UM Miller School of Medicine 53rd Commencement:
150 Medical Students Become the Newest Alumni
5/13/2008

New M.D.s: The Miller School’s newest graduates recite the Hippocratic Oath at the 53rd commencement at BankUnited Center.   President Shalala, center, and Dean Goldschmidt, right, cheer as Thomas Pollard, M.D., of Yale University, accepts his honorary Doctor of Science degree.   Student commencement speaker Timothy J. “T.J.” McDonald addresses his fellow graduates.

With pomp and ceremony befitting the joyous occasion, 150 medical students took the walk across the BankUnited Center stage on Saturday to be hooded, shake hands with faculty members, pose for pictures with Dean Goldschmidt and President Shalala, and receive the diplomas that officially made them doctors of medicine.

Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., pointed out that the graduating class, the Miller School’s 53rd, marked a milestone. This year’s graduates included the first class of a dozen students to attend the regional campus – the Miller School of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

In his address to the graduates, Dean Goldschmidt stressed that as the newest Miller School physicians they were well trained in both the science and implementation of health care, but they will have to reach deep into themselves and use the humanistic qualities required of good doctors.

“During your four years with us, we have strived to provide you with the most advanced information on evidence-based medicine, the most novel, cutting-edge technologies,” said Dean Goldschmidt. “But above all, you will call on the qualities that come from your heart, those qualities that you were blessed with and that your parents, and then your teachers, have seeded and fostered over the years – humanistic qualities like compassion, altruism, generosity, commitment, concern and kindness.”.

Miller School and College of Engineering Launch Series of Meetings Aimed at Forging Interdisciplinary Collaborations
5/12/2008

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D.; Jennifer McCafferty-Cepero, Ph.D.; James M. Tien, Ph.D.; and Richard Bookman, Ph.D., at the first Collaborative Research Exchange Forum (CREF).

Groundbreaking scientific discoveries are often the result of great minds working together, channeling different strengths toward solving a single problem.

But even in academia, where experts in a variety of disciplines work in close proximity, bringing the great minds together often requires behind-the-scenes work. That was the focus of a May 6 gathering of faculty members and leadership from the Miller School of Medicine and the College of Engineering who met for the first Collaborative Research Exchange Forum, or CREF, a meeting designed to promote dialogue among members of the two disciplines.

Miller School's Mark T. O'Connell, M.D. Receives Faculty Senate's Annual Outstanding Teaching Award
4/30/2008

Special Achievement Award to Athletic Director Paul Dee

Mark T. O’Connell, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education (second from right) was honored with the Faculty Senate’s Outstanding Teaching Award. With O’Connell are, from left, Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Faculty Senate Chair Stephen Sapp, and Laurence Gardner, M.D., executive dean for education and policy.   Outstanding Teaching Award recipient O’Connell with daughter Meghan, a research associate at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and wife, Tracy.   Paul Dee, center, who was honored with a special achievement award, shakes hands with Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas LeBlanc while Faculty Senate Chair Stephen Sapp looks on.

When Mark T. O'Connell, M.D., and Paul Dee began working at the University of Miami some 25 years ago, neither man focused on educating and mentoring students. O'Connell became part of the Miller School faculty in 1982 and spent much of his time in hypertension research. Dee joined the University in 1981 as vice president and general counsel.

But both would find fulfillment in educating, training and pushing students to excel. O'Connell discovered that even more than research, he loved preparing new generations of physicians and scientists and soon gave his full attention to education, ascending to senior associate dean for medical education in 1999. Dee switched jobs and became the University’s athletic director in 1993, a position he will vacate on June 1 and join the faculty.

On Monday, O'Connell’s and Dee’s friends, family, colleagues, and Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., stood to their feet and applauded the men's long careers and praised their dedication as O'Connell received the Faculty Senate's prized annual Outstanding Teaching Award, the second of three distinguished honors the Senate awards annually. Dee was presented with a special achievement award. Faculty Senate Chair Stephen Sapp and Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas LeBlanc presented the awards.

UM Researchers Receive Approval to Begin Stem Cell Trial Using BioCardia Catheter to Treat Heart Failure
5/1/2008

Joshua M. Hare, M.D., F.A.C.C., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute and chief of the Cardiovascular Division, works in the lab with Ian K. McNiece, Ph.D., director of the experimental and clinical cell-based therapies program.

Stem cell researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine continue to blaze scientific trails with another first.  They have received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a study using a Helical Infusion catheter system to inject stem cells into the heart.  BioCardia, a California-based biotechnology company, developed the minimally invasive percutaneous catheter system for the safe delivery of cells to the heart through a helical, or spiral-shaped needle.   Joshua M. Hare, M.D., F.A.C.C., chief of the Cardiovascular Division and director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, will lead the research that is the world’s first stem cell trial that will compare two cell populations, bone marrow cells and mesenchymal cells, against placebo.

Mesenchymal cells are rare cells in bone marrow that can be grown in large numbers in a laboratory.  For this study, they’ll be grown into stem cells and then injected back into the patient’s heart, using the BioCardia catheter.  “We inject cells now in surgery,” explains Dr. Hare, “but this will be a non-surgical procedure using a catheter.”

University of Miami Hospital Doctors Implant Heart Valves Through Minimally Invasive Procedure
4/25/2008

Hospital is only Florida site where the alternative to open-heart surgery clinical trial is available

UM physicians Alan Heldman, M.D., (left) and William O’Neill, M.D., announced the successful implantation of heart valves in two patients through a minimally invasive procedure, an alternative to open heart surgery to remedy aortic stenosis. Patients Kenneth Horstmyer (left) and Harold Schoendorf also spoke at the news conference on Thursday.   Patients Harold Schoendorf and Kenneth Horstmyer with William O’Neill, M.D.   Alan Heldman, M.D., explained how the heart valve is replaced through a minimally invasive procedure.

A few days after a revolutionary minimally invasive heart procedure was performed at University of Miami Hospital, the two patients were up-and-about and getting back to their regular activities. The procedure, a percutaneous valve replacement performed using catheters, is a new option for some older people who suffer from aortic stenosis but would not normally be treatable because they would be unable to withstand open-heart surgery and a long recovery period.

The disease, a narrowing of the valve that restricts blood flow, is a function of aging and has a high mortality rate if not treatable.

The new procedure, an FDA-approved clinical trial that is available at a handful of select facilities across the nation and only at UM in Florida, launches a “new era in the management of heart disease,” said William O’Neill, M.D., the Miller School’s executive dean for clinical affairs, who, along with Alan Heldman, M.D., clinical chief of the Cardiovascular Division, implanted the new heart valves.

To view press conference click here

University of Miami Health System is Getting Exposure Across Campus and Around South Florida
4/29/2008

Sebastian the Ibis, here with UM President Donna E. Shalala and Pascal J. Goldschmidt, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, and CEO of UHealth, helped welcome guests to the UHealth gala.

The public roll-out of South Florida’s only university health system began with a spectacular event in the Schoninger Research Quadrangle on April 15. Not only was UHealth unveiled before a special gathering of Miller School supporters, but the newly created Society of Health Champions Annual Fund for the University of Miami Hospital was announced at the same time.

University of Miami Health System, a comprehensive network of university-based medical entities that together represent an innovative brand of the best health care, became finalized in December when the University purchased the former Cedars Medical Center and renamed it University of Miami Hospital.

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