Outstanding researchers flock to FIU College of Medicine

January 9, 2009

MIAMI – As FIU’s newly-accredited College of Medicine prepares to welcome its first class in the fall, deans are busy recruiting leading researchers from universities throughout the world.

These scientists will head teams that will develop key areas of study at the new College of Medicine, which aims to revolutionize medical education and pilot an educational model permeated with community involvement. The specific areas of study the school will emphasize are reproductive endocrinology and environmental toxicology 

“We have chosen to focus on areas of research where we believe we can make almost immediate contributions to the local community as well as the scientific community,” said Dean of the College of Medicine Dr. John Rock, a world-renowned surgeon and specialist in reproductive endocrinology. “This medical school was created to educate doctors with a commitment to community service and to address environment and developmental concerns. Our new medical school has been a natural magnet for outstanding talent.”

Dr. Rock said that all the professors who will teach first year classes have been hired. All are outstanding clinicians and scientists. Researchers recruited to lead teams at the FIU College of Medicine bring to FIU on-going research projects and millions in federal and private funding. They include:

Georg Petroianu, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Petroianu joins FIU College of Medicine from United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Petroianu will chair the Cellular Biology Department based on his extensive work in pharmacology and toxicology. For his contribution to pharmacology, Dr. Petroianu was awarded the Issekutz Medal of the Hungarian Society of Pharmacology and Toxicology.  He has received degrees from Ruprechts Karls University and University of Heidelberg and previously served as chair of Pharmacology at UAEU.

Barry Rosen, Ph.D. Rosen joins FIU College of Medicine from Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he was Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, as well as Department Chair. Rosen brings to FIU nine members of his research team, as well as additional research funding. He is an internationally recognized expert in heavy metal transport and detoxification, specifically arsenic. Like other new faculty, he is a highly published author. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

C.V. Rao, Ph.D. Rao comes to FIU from the University Of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. Rao is one of the world’s leading experts in LH/hCG hormone actions in non-gonadal tissues. Rao has taught and trained more than 100 post doctoral and clinical fellows, residents and students.  He has received awards and honors worldwide, and is a highly sought speaker. He received his Ph.D. from Washington State University.

Rita Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. Mukhopadhyay joins the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Mukhopadhyay is an eminent molecular parasitologist, the first to identify a drug transporter and drug activator in leishmania. This discovery is particularly important to the United States because this parasite is common in the Middle East and often infects American military personnel stationed in Iraq. She is highly sought as a speaker and consultant.

FIU College of Medicine, South Florida’s only public medical school, is transforming the future of public health and educational opportunity in the region. Created in 2006 amid pressing community health concerns and a projected critical shortage of physicians nationally, the College of Medicine is developing a curriculum that reflects an innovative, 21st century approach to health care and medical education.

The medical school will provide quality, affordable medical education and educate physicians who are culturally sensitive to South Florida’s diverse demographics. It will help advance South Florida’s health care dynamic by facilitating improved access to first-rate medical care among our medically underserved populations and lead an economic impact that will eventually reach more than $1 billion each year. The College will admit its first class in the fall of 2009.

For a full roster of faculty already on board at the FIU College of Medicine, please visit http://medicine.fiu.edu/faculty.php