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Director Named for New UM International Medicine Institute

5/15/2007

The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, which already serves as an academic medical center for many people in Latin America,  is about to expand its worldwide reach with the creation of the University of Miami International Medicine Institute.

The new Institute will be directed by Eduardo de Marchena, M.D., a nationally recognized cardiologist who is a professor of medicine and surgery at the Miller School of Medicine. In addition, de Marchena serves as director of interventional cardiology, director of the cardiovascular center and chairman of the University of Miami Medical Group. He recently stepped down as interim chair of the Department of Medicine, and was previously chief of the Division of Cardiology.

“This new institute fits with our overriding mission of being a global leader in cutting-edge clinical care, medical research and education,” said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School of Medicine. “And there is no better person than Dr. de Marchena to oversee the entire institute as he has delivered countless medical education presentations and clinical symposiums in diverse areas of cardiology throughout the Americas.”

“While aiming for an expansive worldwide reach, the Institute will be focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean because of Miami’s geographic location and cultural ties to the region.” says de Marchena.

The Institute will have three main components: education, clinical care and research. The International Medical Education and Training program will draw heavily from the hugely successful William J. Harrington Medical Training Programs for Latin America already in place at the Miller School of Medicine.

In its 30 years, the Harrington Program has trained more than 300 internal medicine residents, more than 1,600 medical students, and provided continuing education for close to 900 practicing physicians from Latin America. The Harrington program will now open its doors to trainees in other specialties beyond internal medicine.

“Dr. Harrington felt the best way to help our Caribbean and Latin American neighbors was through education,” says de Marchena. “The whole idea is to train top physicians here and then have them return to their own country to influence their communities through medical education, clinical care and leadership.”

The education and training component of the Institute will also include international continuing medical education to be conducted both here and at sites outside the United States. Many existing CME courses will be expanded and new ones created.

The Institute’s clinical component will be established through an International Medicine Center. This care-based center will collaborate with the International Health Center already in place on the Miller School of Medicine campus. More than 3,000 patients from Latin America have received care in Miami through the services of the International Health Center at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

“In addition to the international referrals which bring patients to Miami, we plan to establish clinical initiatives across Latin America to care for patients in their home countries,” said de Marchena.  “Early target cities include Cartagena, Colombia, and Guayaquil, Ecuador, where we hope to open treatment facilities with local partners in the near future. We are also exploring other clinical partnerships elsewhere in the region.”

The research mission of the Institute will be set up through the International Medicine Research Center.  Initially the research will focus on cardiovascular disease, with cutting edge studies being developed for new therapies and novel devices. Other multi-center clinical trials will also be coordinated between the Miller School and the research centers in Latin America. “Even though we are starting our research efforts with cardiovascular disease, we will soon have other medical discipline focused research centers,” said de Marchena. “We will develop a leading International Medicine Institute that will allow us to collaborate with our neighbors to achieve excellence in medical education, clinical care, and research throughout the Americas.”

“Dr. de Marchena is the perfect leader for this major UM initiative,” said William O’Neill, M.D., executive dean for clinical affairs at the Miller School of Medicine. “His medical reputation in Latin American is widespread and his network of colleagues is unsurpassed. He is a true visionary who will help UM develop a collaborative gateway to Latin medical research and patient care.”