UF Med Wrapped: 2024 College of Medicine highlights
Review the college’s top stories from this past year
Dec. 5, 2024 — It was a “very demure, very mindful” year for the University of Florida College of Medicine, with no shortage of accomplishments and stories to share about the top medical institution in “Florida!!!”
More than 90 articles on Doctor Gator News and 1,600 posts were shared on the college’s social media platforms in 2024. We want to “be part of your symphony,” so “Please Please Please” read our most “Popular” articles from the past year.
Student spotlight
UF Medicine doctoral candidates celebrate milestone event
with inaugural white coat ceremony
UF College of Medicine doctoral candidates who successfully passed their qualifying exams this past academic year received personalized white coats in an inaugural ceremony.
Photo by Charles Poulton
Inspired by the symbolic white coat ceremonies held for medical and physician assistant students, 36 graduate students at the College of Medicine — now doctoral candidates — marked the momentous occasion of passing their qualifying exams by receiving personalized white coats. Read more about the ceremony.
UF Match Day 2024: Unsealing the Future
Photo by Nate Guidry
As the clocks struck midday in Gainesville, anxious students erupted from their seats to find the envelopes that contained their name — and their future. The destinies of the UF medical school class of 2024 look bright: the incoming residents will spread their medical knowledge to 28 states and Washington, D.C., and 42% of the group will become primary care providers, addressing a nationwide shortage in the field. Read vignettes from the UF medical school Class of 2024.
On the front lines of Chagas disease
For the past five years, Rodrigo Alcala-Arana has worked alongside Norman L. Beatty, M.D., and his team at the UF Chagas Disease Program. In addition to tracking kissing bugs throughout Florida, Beatty and Alcala-Arana have been collaborating with multidisciplinary researchers at UF to educate and routinely screen Floridians for Chagas disease. Read more about Alcala-Arana.
Staff spotlight
Balancing professional and academic excellence
Photo by Emily Mavrakis
As an administrative specialist in the Office of the Dean, Desiree “Desi” Waters plays a key role in supporting operations and collegewide initiatives. On any given day, she can be found coordinating event details, booking venues, and meeting with colleagues — or in the newsroom as a student journalist with WUFT-TV News. Read more about Waters.
Alumni spotlight
‘Life is not a straight path’
Doctor Carolyn Drazinic
As a young girl growing up in Eustis, Florida, Carolyn Drazinic, M.D. ’98, Ph.D. ’96, B.S. ’90, M.B.A., dreamed of being a concert pianist. Her skilled hands brought each note to life, from classics to jazz to rock ’n’ roll. Little did she know, her hands would one day lead the future of psychiatric care in Florida, helping patients through the opioid crisis, veteran mental health services, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about Drazinic.
Innovative research
New mRNA cancer vaccine triggers fierce immune response
to fight malignant brain tumor
Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., is the recipient of a $2.5 million grant from CureSearch For Children's Cancer. The award is to support a Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel RNA nanoparticle vaccine developed in his laboratory.
In a first-ever human clinical trial of four adult patients, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida quickly reprogrammed the immune system to attack glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal brain tumor. Read more.
Senior author Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., the Stop Children’s Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research in the Department of Pediatrics and Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery and pediatrics pioneered the new vaccine. This innovative research has made headlines worldwide in major publications such as Bloomberg, The Times, U.S. News & World Report, and other major publications.
Service spotlight
New clothing closet supports students’ professional journeys
A group of students from across the academic health center join UF School of Physician Assistant Studies faculty
Breann Garbas, DHSc, PA-C, and Jason Fromm, M.D., in sorting clothes and taking an inventory of donations to the UF Health Professional Clothes Closet Feb. 6.
The UF Health Professional Clothes Closet provides free access to professional attire for students in all six health science colleges. It aspires to alleviate financial stress while ensuring students feel confident and prepared.
Led by faculty from the UF School of Physician Assistant Studies, student officers from various health colleges keep the closet running, from assisting with collecting donations and keeping track of inventory to promoting the closet and networking with contacts across UF to enhance accessibility and sustainability. Learn more.
