Alan Pollack, M.D., Ph.D., has taken the helm as the new chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He will oversee clinical and research teams at UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and serve as chief of service at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Pollack comes to UM from Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center, where he was a leading physician/scientist.

Since 2001, Dr. Pollack, a Miller School of Medicine alum, has been the Gerald E. Hanks, M.D. Endowed Chair and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase. He is an internationally renowned expert in prostate and other cancers.

Though his career took him to different parts of the country, Dr. Pollack has had a long association with the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital. He attended the medical school and received his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 1979, and his M.D. in 1987. He completed his internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital, followed by a residency and an assistant professor position at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.



The South Florida Office of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced that its 2008 GREAT STRIDES walks netted nearly $590,000, and the presenting sponsor Miami Subs Pizza and Grill raised $30,000 to contribute to that success. The GREAT STRIDES walks were held at nine sites from Boca Raton to the Florida Keys in spring 2008.

“We are honored and excited to have been a part of the CF Foundation’s 2008 Great Strides walks,” said Fraser Austin, VP Operations and Marketing for Miami Subs Pizza and Grill. “The Foundation has made tremendous progress in its efforts to find a control or cure for CF, and we are proud to contribute to its life-saving work.”

Ambrose Whyms, Director of Operations; Fraser Austin, VP of Operations and Marketing; Marlon Holness, Area Rep; Christina Landshut, Executive Director, CF Foundation South Florida Office; Jennifer Tate, Director of Special Events, CF Foundation South Florida Office; and Andy Alvarez, Area Rep.

In addition to its generous gift, Miami Subs Pizza and Grill provided lunch for hundreds of walkers and volunteers at several local GREAT STRIDES sites.

“We are grateful for our volunteers and sponsors who are a crucial part of this effort,” said Christina Landshut, executive director of the Foundation’s South Florida office. “We are particularly thankful for sponsors such as Miami Subs, whose employees played such an integral role in the success of this annual fundraiser.”

GREAT STRIDES, now in its 20th year, is the largest CF fundraiser and raised nearly $40 million nationwide in 2008. Tens of thousands of walkers participated at 550 walk sites across the country.

GREAT STRIDES 2008 is sponsored nationally by American Airlines®, Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Novartis and locally by Miami Subs Grill. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar raised by the CF Foundation is available to fund CF research and care programs.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that affects 30,000 adults and children in the United States. Cystic fibrosis causes life-threatening lung infections and serious digestive complications. More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the CF gene. Young people are lost every day to this disease.

With the support of the CF Foundation, there have been significant advances in cystic fibrosis research and care. The median survival age has improved from early childhood in the 1950s to more than 37 years today. For more information, visit www.cff.org.



Aventura Hospital and Medical Center’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Leonard Brenner and Heather J. Rohan, C.E.O. announced the appointment of Charles P. Shenker, M.D., as the facility’s Chief of Staff.

Dr. Shenker has been practicing Pulmonary Medicine for over 25 years and has been a member of Aventura Hospital’s medical staff since 1979. Dr. Shenker completed both undergraduate and medical school at the University of Miami, completing his Internship and Residency at the University of Alabama. He then obtained his Fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Miami Hospitals in 1979.



Pamela Santucci, Injury Prevention Program Manager at the Broward County Health Department, was recently awarded the 2008 Joseph Y. Porter, M.D. Award. The award is given annually by the Health Promotions Section of the Florida Public Health Association (FPHA) to a health educator to recognize outstanding contributions to the health promotion profession.

An employee at the Broward County Health Department for over 16 years, Santucci spearheads several local and state special projects, including coordination of evidenced based research on drowning prevention methods and the development of a drowning prevention awareness campaign that includes mass transit and print advertising and distribution of community education tools. She is active in such community organizations as Broward Safe Kids Coalition and the SWIMS Foundation.



HFMA has elected Robert L. Broadway, FHFMA, to serve as the organization’s voluntary Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2008-09. Broadway is Vice President of Corporate Strategy at the Bethesda Healthcare System.

A member of HFMA since 1978, Broadway has served HFMA in many roles on the national and chapter levels. He was Chapter Liaison Representative and a member of the Nominating Committee, the Chapter Advancement Team, the Development Advisory Group, the National Matrix, the Managed Care Forum Advisory Council, the National Advisory Councils, and the Davis Chapter Management System Task Force.

Broadway is a member of the Board of Directors and the Board’s Executive Committee, and he has been chairman of the Board’s Audit and Finance Committee and Strategic Planning Committee.