Sept. 29, 2023 — Fall is football season at the University of Florida — a time when Gators fans rally together in The Swamp to cheer for athletes and showcase their love for the university. Just as teamwork is key to achieving greatness on the field, it’s equally important in the hospital, clinic and laboratory.

“Achieving Excellence Through Teamwork” served as the theme of the UF College of Medicine’s annual State of the College hybrid event Sept. 29, highlighting the successes of recent programs and projects undertaken by college faculty, learners, trainees and staff.

“A team is where talent meets opportunity,” said Colleen Koch, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., the Folke H. Peterson Dean’s Distinguished Professor and dean of the College of Medicine. “Each of us needs to operate at peak performance, but only together can we accomplish great things. Only teams can create complex data hubs; only teams can perform successful surgery, provide complex medical and critical care, or translate research from the bench to the bedside. It takes teamwork to defeat cancer, to innovate, to save lives — to advance not just medicine, but humanity.”

At the one-hour event, hosted live from the George T. Harrell, M.D., Medical Education Building, several college leaders updated the community on key initiatives and achievements from the past year related to the college’s strategic plan. They also shared exciting insights on the game plan for projects coming soon. Some of the college’s achievements over the past year include:

• Education: Teams at the college are transforming medical education by developing an artificial intelligence in health care curriculum and by hosting the AI4Health conference, which brings leading cross-disciplinary AI experts at UF together with practicing clinicians from across the country for a series of in-depth discussions on how AI advancements are transforming clinical practice and improving patient health.
• Research: With the upcoming opening of the 263,000-square-foot Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology, researchers at the College of Medicine have more opportunities than ever to collaborate not only with their colleagues, but also across various disciplines at the university.
• Patient care: Gainesville is now home to Florida’s first Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit, an ambulance that responds only to potential stroke emergencies, specially equipped to accurately diagnose and begin the most appropriate treatment while in transit to the nearest available stroke center. This effort can save critical moments and reduce long-term disability from stroke.
• Community and belonging: The college and UF Health partnered with Alachua County Public Schools to implement Project SEARCH, which provides employment and internship opportunities to local neurodivergent high school students.
• System integration: The UF Health Cancer Center recently became a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, signifying that it has met rigorous standards in its leading-edge cancer research programs, advanced scientific leadership, distinctive training programs and forward-thinking community outreach.
• Value: The newly formed Quality & Patient Safety initiative, or QPSi, will soon launch an institute that will host programs aimed at driving innovations that improve quality, patient safety, health care efficiency and workforce development by harnessing the University of Florida’s computational strength in AI.