M.P. “Mickey” Demos, MD ’57
“I’ll never forget the first words of our first lecture on the first day of medical school in 1953,” said Mickey Demos ’57. “Dr. Paff opened his gross anatomy lecture by saying, ‘Students, welcome to world’s most honored profession—medicine.’ That September morning at the age of 23 was the culmination of my dreams to become a doctor. In four years, I would be called “Doctor Demos” for the rest of my life. I had prepared all summer following word of my acceptance to learn as much as I could about gross anatomy, the first and hardest course in medical school.”
The son of poor immigrants from Greece and accepted to the University of Miami on a boxing scholarship, Dr. Demos had the privilege of being selected to attend the first medical school in Florida—the University of Miami School of Medicine, on a scholarship loan. His class began with 42 students and graduated with just 34 in 1957 (the second graduating class of the medical school.)
After serving his internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, he returned to Miami and did a two year General Surgery Residency, which also included one year of research at Jackson Memorial Hospital. During this time he won a National Research Award when he became one of the first to work with Radio-Active Isotopes. He then spent three years of residency specializing in urology at Jackson Memorial Hospital, before entering private practice 1963 at age 33.
He never forgot the help he had received as a young medical student, and he was determined to give back to the University that helped him to accomplish his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. “The privilege of becoming a physician opened doors for me,” said Demos. “I also realized that showing appreciation to those who helped me along they way was important in my life.”
Over the years, Dr. Demos has given so much back to the University. In 1969 he became the founding president of the UM Medical Alumni Association, traveling coast-to-coast at his own expense to establish region chapters. He was the top fund-raiser in the medical alumni association for three years, and in 1972, Dr. Demos received the association’s highest honor the “Alumnus of the Year” award for his activities on behalf of the Alumni Association and his contributions to the community.
He served in an advisory capacity with the administration and faculty of the UM School of Medicine, and later he would become the first medical alumnus elected to the UM board of trustees; the first medical student in Iron Arrow, and the first alumni member of the Founder’s Society at UM, a giving society for donors of $25,000 and above.
A lifelong learner, Dr. Demos returned to UM in 1982—this time as a law student. He received his law degree in 1986. In 1985, he founded the American Institute of Medical Law (A.I.M.L) to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. “I was a clinical professor at the School of Medicine and an adjunct professor at the law school,” said Demos. “I taught medical law to address the medical malpractice crisis.”
From amateur boxer to doctor, Dr. Demos said, “I owe everything that I have accomplished in the 75 years to the University of Miami, which helped me when I needed it in obtaining an education which I could not financially afford at the time. I am particularly indebted to Dr. Paff who introduced me to the significance of the honor and duty of becoming a physician as well as expressing the ‘world’s most honored profession.’ I learned early on that helping others is productive and enjoyable as well as a duty.”
Dr. Demos and his wife returned to the farm where his mother was born in Greece and are now refurbishing the farm his great grandfather built in 1842. With an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea, only three miles away, Dr. Demos said, “Medical School alumni are welcome to come see me in Sparta and I’d be happy to show them the ‘real’ Greece!”
