SARASOTA, Fla. (June 15, 2023) – The Sarasota Memorial Research Institute and Florida State University College of Medicine held their first joint Interprofessional Research Conference at Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Sarasota campus in May.
The event, along with the groundbreaking of SMH’s new Research & Education Institute later this month, reflects the local health system’s national reputation as a teaching hospital and expanding commitment to clinical research.
More than 150 healthcare professionals gathered to learn about innovative research projects and clinical studies led by multi-disciplinary specialists from across the region. The event featured dozens of individual and group poster, panel and podium presentations by physicians, pharmacists, nurses and other clinicians and a keynote address by National Institutes of Health award-winning researcher Irshad Chaudry, PhD.
SMH and FSU leaders also presented nine research and innovation awards at the event, which was supported by a grant from the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation.
“The recipients of our inaugural awards are clinicians who demonstrate excellence in their respective specialties, as well as a deep commitment to collaborative practice and interprofessional research,” said James Fiorica, MD, chief medical officer for Sarasota Memorial. “Their individual efforts and collective influence are increasing our understanding of healthcare and advancing innovations that impact the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease.”
The 2023 award recipients are:
- SMH Distinguished Physician Research & Innovation Award – Beverly Long, MD
- SMH Distinguished Nurse Research & Innovation Award – Bridget Drafahl, PhD, C-ONQS, CNS, RN
- SMH Research & Innovation Excellence Award – Colleen Lindner, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
- SMH Distinguished Pharmacy Research & Innovation Award – Pamela Lewis, RPh
- SMH Pharmacy New Investigator Research Award – Jonathan Summerlin, PharmD
- FSU Emergency Medicine Resident Research Award – Emily Wheeler, MD
- FSU Emergency Medicine Distinguished Faculty Research Scholar Award – Sagar Galwankar, MBBS, MBA, MPH
- FSU Internal Medicine Resident Research Award – Stephanie Williams, MD
- FSU Internal Medicine Distinguished Faculty Research Scholar Award – Robert Smith, PhD
Thanks to support from donors and the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, Sarasota Memorial is slated to break ground on a new, $75 million Research & Education Institute on the SMH-Sarasota campus later this month. Designed to promote collaboration, discovery and innovation in medical education and research, the 5-story facility will house Sarasota Memorial’s clinical research division, nursing and clinical education, and graduate medical education programs, medical library and a new, state-of-the-art simulation center designed for hands-on training.
About Sarasota Memorial
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional referral center offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with more than 1 million patient visits each year across its 2 hospital campuses, a freestanding ER, skilled nursing and rehabilitation center and network of outpatient and urgent care centers. Its flagship 901-bed Sarasota hospital has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s best, with superior patient outcomes and comprehensive network of outpatient services. In November 2021, the public health system opened a second acute-care hospital, SMH-Venice, to serve the growing south Sarasota County region and the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute to expand cancer care in the community. For information, visit smh.com.