Nov. 4, 2024 — The UF College of Medicine congratulates the following students, trainees, staff, and faculty who have recently been recognized with awards and achievements that honor their hard work and commitment to advancing scientific discovery, improving medical education, and helping patients:

• UF Health has has been designated a Center of Excellence by the Pheo Para Alliance, which recognizes exceptional care for patients with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. As the first center in Florida — and first in the Southeast — to receive the designation, this achievement was made possible through contributions from Hans Ghayee, D.O., Aditya Shirali, M.D., and professionals within the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism and the Department of Medicine in the College of Medicine.

• Marc Maybauer, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of anesthesiology, has co-authored 22 articles published in 2024. The ASAIO Journal honored Maybauer and his colleagues’ article “Central Venopulmonary Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Background and Standardized Nomenclature” as its online Editor’s Pick this fall.
• Robert McKenna, Ph.D., and Mario Mietzsch, Ph.D., wrote the paper “The Structure of Spiroplasma Virus 4: Exploring the Capsid Diversity of the Microviridae,” which recently received recognition as an Editor’s Choice Article in Viruses.
• Shahla Masood, M.D., a board-certified pathologist and cytopathologist at UF Health Jacksonville, was included in the 2024 edition of The Pathologist Power List. This annual feature shines a spotlight on the highly valued work of pathologists and laboratory medicine professionals across the globe.
• Raymond Mailhot, M.D., M.P.H., was featured in ASCO’s Connection Magazine. Mailhot and his team — including collaborators at the Mexican Society of Radiation Oncologists — launched a national survey of medical providers and radiation oncologists across Mexico. This initiative was supported by a 2020 Global Oncology Young Investigator Award from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. 
• Department of Ophthalmology Chair Sonal Tuli, M.D., recently spoke at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in Chicago. Her cornea-focused session was featured in EyeWorld News, a member publication of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

• A group of College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy researchers, including George L. Drusano, M.D., a professor and director of the College of Medicine’s Institute of Therapeutic Innovation, have been awarded an $11.8 million National Institutes of Health grant to investigate antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• To address the need for new nonaddictive methods to treat pain, a university team has been awarded a $3.5 million NIH grant to train postdoctoral fellows seeking to become independent clinical pain researchers. The program is led by neuroscientist Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, MSPH, Ph.D., director of the training program and an associate professor in the colleges of Medicine and Dentistry.
• The UF Mobile Outreach Clinic was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant from the nonprofit Direct Relief and its Fund for Health Equity to establish a new mobile clinic providing maternal health care. The new clinic is a collaboration between the UF Mobile Outreach Clinic and the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The clinic, expected to be operational in the fall, will provide crucial health services to underserved communities in Alachua and surrounding counties, especially in rural areas, focused on mothers and their families.
• Two College of Medicine faculty members were recently inducted into The Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida in recognition of their contributions to the field of cardiology and aging. Dominick Angiolillo, M.D., Ph.D., the chief of cardiology and medical director of the UF Health Cardiovascular Center in Jacksonville and a professor of medicine at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville, has been a key investigator in the clinical development of numerous novel therapies for blood clots and the prevention of thrombosis. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Physiology and Aging, studies the role iron deregulation, inflammation, and muscle loss play in frailty as people age. He has participated in National Institutes of Health workshops focused on the biology of aging and contributed research to the National Institute on Aging.

• Ramon Sun, Ph.D., the Anne and Oscar Lackner Endowed Eminent Scholar and an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has received the 2024 Glycobiology Significant Achievement Award from the Society for Glycobiology. Sun will present his research at the society’s annual meeting this fall.
• Svetlana Chembrovich, M.D.; Everett Jones, M.D.; Timothy Feldheim, M.D.; Amir Jafari, D.O.; Matthew Meroney, M.D.; and Federico Jimenez Ruiz, M.D., were selected as 2024 recipients of education awards from the I. Heermann Anesthesia Foundation. These awards support scholarly pursuits designed to enhance the field of anesthesiology through clinical and laboratory research, publication, teaching, and the application of knowledge to the welfare of the patient.
• Desmond Schatz, M.D., a professor and medical director of the UF Diabetes Institute and director of the clinical research center within the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has been named to Biomea Fusion’s Global Scientific Advisory Board.
• Josepha Cheong, M.D., has been named the new treasurer of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Board. During her one-year term, she will lead as chair of the Finance Committee.
• Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., the Stop Children’s Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research in the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Pediatrics, has been named the UF Innovate | Tech Licensing Innovator of the Year for 2024. When selecting the Innovator of the Year, UF considers the researcher’s body of work over time, choosing one who has made significant scientific contributions that have been licensed or taken to the marketplace. Sayour’s development of unique mRNA vaccines could be the key to a universal cancer vaccine treatment.

• Third-year medical students Waverly Leonard and Maggie Zawoy presented their research on neurocysticercosis at the 2024 infectious disease conference, IDWeek, in October.
• Tatsiana Kryvitskaya, M.D., a cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellow, earned a Diagnostic POCUS Certificate from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The program focuses on developing skills in diagnostic ultrasound of organ systems identified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as core competencies for practicing anesthesiologists.
• Sabrina Zequeira, M.S., a neuroscience graduate student, participated in the yearlong professional development program, Yale Ciencia Academy. The collaboration between Yale University, Ciencia Puerto Rico, and iBiology equips doctoral students for postdoctoral positions that will further their academic and career goals.
• The College of Medicine student-run group CHOMP Melanoma partnered with UF HealthStreet to host a free skin cancer screening event Oct. 12 for the Gainesville and greater Alachua County community. During the four-hour event, 49 patients were screened.
• At the 2024 Honors Convocation, 33 Florida medical students received scholarships and awards based on their academic, research, and clinical achievements, as well as their service to the university and Gainesville community.