FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Congratulations to Samantha Taño, M.D. ’25, on being named Intern of the Year at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, during her pediatrics residency. 🎉
We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition. Our alumni rock!

From late-night study sessions to side-by-side shifts in the ER 💙
Drs. Kathryn Dasburg and Michelle Hernandez (FIU Medicine Class of 2018 grads) built a friendship in med school that’s still going strong at Baptist Health—supporting each other and caring for patients in the Miami community.Baptist Health—supporting each other and caring for our Miami community. Read their story in FIU Medicine Magazine. 🔗go.fiu.edu/facebook-medicine
Happy ! 🩺
Tag your best friend and share this post to celebrate those who are there with you every step of the way.

After performing the first partial heart transplant in Florida, Dr. David Kalfa, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Nicklaus Children’s and Professor/Researcher at FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, along with Dr. Ryan Halickman, Pediatric and Fetal Cardiologist and co-leader of the partial heart valve transplantation program, and the team at Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute have now completed their second partial heart transplant — implanting a living pulmonary valve in a 2-year-old child.

This groundbreaking procedure uses a living valve designed to grow with the child, offering the potential to reduce the need for future open-heart surgeries and marking another major step forward in pediatric heart innovation.

Learn more about this historic milestone: https://www.nicklauschildrens.org/news-events/press-releases/heart-institute-performs-floridas-first-partial-heart-transplant

Your ticket to a stronger medical school application is waiting! 🎟️ Our Graduate Certificate in Molecular & Biomedical Sciences program helps aspiring physicians and physician assistants build a stronger foundation in clinical sciences, human disease, and experimental data. Applications close June 15. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. 🔗 Learn more and apply here: go.fiu.edu/gcp-facebook

M1 Samantha Lakin spent the week at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as part of the highly selective Otolaryngology Future Scholars Program. 🩺
From OR to clinic—she gained hands-on experience, explored exciting research, and got a real-world look at ENT.

FIU medical student Adonicah Cummings earns the Clinical Innovation in Brain Injury Award at the University of Florida’s inaugural Florida Brain Injury Research Symposium. 🏆
Shout-out to contributing medical students Hope Cherian and Eric Kunz. Their project aimed to improve how doctors measure the size of bleeding around the brain, comparing traditional methods with computer-assisted tools to better understand how serious the injury is and how well patients respond to treatment.
Special thanks to Baptist Health Brain and Spine Care physicians Drs. Robert Wicks, Italo Linfante, and Michael McDermott--chair of neurosciences at FIU Medicine and system chief executive of Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care-- for their mentorship.

👏 Congratulations to Dr. Christopher Senkowski on his appointment to the Board of Directors for the Association of Program Directors in Surgery!
Proud to see our FIU/Baptist Health General Surgery Residency Program director and FIU Medicine professor recognized at the national level.
🔗Read more: go.fiu.edu/fiubaptist-health-residency
Baptist Health Academics

After treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, Judi Califano is still moving forward — one treatment at a time, one mile at a time — thanks to the team of experts at Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/she-beat-a-grade-4-brain-tumor-now-shes-back-to-running-marathons