Inspiring Excellence in Medical Education
Dr. Linda Edwards provides updates from the college.
Greetings to all who serve, support, and love the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. As we embrace the fall season, I’m delighted to welcome you to this edition of Academic Matters.
Moving forward together, let our mission to heal, comfort, educate, and discover be our compass as we deliver leading-edge care.
It is with deep gratitude that I announce the college received a generous $5 million private gift from Steven and Donna Overly, a local couple concerned about the burden of debt medical students accumulate to receive an education. This gift will go toward scholarships for medical students completing third- and fourth-year rotations on our campus. Future physicians in our medical education programs will benefit greatly because of their philanthropy. Please join me in expressing our sincere thanks to the Overlys.
Recently, Shelley Collins, MD, the senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education and professor of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine, made her first visit to the Jacksonville campus. She met with department chairs and Dean’s Office leadership to review the next steps in the implementation of regional campus designation for our campus. Faculty gave a tour of our facilities and discussed ways to collaborate and improve medical student education.
It is my pleasure to announce that after a nationwide search, Dheeraj R. Gopireddy (Dr. Reddy) MBBS, MBA, MPH, has been named chair of the Department of Radiology, effective October 1, 2024. Dr. Reddy is currently a professor of radiology and has been serving as interim chair of the Department of Radiology. His vision for the Department of Radiology is to be a national leader in radiological imaging sciences and to be patient centric. Congratulations Dr. Reddy and thank you for your leadership and dedication to the College of Medicine — Jacksonville.
I would like to recognize our phenomenal faculty, who have received noteworthy accomplishments in recent months. Dominick Angiolillo, MD, PhD, made history as the first UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville professor to receive the UF Distinguished Professor recognition. Rana Alissa, MD, associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, was elected president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Ashley Norse, MD, a UF professor and the associate chair of Clinical Operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine was recently elected as president-elect of the Florida Medical Association. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for advancing medical excellence.
Finally, as we observe both Women in Medicine Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month this September, I encourage each of you to take a moment to honor and celebrate the contributions of our diverse and talented colleagues who enrich our community.
As always, it is a pleasure to serve as your dean.
Linda Edwards, MD
Dean, UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville