UM Faculty Honored as Health Care Heroes

The Miller School of Medicine and Jackson Health System nearly swept the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Health Care Heroes Awards, taking the honors in all categories except one.

Dean John G. Clarkson, M.D., received the prestigious AXA Advisors Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the extraordinary impact he has had on the South Florida community.

This is the second year in a row that faculty from the University of Miami have received the Lifetime Achievement Award: Gerard Kaiser, M.D., senior associate dean for clinical affairs, was the recipient in 2005. Philanthropist Jay W. Weiss, a major supporter of the school, received the award posthumously in 2004.

Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director and chief academic officer of the Diabetes Research Institute, received the Chamber Health Care Heroes award in the biomedical category.

Daniella David, M.D., director, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Programs at the Miami VA Healthcare System and associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences, was presented with the Health Care Professional Award. Nilda P. Peragallo, Dr.P.H., R.N., dean and professor of UM’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, won in the nurses category, and Jackson took the award in the institutions/programs category for the JHS Primary Care Initiative.

The Miami Project Welcomes Celebrated Actor

Oscar-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones was on campus recently to promote the Second Annual Celebrity Polo Match and Gala, presented by Hermés, as well as to learn more about The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Last year’s polo match raised more than $600,000 for The Buoniconti Fund, the national fundraising arm of The Miami Project. Tommy Lee Jones personally hit the polo field and took on Mathias Hermès, America’s Most Wanted star John Walsh, and Outback Steakhouse founder Tim Gannon in a celebrity polo match.