Women trailblazers leave their mark at the College of Medicine
The college’s history and its future are influenced by women who have broken barriers and advanced medicine
March 16, 2022 — Medicine is increasingly making strides toward equity — especially when it comes to women’s roles in the field — but it wasn’t always that way. The first graduating class at the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1960 included three women, about 8% of the class. By comparison, more than half of the medical school class of 2025 are women, in line with national rates.
The UF College of Medicine is home to many female trailblazers who have broken barriers, advanced research and compassionately cared for patients. Here are just a few of the college’s women pioneers.
Charlotte Maguire, M.D., at a founder's committee meeting in 1950.
Photo courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections
Early 1950s: Charlotte Maguire, M.D., was the only woman to serve on the Founders Committee for the proposed University of Florida College of Medicine. She also later helped found the Florida State University College of Medicine.
Lucy Birzis, Ph.D.
Photo courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections
1956-1962: Four female faculty members contributed to the college’s early progress. Margaret Waid, M.D., joined the department of pathology in 1957 and left UF in 1962. Lucy Birzis, Ph.D., was a member of the pharmacology department and a pioneer in the field of microelectrode studies of brain function. She was at UF from 1956-1959. Louise Odor, Ph.D., was an anatomist whose work in electron microscopy of oocytes was well published, which led her to a position as a distinguished faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina. Clinician Harriett Gillette, M.D., practiced physical medicine and was a fellow of the American College of Physicians when she passed away in 2002. She left UF by 1960 to continue her private practice. She served as president of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine in 1970.
Jean Bennett, M.D. '60
Photo courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections
1960: Jean Bennett, M.D., became the college’s first female graduate. She was active in the medical community for her entire career, serving as a former chairman of the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and president of the medical staff at Morton F. Plant Hospital. She has received the UF Distinguished Alumnus award, UF Distinguished Community Service award and the 1984 American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrician of the Year award for the state of Florida. Her dedication to excellent patient care was highly regarded by her patients, several of whom established the Jean Lester Bennett Endowed Scholarship in her honor. Bennett was inducted to the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 1988.
Cassandra Ndiforchu, M.D.
1972: Cassandra Ndiforchu, M.D., was the college’s first Black female graduate. She recently retired following her successful career as a California-based gynecologist.
1974: Helen Hilling became the college’s first female full professor, in the department of community health and family medicine.
Cam-Ha T. Nguyen, M.D. '79
Photo courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections
1979: Ellen Y. Chen, Bee-Chen Lee and Cam-Ha T. Nguyen were the first Asian female UF medical school graduates.
Nancy Mendenhall, M.D.
Photo by Jesse S. Jones
1992: Nancy Mendenhall, M.D. ’80, became the college’s first female department chair (radiation oncology). As medical director of the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute, she has more than 40 years of experience and specializes in the areas of breast cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphomas and pediatric cancers. She also treats patients who have prostate cancer and other malignancies. She has been named in several leading women’s magazines as one of the nation’s top doctors for women with cancer. Mendenhall was named the UF College of Medicine’s 2018 Clinical Science Researcher of the Year, in part for her research success in securing an $11.9 million grant for a national prostate cancer study comparing proton therapy to standard radiation treatment. She was inducted to the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 2014.
Drs. Jim and Nell Potter, M.D. '63, during medical school
Photo courtesy of University of Florida Digital Collections
1992: Nell W. Potter, M.D. ’63, practiced adolescent medicine at the UF Student Health Care Center and worked in private practice for almost 50 years in Pensacola. She was also the director of student health services at the University of West Florida. Along with her husband, Dr. James Potter, she established the Nell W. Potter, M.D., Assistant Professorship in Adolescent Medicine in the UF College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. Potter, who has served on the UF Foundation Board of Directors, UF Medical Alumni Board of Directors and co-chaired the UF “Embrace Excellence” Capital Campaign for Medicine, was inducted into the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 1992.
Suzanne Klimberg, M.D. ’84
Photo courtesy of UTMB
1999: Suzanne Klimberg, M.D. ’84, who completed both her medical degree and residency training at the College of Medicine, has pioneered innovative breast cancer treatment methods for patients, authored 15 books and over 350 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has held over 25 editorial board positions for surgical journals and publications. She received the Edward R. Woodward Surgical Resident Award from the UF College of Medicine and was the second woman to be elected president of the Association of Academic Surgery. She served terms as the president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology. A professor and the division chief of surgical oncology and colorectal surgery in the department of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Klimberg was inducted into the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 1999.
Marian Limacher, M.D., and Tim Flynn, M.D.
2010: Marian Limacher, M.D., became the college’s first female senior associate dean (faculty affairs).
Brittney Newby, M.D., Ph.D.
2011: Brittney Newby, M.D., Ph.D., is the first Black woman admitted into the UF MD-PhD Training Program. She completed her Ph.D. from the College of Medicine in 2017 and medical school in 2019. Newby is currently a resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Donna Baytop, M.D.
2014: Donna Baytop, M.D. ’76, is the former corporate medical director with Solar Turbines and a former regional medical director at Caterpillar Inc., where she developed an in-house clinic to treat employees instead of sending them to emergency rooms. She also traveled the world establishing relationships with clinics to serve her employees in places like China, Siberia and Argentina. Baytop was inducted into the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 2014.
Capt. Kimberly P. Toone, M.D.
2017: Kimberly Toone, M.D. ’97, a member of the U.S. Navy, is the executive officer (XO) of the USNS Comfort, T-AH 20. A pioneer in her profession, Capt. Toone was the first female force surgeon for Naval Air Forces Atlantic and the first female aerospace medicine specialty leader. She was inducted into the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 2017.
Tenisha Wilson, M.D., Ph.D.
2018: Tenisha Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., is the first Black female MD-PhD graduate from the UF College of Medicine. She is currently a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Multak, Ph.D., MPAS
Photo by Mincy C. Miller
2018: Nina Multak, Ph.D., MPAS, is the first woman to lead the UF School of PA Studies as the associate dean and Randolph B. Mahoney director.
Colleen Koch, M.D., M.S., M.B.A.
Photo by Louis Brems
2020: Colleen Koch, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., becomes the college’s first female dean. Prior to joining UF, she served as a professor and chair of the department of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine and anesthesiologist-in-chief of Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Maude Lofton, M.D.
Photo by Jesse S. Jones
2021: Maude Lofton, M.D. ’79, completed her pediatric residency at the University Hospital in Jacksonville (later UF Health Jacksonville) and received numerous awards and commendations for her child and family advocacy from the Jacksonville community. She was on faculty at the UF College of Medicine, Howard University, the University of Alabama College of Medicine at Birmingham and the University of Louisville College of Medicine. She was inducted into the UF College of Medicine Wall of Fame in 2021.
By the numbers
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Women in UF’s first graduating medical school class in 1960: 3 (8% of the class)
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Women in the UF medical school class of 2025: 86 (53% of the class)
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Women who serve as department chairs at the College of Medicine: 8 (28% of chairs)
National trends
Based on 2021 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges
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53% of medical students nationwide are female
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22% of permanent U.S. medical school deans are female
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22% of permanent U.S. medical school chairs are female
