David Wood, MD, MPH, a pediatrics professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, has been selected as a UF International Educator of the Year.
The UF International Center in Gainesville gives the award annually to recognize outstanding international endeavors by UF faculty members. One award is presented each year to a senior faculty member and another to a junior faculty member.
Wood, a senior faculty member, was recognized for his efforts as director of the
Program for Global Health Education, which is part of the UF College of Medicine. The program gives medical students the opportunity to gain global health experiences. For instance, it sponsors service trips each spring to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and Thailand, where students learn firsthand about health inequalities while helping meet the medical needs of people there.
Wood is the first professor from the medical college's Jacksonville campus to be named International Educator of the Year since the award was first given in 2004.
“It has been a great joy for me to help develop the Global Health Education program these past two years and help the College of Medicine and the other UF health
sciences colleges increase the number and quality of opportunities for our
students to serve and learn in international settings,” Wood said. “I believe
the international experience helps the UF medical students become more
empathetic and socially responsible doctors.”
At the
College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Wood teaches in the Division of Community and Societal Pediatrics. He is also director of Jacksonville Health and Transition Services (JaxHATS) and the Center for Health Equity and Quality Research (CHEQR).
“I want to congratulate Dr. Wood on being named a UF International Educator of the Year, especially since he’s the first College of Medicine professor in Jacksonville ever selected for this significant award,” said Daniel R. Wilson, MD, PhD, dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “Dr. Wood’s contributions to the UF community are felt not only in Jacksonville and Gainesville, but across the world.”
Wood received the International Educator of the Year during a reception Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Keene Faculty Center on UF’s main campus in Gainesville.