The list of “thank-yous” was long, but that’s what made it so special when it was announced that UHealth and the Miller School won an Emmy Award for “Stem Cell Therapy: Healing Force of the Future,” the fourth episode in the television documentary series Breakthrough Medicine.

The collaborative work was recognized at an awards ceremony for the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Awards, which includes television markets across Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Puerto Rico. The show won in the category of Public/Current/Community Affairs.

From left, Joanne Leahy, assistant vice president of UHealth Office of Marketing, William O’Neill, M.D., Joshua Hare, M.D., and Jeni Vazquez, director of marketing, celebrate UHealth and the Miller School’s Emmy.

In their acceptance remarks, William O’Neill, M.D., executive dean for clinical affairs and chief medical officer of UHealth, and Joshua Hare, M.D., the Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine and director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, thanked President Donna E. Shalala and Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., for their vision in creating the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute and for their support of the documentary series.

The episode on stem cells first aired in July 2010. The series debuted in April 2009 with the first show, “Mending Broken Hearts: Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement.” Since then, hundreds of thousands have viewed seven subsequent episodes featuring Miller doctors and scientists as they discover cures for diseases, save lives with new surgical procedures, and bring hope to patients.

The Breakthrough Medicine series is produced by Daniel Brian & Associates and the UHealth Office of Marketing.