Greetings and welcome to the fall edition of Academic Matters. It is my pleasure to provide updates on the outstanding things taking place at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville.

The UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville plays a vital role in educating and training the future generation of medical professionals and health care providers. As part of an academic health center, we have the privilege to collaborate with UF Health Jacksonville. We are working closely with Patrick L. Green, FACHE, the new CEO of UF Health Jacksonville, as we plan for the expansion of services at the existing UF Health North hospital and its new bed tower.

Our faculty, residents, fellows and staff are committed to making an impact in academic medicine, not just on our campus but also in our local communities and throughout the country. I am proud to announce the recent accomplishments and recognition of UF COMJ faculty at the 2023 Duval County Medical Society Annual Meeting. Rana Alissa, MD, was elected to serve as a member of the board of directors. Additionally, Kitty Leung, MD; Firas Madbak, MD; and Gregory Lewis, MD, were recognized with awards. These are esteemed positions and awards that should be celebrated.

Recently, the college had the opportunity to host Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, the president of the American Medical Association, for a graduate medical education breakfast. Our leaders heard from AMA leadership about its priorities in graduate medical education and had the opportunity to share the important GME work we do as a college and discuss our contributions to the health care ecosystem in North Florida and South Georgia.

I would also like to celebrate UF Health Jacksonville’s recently improved Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. The hospital’s main downtown campus improved its grade from a “B” to an “A.” UF Health North improved its numerical score this year and retained its “B” grade. I would like to congratulate Kelly Gray-Eurom, MD, MMM, FACEP, assistant dean for quality and safety at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, and chief quality officer at UF Health Jacksonville, and her team for this accomplishment. This speaks to the great work our faculty, residents and fellows do on a daily basis to deliver top-tier patient care. We would not be able to move quality forward without their engagement.

In this issue you will get a chance to learn about the leading-edge research conducted by the University of Florida Pain Assessment and Management Initiative, or PAMI and the collaboration between the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville and Jacksonville to improve the lives of children with asthma; read about how one faculty who is fighting blindness with exceptional ophthalmology care; and get to know one of our outstanding residents, and much more. We are the future of academic medicine.

As always, it is my honor to serve you as dean. I look forward to advancing medicine with you. Sincerely,

Linda Edwards, MD

Dean, UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville