnson, PharmD

to use evidence-based genetic information to improve patient care,” said David R. Nelson, MD, director of the UF CTSI. “This is a major step toward being able to translate more than a decade of ground-breaking genomic research into better health.” Nelson added that while the personalized medicine program launched in the UF cardiac catheterization laboratory involves pharmacogenetics, its delivery system could be applied to a variety of genetic discoveries and for a wide range of clinical settings, placing UF and the state at the forefront of implementation science. “UF Health was the perfect testing ground for understanding how to execute the program and get it to work,” Nelson said. “Now we can offer that technology out to the state. And that is a fundamental mission of the CTSI — to build infrastructures for implementing research findings throughout health care systems and community hospitals in Florida.” Building the model Led by the CTSI and funded by grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the Personalized Medicine Program assembled

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a multidisciplinary team that includes researchers, physicians, information technology experts, laboratory medicine personnel and hospital administrators. Under Johnson’s leadership, a team of more than 50 faculty members and staff developed not only the infrastructure required to generate electronic medical record alerts, but also the process for determining when there is enough evidence to act on genetic findings in the clinical setting. “We’re excited to be one of the first places in the state to use genetic information to guide treatment decisions,” Johnson said, “and we’ve progressed to the point that we will expand our program at UF and begin our outreach across the state.” Johnson’s team recently was awarded additional funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute to take the Personalized Medicine Program to the next phase. They plan to expand the number of patients who receive genetic screening within UF Health and broaden the medications examined, including 6-mercaptopurine and azathioprine, drugs used to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and adult and pediatric gastroenterology patients.

PHOTO BY MARIA BELEN FARIAS

Julie Johnson, PharmD, and a team of more than 50 faculty members and staff worked with stakeholders across UF Health to deliver on the promise of personalized medicine.

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“A lot of people had to come together to get something that seems as simple as ‘You’ve got a piece of your gene that impacts a drug prescription and will influence your outcome’.” – David R. Nelson, MD

David R. Nelson, MD, director of the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, said the fundamental mission of the CTSI is to build infrastructures for implementing research findings throughout health care systems and community hospitals in Florida.

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“All the genotype testing will be done here at UF PathLabs (Pathology Laboratories),” Johnson explained. “By doing it in-house, we can provide faster turnaround, more support and better interpretations. It makes the whole process easier for the physician who is learning to integrate this information into their patient’s treatment. ” Future of health care As part of its implementation, the Personalized Medicine Program also is inviting patients to participate in a research study that allows UF to store additional genetic information in a secure data repository for future use in clinical care and research. Only patients who consent to participate in the research component will have additional genetic information stored. “We’re building information that will help guide a patient’s drug therapy over the long term,” Johnson said. “The thinking is that this is the future of health care — that eventually every person will have a lot of their genetic data available in their health care record, and the health system will figure out what pieces of those data are reasonable to use clinically. “That’s why we’ve built this program the way we did,” she added. “We are figuring out the logistics to make all of that work.” In addition to broadening the use of personalized medicine at UF Health, the program’s proposed expansion would share lessons learned with the Orlando Health network of hospitals, helping implement the clopidogrel program at two of its cardiology practices. Nelson added that they envision expanding it even further, eventually working with the Florida State University College of Medicine and its network of community-based physician practices. Nelson explained that UF Health can serve the NIH well in its goal of fostering new approaches for how scientific discoveries are translated into medical practice. Wayne Jenkins, MD, MPH, president of Orlando Health Physician Partners agrees.

“The Personalized Medicine Program at the University of Florida represents a transformative initiative in health care for the people of Florida,” said Jenkins, also senior vice president of Orlando Health. “We strongly believe that genomic medicine is part of the future of medical care in the community, and we are pleased to partner with UF to help build our own capacity to strengthen its clinical and translational application.” A key component to the success of the personalized medicine implementation was aligning the stakeholders within the academic health center. “A lot of people had to come together to get something that seems as simple as ‘you’ve got a piece of your gene that impacts a drug prescription and will influence your outcome,’” Nelson said. “Just getting that information into the health record, having the health system recognize that there are data there that can impact a decision, creating an educational program for the practitioners and then a monitoring program was anything but simple, and it required buy-in from every corner of UF Health. “But thanks to our receptive leadership and a cultural shift that embraces translational research within the hospital, we figured out how to do it,” he said. The project represents a measured, stepwise approach, and it must demonstrate value in improved health and reduced costs if personalized medicine is to be fully embraced and reimbursed, according to David S. Guzick, MD, PhD, UF senior vice president for health affairs and president of UF Health. “Our patients are at the center of everything we do,” Guzick said. “This new capability is an extraordinary example of what happens when our health system and researchers work together to harness the latest medical knowledge and technology. A sometimes invisible connection like this, between a discovery of an investigator and its impact on our patients, is what moves medicine forward at UF Health.”

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HAVING A

HEALTHY IMPACT In 2009, the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute received a Clinical and Translational Science Award of close to $26 million from the National Institutes of Health to help speed discoveries to Floridians. The progress made in UF’s Personalized Medicine Program is a direct offshoot of that award and its intended mission of enhancing medical care and health throughout the state, said institute director David R. Nelson, MD. “As one of only two CTSA institutions in the third-largest state in the country, it is important for us to figure out a way to get evidencebased science into health care settings — and that includes the entire spectrum of medical discovery, not only genomic medicine,” Nelson said. In collaboration with Florida State University, the institute created Health IMPACTS for Florida, which engages a large number of physicians in practices across the state in clinical research projects. Participating physicians will use the knowledge gained to improve health in their communities. For its first two research projects, Health IMPACTS has been working with a network of primary care practices affiliated with UF and the FSU College of Medicine to assess and monitor mild traumatic brain injury and health risk behaviors among youth in the state. UF and FSU jointly received a $600,000 grant from the state in 2010 to launch Health IMPACTS, an acronym that stands for “integrating medical practice and communitybased translational science.” An NIH grant of $472,675 to the UF CTSI followed about six months later.

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The mild traumatic brain injury study provides participating practices with the latest training and screening tools for assessment and treatment of concussions. The second Health IMPACTS pilot study uses iPads to survey youth about health risks and refer them to resources in their own communities. In addition, Health IMPACTS makes available locally based research coordinators to help practices get the studies up and running. Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, chair of the department of health outcomes and policy and co-director of the CTSI’s Implementation Science Program, is leading the effort to put the Health IMPACTS infrastructure in place. Health IMPACTS was established to provide a variety of settings in which to carry out the studies, Shenkman explained. “A big part of our work is making sure that research conducted in academic settings will translate into a wider range of clinical and health care settings in the community,” she said. “We hope to create a strong communitybased infrastructure so when other faculty see opportunities to translate research findings into community practices they don’t have to spend months and years developing the

The second Health IMPACTS pilot study uses iPads to survey youth about health risks and refer them to resources in their own communities.

community contacts.” To help expand opportunities for using science to improve medical practice and better tailor care to the needs of individual patients, Shenkman, along with Garth Graham, MD, assistant dean for health policy, is leading the development of the CTSI’s new Implementation Science Program. “Implementation science and personalized medicine go hand-in-hand,” Graham said. “We look at a patient within his or her community, then look at the health care setting and determine how it interacts with the patient.” As it matures, the Health IMPACTS collaboration can provide a statewide conduit for implementing science into health care. “Engaging community-based physicians in leading-edge research — in their offices, in their clinics, wherever health care is taking place — that’s how we translate exciting findings out into the community and test them and change the standard of care,” said Myra Hurt, PhD, a professor and senior associate dean for research and graduate programs at the FSU College of Medicine.

Garth Graham, MD, MPH, and Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, have been tapped to develop the CTSI’s new Implementation Science Program.

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REWARDING

The tradition of excellence is passed on to future generations of UF medical students

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Dr. Richard T. and Jean Smith at their home in Northwest Gainesville.

BY K AREN DOOLEY

As UF’s first-and second-year medical students blaze a trail for the College of Medicine’s newly designed curriculum, they draw on traditions, and indeed support, from the school’s past. Dr. Richard T. Smith, the first chair of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine who distinguished himself through his pursuit of excellence in all things, links the college’s past with its future by establishing an endowment that will acknowledge and support academically exceptional students. Through their gift of $1.2 million to create the Smith Family Scholarship, Smith, and his wife, Jean Smith, have established a legacy at the College of Medicine that will influence UF medical students for generations. The scholarship, the College of Medicine’s largest merit-based scholarship endowment, will be awarded annually to a rising third-year medical student beginning this year. The honor will last in perpetuity and reward students who meet specific criteria set by a faculty committee. Smith, whose research has contributed widely to what is known about many diseases and conditions, treated countless numbers of critically ill children in his lifetime — including the first patient admitted to Shands Hospital in 1958.

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He is a professor emeritus of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine at UF. Throughout his long career at UF, Smith held many leadership positions. In addition to serving as the first chair of pediatrics, he was chair of the department of pathology from 1967 to 1985. He also served as the first vice president of advancement and executive vice president of the UF Foundation and as the first senior associate dean for research in the College of Medicine. He retired from research in the fields of immunobiology and tumor biology in 2003. “From as early as his days as a medical student at Tulane

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University School of Medicine and as a scholarship recipient himself, Dr. Smith has been a champion of excellence in all things, which makes this award for our medical students so meaningful,” said Michael L. Good, MD, dean of the College of Medicine. “We are indebted to Dr. and Mrs. Smith for all they are doing for our future.” Richard and Jean Smith moved to Gainesville Labor Day weekend, 1958 because they were attracted to the challenge of starting a new medical college. “Those of us who came down in the beginning were not

“WE ARE INDEBTED TO DR. AND MRS. SMITH FOR ALL THEY HAVE DONE FOR THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE OVER THE YEARS AND FOR WHAT THEY CONTINUE TO DO FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR STUDENTS.” — Michael L. Good, MD, dean of the College of Medicine.

PHOTO BY JESSE JONES

building on anything except a dream,” Smith says. Through the decades the Smiths received several tempting offers to join other institutions, but the couple’s life became deeply rooted in Gainesville. “When we see what has been accomplished at the college and at the Health Science Center, we feel enormous pride and feel it was a life well-spent,” said Richard Smith. “We are glad to leave something that will have an impact and help a student follow their passion without the burden of overwhelming debt.”

The College of Medicine held a special program March 29 announcing the Smith Family Scholarship, where Dr. Richard Smith and his wife, Jean, gathered with students and faculty.

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“‘We and they’ have become ‘us.’ Our collaboration has grown and strengthened, and we are now entering a critical new stage.”

— David S. Guzick, MD, PhD Senior vice president for health affairs and president, UF Health

NEW NAME signals NEW ERA in health care delivery On May 20, at concurrent events in Gainesville and Jacksonville that attracted hundreds of faculty, staff and students, it was announced that UF&Shands, the University of Florida Academic Health Center, is now University of Florida Health, or UF Health for short. The new “umbrella” term reflects the health system’s strong ties to UF, a key part of what differentiates the academic health center — with its focus on excellence in research, teaching and patient care — from its competitors. The move to UF Health grew out of extensive marketing research involving surveys, focus groups and social media conducted across Florida over the past year. The UF Health brand represents the next stage in the organization’s evolution as one of the nation’s most successful academic health centers. “Three years ago today, on May 20, 2010, we launched an effort to bring together the Health Science Center and Shands into a single vision, through a strategic plan called ‘Forward Together,’” said David Guzick, MD, PhD, senior vice president for health affairs and president, UF Health. “As a result of that plan,” he told the crowd, “‘we and they’ have become ‘us.’ Our collaboration has grown and strengthened, and we are now entering a critical new stage.” While the College of Medicine, and all other UF academic units will retain their current names, Guzick

reports that a consensus developed for renaming UF&Shands with a university-centric brand, to provide broader name recognition and to convey the central importance of the University of Florida in fulfilling all of the missions of our academic health center. “UF Health is much more than a new name,” he said. “It represents a transformative state from a close collaboration to functionally working as one, and it’s a symbol that will help us shape a new future together.” Guzick explained that the name change does not herald a merger or acquisition between UF and Shands, nor does it alter day-to-day operations. Both are legally separate organizations whose governance and leadership structures remain the same. “Our overall name may have changed, but our focus remains the same: to provide high-quality, patient-centered care that leads to outstanding outcomes,” Guzick said. “We will continue to build on the teamwork and collaboration that is the foundation for our strength and success.”

 The system name is

At a glance:

changing, yet our legacy remains, and UF Health is part of an even bigger picture.

 We’ll now be known as

University of Florida Health. UF Health will replace the UF&Shands name.

 It’s the collective name

reflecting all our hospitals, physician practices, colleges, centers, institutes, programs and services.

 UF Health better

 It’s the new “umbrella”

name for our academic health center.

represents who we are today to our patients, communities, peers and competitors nationwide.

 The Jacksonville system

will transition to UF Health at Jacksonville and the hospital on 8th Street will be known as UF Health Jacksonville.

 In Gainesville, our

hospitals will proudly carry both the UF Health and Shands names.

Scan this QR code to learn more about UF Health.

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College News

(From left) Steve Chrzanowski, Ray Brown and Philip Gilbo at the Race for Ray. UF College of Medicine faculty and class of 2014 students ran to support Brown, their classmate who was involved in a severe car accident that resulted in his suffering a traumatic brain injury just prior to the start of his third year of medical school.

Students rally together and ‘Race for Ray’ BY ERICA A. HERNANDEZ

On one of the coldest Gainesville winter mornings, more than 200 racers turned out to UF’s commuter parking lot on Gale Lemerand Drive. The runners were there to run and more importantly, to support Ray Brown. After all, they were racing for Ray.

When planning for the Feb. 3 race in October, McLaughlin and her classmates anticipated about 100 participants. Students, faculty and staff showed up for Brown. College of Medicine Dean Michael L. Good, MD, also attended.

Danielle McLaughlin, the College of Medicine’s class of 2014 fundraising co-chair, and Philip Gilbo, class president, organized Race for Ray to help raise money for their injured classmate. Brown, an Army veteran, was left with a traumatic brain injury in June when his car collided with a semi-truck while he was driving to Gainesville from Nashville, Tenn.

Among the 200 participants were Brown’s family and Brown himself.

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“It wouldn’t have been the same without them,” McLaughlin said. Brown’s brother pushed him in his wheelchair most of the 3.1 miles, but Ray crossed the finish line on his own two feet.

The race raised more than $5,000, all of which will go directly to help Brown cover his medical bills. “He was happy to be back here and have all of us around him again,” McLaughlin said. The race served as a reunion for Brown and the rest of the class of 2014. Most of his former classmates hadn’t seen him in more than four months. “We wanted it to be a celebration of him and just show him our support, care and love,” McLaughlin said.

College News

PHOTO BY JESSE S. JONES

Soon-to-be UF physician assistant graduate Xenia Polorotoff has been called a ‘pioneer’ — something she never imagined possible as a young girl.

PA Corner | Serving her classmates, career and community BY ERICA A. HERNANDEZ

Xenia Polorotoff is the first member of her family to graduate from college. But Polorotoff didn’t graduate with just any degree. She graduated with a bachelor of biomedical science from the University of South Florida in 2009. And she didn’t stop there. Polorotoff is currently studying at UF and will graduate with a master of physician assistant studies degree in June; an unlikely end to a story that started long before she was born. Polorotoff’s parents escaped communist Russia to face poverty in China and Eastern Europe. Eventually, her parents married in New York, where Polorotoff was born and learned Russian as her first language.

“I’m at a place in life I never imagined to be possible, but now that I’m here, I try to squeeze everything out of every opportunity,” Polorotoff said. When she entered the undergraduate program at USF she planned to go to medical school. That changed during her senior year when she shadowed a general surgeon. He introduced her to his PA who she also shadowed. “The second I began shadowing I knew I wanted to be a PA. I liked the idea of being able to move specialties. There are so many cool things in medicine, it’s nice to be able to have a hand in everything,” Polorotoff said.

Polorotoff cited UF College of Medicine’s cadaver labs and consistently high passing rates on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam as reasons she chose to attend UF. “I came into PA school with a mindset of ‘I’m lucky to be here,’ I just want to dive in 100 percent,” Polorotoff said. During her first year at UF, Polorotoff became the student volunteer services coordinator for her class and arranged for her classmates to volunteer at the college’s Equal Access Clinic. “She pioneered that for us, and she doesn’t give herself as much credit as she should,” said Shalon Buchs, admission coordinator for the School for PA Studies.

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College News 3

Party of five BY MARILEE GRIFFIN

The first quintuplets born at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital went home in January after spending two months in the neonatal intensive care unit. The babies, four girls and a boy, were born Nov. 15, to Bradford County residents Stacy and Kelley Dyal. “It’s been great,” said Stacy. “We couldn’t ask for better. I mean, from Day 1 finding out that we were going to have five babies, and we knew we were going to be at Shands, we knew we were going to be in good hands.” Stacy arrived at the hospital six weeks prior to delivery and received care from a

large multidisciplinary team throughout her stay. Members of the team gathered on the day they were discharged to see off the Dyal’s quintuplets — Kaleb, Kyndall, Kayleigh, Kyleigh and Kamryn. “We have an incredible nursing team on labor and delivery who looked after Mrs. Dyal and Kelley throughout the whole pregnancy,” said Anthony Gregg, MD, director of maternal-fetal medicine. “The house staff and the residents saw to it that everybody was as comfortable as possible throughout the hospitalization.”

College of Medicine rises three spots in national rankings BY APRIL FRAWLEY BIRDWELL

The UF College of Medicine rose three spots in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of the nation’s top research medical schools. UF is ranked No. 45, up from No. 48 in 2012, according to the publication’s annual “Best Graduate Schools” rankings, which were released March 12. Among public medical schools, UF now ranks No. 22 nationally. “This accomplishment reflects the hard work and dayto-day commitment of our talented faculty and staff toward providing the best medical education possible to our students and innovative and high-quality care to our patients, and leading the way in scientific discoveries that will benefit generations to come,” said Michael L. Good, MD, dean of the College of Medicine. “Although rankings are not our focus or our end goal, we are honored by the peer recognition and faculty accomplishments reflected in these rankings.” UF is the highest-ranked medical school in the state of Florida, according to U.S. News & World Report. Factors that likely contributed to UF’s rise in the rankings include increased competitiveness for medical school applicants associated with the college’s recent medical

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curriculum revisions and national recognition of UF’s quality clinical programs, said Joseph C. Fantone, MD, senior associate dean for educational affairs. Stephen P. Sugrue, PhD, senior associate dean for research affairs, noted that during a period of decreasing NIH funding nationally, UF has maintained its research funding. Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks the nation’s accredited medical schools based on factors such as National Institutes of Health research funding, GPA and the MCAT scores of incoming medical students, facultyto-student ratios and peer assessments from leaders of other medical schools. When all of these factors are considered, the publication compiles a list of the top medical schools in the country.

College News Nawar Al-Rawas, MD, recognized for his research and bravery

Resident Corner | Undefeated by war BY MELANIE STAWICKI AZAM

Growing up in Baghdad, UF anesthesiology resident Nawar Al-Rawas, MD, can easily recall when 30 years of fighting began in Iraq. “I still remember the first day of the war when I saw an airplane come from Iran,” the 39-year-old Iraqi native said. “I was 6 years old at the time.” War led to Al–Rawas being trained as an anesthesiologist on three continents and awarded the Italian Medal of Valor. It also motivated his journey to the UF College of Medicine, where he began a research fellowship in 2009 and anesthesiology residency in 2011. “I came here and was totally

impressed with the system and academics,” Al-Rawas said. “It was exactly what I was looking for.” Al-Rawas has also been named a Gravenstein Scholar, an honor bestowed on a resident that includes 18 months of protected research time. He is investigating ways to improve mechanical ventilation with Andrea Gabrielli, MD, a UF professor of anesthesiology and surgery and program director of anesthesiology critical care medicine. “He’s just the perfect combination of a likable person with a very inquisitive mind and great work ethic as a researcher

and clinician,” Gabrielli said. Ten years ago, Al-Rawas was an anesthesiology resident at a Baghdad hospital when the most recent war in Iraq erupted. Hospitals were damaged, resources were limited and civilian trauma cases rose. He worked for a year at an Italian Red Cross Field Hospital in Baghdad. In 2004, Al-Rawas risked his life to help liberate two Italian hostages kidnapped by Iraqi militia and received the Italian Medal of Valor for his bravery. “We were kidnapped for eight hours — we were threatened and they held a gun to our heads, ” he said, recalling the experience. “Then they decided not

to kill us because of our humanitarian work.” Al-Rawas left Iraq in 2004 to attend the Catholic University in Rome for an anesthesiology residency. He also worked with Operation Smile, an international children’s medical charity, in Italy and Jordan. His Italian mentor knew Gabrielli and encouraged Al-Rawas to study in the U.S. Looking back, AlRawas credits his accomplishments to the people who supported him in Iraq, Italy and now the U.S. “Every phase in my life, I’ve had a mentor,” he said.

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College News 6

A chief scholar BY NICOLE LA HOZ

As chief quality officer of the UF College of Medicine’s Equal Access Clinic, Martin Wegman noticed something as he and fellow medical students treated patients in the clinic. They made diagnoses, and they wrote prescriptions, but when patients left, mystery followed. Wegman, then

“I work with students to show them how to be responsive to patients — not addressing medical needs, but social needs.” MARTIN WEGMAN

a second-year MD/PhD student, wondered if patients stayed healthy or if their medication helped ailments. To find out, he recruited three undergraduate interns to start calling patients — making follow-ups a part of protocol. Wegman was one of 20 medical students, residents and young physicians in the country who recently received the 2013 Medical Student Leadership Award from the American Medical Association. He is now in his third year of the MD/PhD program and a doctoral candidate in the department of epidemiology in the colleges of Medicine and Public Health and Health Professions. His decision to follow up with patients led Wegman to found the Health Outreach Quality Improvement program, or HOQI, a partnership with the Equal Access and UF Mobile Outreach clinics. He uses systematic

data collection from HOQI’s 11 clinics to teach 55 undergraduate volunteers who their patients are and what barriers they face when seeking care. “They’re uninsured, typically marginalized by society,” Wegman said. “I work with students to show them how to be responsive to patients — not addressing medical needs, but social needs.” Wegman, who was named a National Quality Scholar by the American College of Medical Quality, serves as a board member for the local nonprofit Southwest Advocacy Group. SWAG provides educational and quality-oflife resources to the underserved in Southwest Gainesville. Even with his many accomplishments and titles, Wegman approaches each project with individual attention. He is driven by pure enthusiasm.

Faculty Facts

R. Whit Curry Jr, MD, a professor and chair of the department of community health and family medicine, will step down in 2013 after 20 years as chair, but this is not the last the department will see of him. “I’m not going to retire. I’m going to continue to work and see patients and teach, and I actually hope I’m going to be more involved in the residency program,” said Curry, who twice has been named the UF College of Medicine’s Family Practice Program Teacher of the Year. “What I’m giving up is the administrative side of 36 | F L O R I D A P H Y S I C I A N

running the department.” Curry, who’s been on the UF faculty since 1976, said his greatest accomplishment during his 20 years as chair was leading the effort to build the new Family Medicine at Main practice, which opened in June. Nancy Hardt, MD, HS ’90, a professor in the department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine, was honored at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation’s 2013 Sapphire Awards and Symposium, which took place Feb. 21 and

Feb. 22. The Sapphire Awards are Florida’s only statewide honors recognizing programs, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in community health. Hardt, program director of UF’s health equity and service learning programs, was honored for her innovation in community health. This includes her work with UF’s Mobile Outreach Clinic, elementary school health interprofessional programs and service learning programs.

Richard Shriner, MD, is the first UF physician to earn board certification in obesity medicine from the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Shriner, who is already boardcertified in adult psychiatry and internal medicine, is the only physician in Gainesville who holds this certification, joining a select group of 55 obesity medicine physicians across the state. Shriner is an assistant professor of psychiatry and the program director for UF’s eating disorders and obesity programs.

College News 8

New center focuses on inflammation and disease BY LINDY BROUNLEY

research community with shared interest in inflammation and disease.

Recognizing growing evidence that inflammation influences many diseases — including diabetes, certain cancers and even Alzheimer’s — UF Health has established the Center for Inflammation and Mucosal Immunology to foster collaboration among members of the UF biomedical

“Though the center is very new, our members already number more than 40 UF scientists whose interdisciplinary research efforts explore the whole gamut of complex biological responses of inflammation and immunology,” said center director Mansour Mohamadzadeh, PhD, a professor in the UF College of Veterinary Medicine department of infectious diseases and pathology, and a faculty member in the College of Medicine division of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition in the department of medicine. “The center’s primary goal is to foster research collaborations among

these multidisciplinary scientists, leading to new discoveries that alleviate human sickness and death caused by immune-mediated autoinflammatory diseases.” Inflammation has been found to influence many medical maladies. These include colon and other cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, eosinophilic esophagitis, chronic infectious diseases, systemic pulmonary fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer’s. Facilitating interdisciplinary research of the inflammatory processes behind these conditions should accelerate scientific discoveries leading to improved prevention and treatment.

In Memoriam BY MINA RADMAN

William “Will” Deal, MD, HS ’69, passed away March 15. He was 76. He served as dean of the UF College of Medicine from 1977 to 1988. In 1978, he also became the vice president for health affairs, serving in that role for four years. He left UF in 1989 after 20 years of leadership to become president of the Maine Medical Center in Portland. He then went on to serve as senior vice president of medicine and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1997 until 2004, when he was named senior vice president and dean emeritus. He also served as interim director

and CEO of the UAB Health System from 1998 to 2000. Survivors include his wife, April; two daughters; and three grandsons. Jeffrey L. Armstrong, MD, HS ’89, passed away Dec. 10. He was 55. He was a family practice physician specializing in gerontology, with a medical practice in Tallahassee for 23 years. Survivors include his companion, Jane Piper Clendinning, and two children. Donald Craig Bartley, MD ’77, passed away Dec. 18. He was 61. He practiced as an infectious disease specialist in Jacksonville for 25 years at

St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Survivors include his wife, Kim; three children; and a grandson. Edward James Callan, MD, ’82, died Jan. 9. He was 56. He was an ear, nose and throat surgeon, practicing in Richmond, Calif. Survivors include his wife, Anne Marie. Kristi Carol Dickson, MD ’88, passed away Jan. 20. She was 50. She had been in family practice for 20 years in Jacksonville. She is survived by her husband, William, and one son. Richard McGruder Fry, MD, passed away Jan. 23. He was 86. He was a professor at the UF College of Medicine,

then worked in orthopaedic surgery in private practice and at the Malcom Randall V.A. Medical Center. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Justine; two daughters; and five grandchildren. Calvin Raymond Harding Jr., MD, HS ’67, passed away Jan. 25. He was 76. He worked for 35 years as an anesthesiologist at hospitals and surgery centers in the Louisville, Ky. area. He is survived by his wife, Mary Kemp Harding; one daughter; and a granddaughter. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 35 years, Linda Little Harding, and his son, Calvin Raymond Harding III.

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Philanthropy News 1

Putting his money where his passion is BY MATT GALNOR

McCook then went on to complete a residency in radiology and a fellowship in nuclear medicine, both at Vanderbilt University. After nine years in private practice and 10 years at the University of Pittsburgh, he moved back to Jacksonville to take a job as chief of the division of molecular and functional imaging and director of the diagnostic radiology residency program at the UF College of MedicineJacksonville.

Barry M. McCook, MD ’84

Growing up in Jacksonville, Barry M. McCook, MD ’84, had his plan all laid out. He was going to be a doctor. But when he arrived at Florida State University, his plans changed. McCook moved back home and went to nursing school, with the ultimate goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist. A portion of his training, in the mid-1970s, was performed at what’s now UF Health Jacksonville. McCook, an operating room nurse, even spent some time working for his mother Eva, head nurse in the recovery room at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. “She was one of the toughest bosses of my career so far,” McCook said. Yet the pull of his lifelong dream remained. “I didn’t want to go through life and say ‘I always wanted to be a doctor, and I wish I would’ve tried,’” McCook said. So McCook left nursing and went back to FSU to finish his undergraduate work and then went to medical school at the UF College of Medicine, graduating in 1984. He planned to go into obstetrics and gynecology but promised his brother Thomas, a radiologist, that he wouldn’t choose a specialty until he did a rotation in radiology. During his radiology rotation, he worked with the late Irvin “Dick” Hawkins, MD, and McCook was hooked. “Dr. Hawkins was one of the most motivating forces in my career,” he said.

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Now back in his hometown, he is an associate professor and chair of the department of radiology and putting his own money toward building a new resident education conference room. McCook made a second donation this month to the fund he named in honor of H. Martin Northup, MD, a longtime champion of resident education and patient care in the department. “If I named it the Barry McCook Fund, we probably wouldn’t get much money,” he joked. “Everybody knows Dr. Northup.” McCook said the project is almost ready to go, thanks to contributions from alumni and others. To help push it over the top, McCook also has pledged to personally match any donations that come in through the end of the year. The department holds two conferences a day for the 20 residents in the four-year program. Most of the teaching is done with digital images, so the latest technology is critical. “You have to have an area that is conducive to learning,” McCook said. He said he’s fascinated by the ever-changing technology in the field and helping teach the next generation of radiologists. The mix of science and patient care is a perfect fit for him, McCook says. Yet he still looks back at his experiences as a nurse and says those days shaped his career as much as anything. “I try to understand things from everyone’s perspective in the hospital, and having been a nurse and working in that role helps me look at things a little differently than someone who went straight to medical school.”

Philanthropy News Charlotte Jordan, 6, (left) with her sister Alexis Jordan, 10.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE JORDAN FAMILY.

Gift of hope BY MELANIE STAWICKI AZAM

For Lindsay Jordan, it was a mixed blessing when her daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with glycogen storage disease type 1a. On one hand, the California mother finally knew why her 3-year-old little girl had been struggling to thrive since birth. At the same time, she faced the sobering reality that Charlotte had a rare genetic disease that could be fatal if not properly treated. “It was a surreal experience, but I knew she’d been sick,” Jordan said. Little did she know that Charlotte’s condition would take her to the other side of the U.S. for treatment and inspire her family to donate $1 million to UF to help find a cure for glycogen storage disease type 1a, also known as GSD 1a. The Fry Foundation, which Lindsay

Jordan’s parents, Stephen T. and Cynthia Fry, created, donated the money to establish The Charlotte’s Cure for Type 1a GSD fund. The money will support research geared toward finding a cure for the disease. “Their gift is the biggest in the history of the program,” said David Weinstein, MD, MMSc, a professor of pediatrics and director of the UF Glycogen Storage Disease Program. “It allows me to focus on some of the programs we’re working on, including gene therapy.” The UF GSD program is the largest of its kind in the world for care and research for the liver forms of GSD, such as type 1a. It follows more than 425 patients from 37 countries and all U.S. states.

GSD type 1, which affects about one in 100,000 children, impacts the body’s ability to correctly store and use sugar between meals. After Charlotte was diagnosed with GSD 1a at her local hospital in California, she still struggled from complications related to the disease. Charlotte met with Weinstein in November 2011 and thrived under his care. Now 6 years old, she visits him annually. “He could have dedicated himself to anything and for him to pick this little–known disease and try to make a difference for these kids is amazing,” Jordan said.

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Alumni News

Caroline Cox-Signore, MD ‘92, is surrounded by her classmates during their 10-year reunion in Gainesville with the late Dr. Hugh “Smiley” Hill in 2002.

Alumna follows unexpected path to meaningful career BY NICOLE LA HOZ

It was a new beginning for Caroline Cox-Signore, MD ’92, MPH. While the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she had worked since 2003, was undergoing a major reorganization, a division of extramural research was created, and Signore was tapped to be its deputy director. Signore, who completed her OB-GYN residency at UF, has served in that role since January, assisting the division’s director in overseeing the institute’s extramural research program. “Everything I learned from UF prepared me for that day I took the plunge,” Signore said. “It prepared me for the day I said, ‘I’m back in the game. Here’s what I can do.’” Soon after completing her OB-GYN residency in 1996, Signore moved to Denver with her husband and joined a private practice in general obstetrics and gynecology. But four months into her new life, plans stopped. Signore was in a car accident that severed her C-6 vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed with limited upper body movement. It took four months to complete inpatient rehabilitation and “wrap (my) head around what happened,” Signore said.

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When her husband received a job offer in Washington, D.C., they relocated. Again, Signore struggled to find a career path. That’s when she began to take interest in government, public service and policy. Although she couldn’t practice, Signore became a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and applied for an American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists-sponsored fellowship that allowed her to enroll in the master’s of public health program at George Washington University in 2002. With a specialization in maternal and child health and health policy, Signore became a summer intern at the NICHD and continued as a postdoctoral fellow in the division of epidemiology, statistics and prevention research, studying the identification of genetic, nutritional and biochemical risk factors for birth defects. When a full-time medical officer position opened in the pregnancy and perinatology branch in 2006, she was selected. It’s what led Signore to her current position today. “Even though I wasn’t physically capable of being the doctor I imagined I’d be, I discovered that there’s more than one way to be a doctor,” she said. “From an upside-down, total car wreck in ‘96, I now have a title for the first time in my life.”

Alumni News 2

News Notes

Dr. Desmond Schatz, MD, HS ’86, medical director of the UF Diabetes Center of Excellence and associate chair of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine, accompanied his son, Richard Schatz, when he received his medical degree during the College of Medicine graduation ceremony in May. The younger Schatz is headed to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for training in internal medicine.

New job, award or child? Send your news notes to dooleyk@ufl.edu or post them on facebook.com/ufdrgator.

Khalid Sheikh, MD ’81, a cardiovascular specialist with Heath First Medical Group in Brevard County, Fla., presented his research findings on the impact of personalized care for prevention of cardiovascular disease at the 2013 International Cardiology Symposium in May in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

UF neurologist Michael Okun, MD ’96, has answered more than 20,000 questions from patients with Parkinson’s disease, typically not about cures or the latest treatments, but about something much simpler — how to live well with the disease. Now Okun has written a book titled “Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life,” that he hopes will help patients everywhere. Published in March, the book is available on Amazon and Smashwords in more than 20 languages.

Steven T. DeKosky, MD ’74, returned to the College of Medicine in May to deliver the commencement address at this year’s graduation ceremony. DeKosky, dean of the University of Virginia College of Medicine, urged the 131 members of the graduating class to find work-life balance, advocate for the good of others and remember “it’s all about the patient.”

PHOTO BY MARIA BELEN FARIAS

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Alumni News 4

News from your Alumni Board

Dear Fellow Alumni, Through the years, the UF College of Medicine has continued to be where the brightest, most compassionate and caring young physicians go to learn to be leaders in their residencies, fellowships and eventually in the communities in which they live. The college’s broad-based curriculum, with diverse faculty emphasizing small group learning while integrating the basic sciences with clinical medicine, allows our graduates to be successful in their careers and personal lives. As alumni, we take pride in the success of our alma mater and want even greater things in its future. Gov. Rick Scott has recently made it a priority of his administration to see UF become a top 10 national university, and there is no reason why this cannot be true for the College of Medicine as well. The thousands of graduates who make up the Medical Alumni Association can help make this happen. As we compete with other great medical and research institutions nationally in attracting the best and brightest students, the MAA can play a significant long-term role in making the UF College of Medicine the most attractive option. The MAA has a six-point plan that will allow us to move forward in our goal of remaining a top-tier medical school. These “six points of focus” can be found online in their entirety at http://drgator.ufl.edu/ alumni-affairs/mission-statement/. See below for a summary. The UF College of Medicine has been very influential in our careers, and as the years go on we can help to elevate it to even greater heights. Your commitment is crucial to this journey. Stay connected and informed about your alma mater and support it in any way that you can. I look forward to your participation in the climb. Sincerely,

Sunil Joshi, MD ’98 President, Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors UF College of Medicine

UF Medical Alumni Association “Six Points of Focus” 1. Complete the Alumni Challenge 2. Increase our scholarship endowment 3. B uild a culture of giving 4. C reate more opportunities for alumni and students to connect

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5. E xpand our relationship between alumni and the admissions office 6. I ntegrate the UF College of MedicineJacksonville with alumni programming Visit http://drgator.ufl.edu/alumni-affairs/ mission-statement for more information.

OR SCAN TO CHECK OUT THE FULL “SIX POINTS OF FOCUS”HERE!

Alumni News

BY MINA RADMAN

Couple hopes to inspire others to ‘give back’ BY MINA RADMAN

Drs. Steve and Gina Sevigny are considered “triple-threat Gators,” having completed all their schooling at UF — from undergrad to medical school and residency. Their appreciation for the university and the College of Medicine has kept the Ormond Beach couple closely involved with their alma mater. Gina, a dermatologist, and Steve, a radiologist, are both graduates of the class of 1994. Gina serves as vice president of the UF Medical Alumni Association board of directors. And when the call went out to alumni in 2008 to support the college’s plan for a new medical education building through the Alumni Challenge, the Sevignys were among the first to accept the challenge. After recently completing their Alumni Challenge pledge of $5,000 a year for five years to the building fund, the couple decided to repeat the Alumni Challenge, adding another $25,000 pledge to their contribution. Gina spoke to Florida Physician about her family’s support the College of Medicine. Q: What made you choose to participate in the Alumni Challenge?

Q: What is your hope for the future of the UF College of Medicine?

A: Our friend, Dr. Jason Rosenberg, started the challenge. We wanted to help out when we heard of the need for the medical school. We think it’s wonderful for the medical school to get a new building.

A: I hope that it remains the No. 1 medical school in the state. They have amazing research and amazing students. We hope the teaching facility can remain state-of-the-art.

Q: You’ve already completed one Alumni Challenge. Was it a difficult decision for you and your husband to take on a second challenge? A: The overall goal (100 commitments of $25,000) still hadn’t been reached. So we wanted to do it a second time because we could, and we wanted to give back. We’re hoping others follow suit.

Q: What one piece of advice do you have for today’s medical students? A: Look back on your medical school years and be proud. Give back so that future students can get an excellent education, too.

Q: You’re called “triple Gators” because you received your undergraduate and medical degrees here, and you did residency in Gainesville. What’s changed about the town over the years? A: The town has grown so much, but the university really hasn’t. It’s actually quite nostalgic to come back.

For more about the Alumni Challenge and a list of participants, visit HowWeLearn.med.ufl.edu, where you can also take a virtual tour of plans for the new medical education building.

Drs. Steve and Gina Sevigny, both UF COM class of 1994 graduates, with Dean Michael L. Good, MD, at their home during a meet-the-dean event in 2009. The Sevignys are strong supporters of the college and the dean’s vision for a new medical education building.

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Alumni News 6

Gator Country | Texas BY NICOLE LA HOZ

William F. Fisher, MD ’75, of Houston, is the first Gator to travel in space and has walked in space not once, but twice. The former astronaut and emergency medicine physician was a mission specialist on-board the Space Shuttle Discovery when it lifted off on Aug. 27, 1985 from Kennedy Space Center.

Dallas/Fort Worth Lone Star Alamo City

Houston

Anh D. Cacciatore, MD ’88, of Houston, speaks both English and Vietnamese and was named one of the nation’s top primary care doctors in “Guide to Primary Care Physicians” by Town & Country Magazine in 2000. Stephanie Byerly, MD ’92, of Dallas, completed her anesthesiology internship and residency and neuroanesthesia fellowship at UF. She serves as professor in anesthesiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Brooke Nicotra, MD ’68 , of Houston, is a retired pulmonologist who co-wrote a handbook sold nationally called “Courage and Information for Life with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: The Handbook for Patients, Families and Care Givers Managing COPD, Emphysema and Bronchitis.” George M. Rapier, III MD ’77, who is a Dallas native, serves as chairman and CEO of WellMed Medical Management Inc., headquartered in San Antonio. It is South Texas’ largest physicianowned practice management company, serving more than 80,000 patients and members in four states, including Florida.

Gator Clubs® in Texas Alamo City Gator Club®

23922 Spring Scent San Antonio, TX

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Dallas/Fort Worth Houston Gator Club® Gator Club®

2118 Diamond Oaks Drive Garland, TX 75044-7856

25903 Ravenside Drive Katy, TX

Lone Star Gator Club®

8405 Laughing Water Lane Round Rock, TX

Moving Forward UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ALUMNI WEEKEND / SEPTEMBER 20 – 22, 2013

RETURN TO THE SWAMP Return, reconnect and renew with your classmates and friends and celebrate all that is great and growing at the UF College of Medicine. A full weekend of activities is planned, including our third annual Notable Alumnus Lecture and the chance to cheer the Gators to victory over Tennessee!

HIGHLIGHTING THE WEEKEND WILL BE REUNIONS FOR THE CLASSES OF 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, AND 2008.

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P.O. Box 100253 Gainesville, FL 32610-0253

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