The best doctors are those who can work with health care providers from a variety of fields. Nova Southeastern University’s Health Professions Division has been operating under this belief since it was founded in 1981.

Today, NSU is home to one of the region’s most advanced interdisciplinary educational centers.

Pharmacy students Anna Tsai, Praveen Veeramachaneni, Gabriela Girola, Carrie Flannigan, Jason Roe and staff member Lynnette Carver helped demonstrate NSU’s distance learning capabilities with students in Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit in 2004.

“In less than twenty-five years, NSU’s Health Professions Division has developed into a multidisciplinary academic health center of global stature,” said Dr. Fred Lippman, Chancellor of NSU’s Health Professions Division. “Our commitment to academic excellence, innovation and community service, while expanding our focus in research are unparalleled. Together, as a team, our distinguished faculty prepares students for exciting careers in today’s dynamic health care environment.”

NSU’s Health Professions Division has more than 3,900 students. They enroll in the following colleges: Allied Health and Nursing, Dental Medicine, Medical Sciences, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy.

Post-doctoral endodontics student, Dr. Jason Hartman in the lab.

Key to the interdisciplinary approach is the opportunity that the university’s NSU’s Health Care Centers afford each student to see theory in practice.

Remarkable Clinical Experience

Through 15 clinical centers in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, NSU provides a wide array of services within a rigorous interdisciplinary academic environment.

This university-level health care is available to all children, teens, adults and senior citizens. Last year more than 320,000 patients took advantage of the multi-specialty services offered at NSU’s clinical centers.

But beyond the classroom and clinical centers, NSU faculty members are leading cutting-edge research projects in every discipline.

Students Muriel Iwanowski, John Parks, and Joshua Cohen review panoramic x-rays from NSU’s Dental Clinic with Dr. Arthur DeCarlo.

Research: Key to the Future

NSU psychologists Linda Sobell, Ph.D., and Mark Sobell, Ph.D., along with obstetrician Dr. Kenneth Johnson, are using a new $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an interdisciplinary intervention study targeting women in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties who are at risk for Alcohol Exposed Pregnancies.

In another lab, Dr. Appu Rathinavelu, chair of NSU’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is developing new drugs to treat cancer. His team is developing treatments that will help to block the process of blood vessel formation into cancerous tissue and are creating new diagnostic methods for detecting tumor angiogenesis.

Students in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program, Drs. Gloria Nieto and Jennifer Sorroza, working with special needs patients.

Around the corner, in the College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Franklin Garcia-Godoy is busy developing a new generation of adhesives to repair injured or diseased human tissues without sutures or bandages. While his colleague, Dr. Peter Murray, is studying how to use adult stem cells to grow replacement teeth in the laboratory. Working under a grant from the American Association of Endodentists, Dr. Murray already has created synthetic skin, teeth, nerves and mineralized bone substances. Called biomaterials, they are the products of an exciting new discipline called tissue engineering.

“Regardless of the area of specialization, NSU faculty members are conducting research, providing clinical experience and teaching the next generation of health professionals with a goal to improve quality of life in Broward County, throughout the Sunshine State, and nationally,” Dr. Lippman added.

Health Professions at NSU Allied Health and Nursing Trains health professionals in physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, vascular sonography and post graduate health science. NSU’s newest allied health offering, nursing, offers Broward County’s only RN to BSN program. Dental Medicine One of only two dental programs in the state of Florida, this highly competitive program trains students to deliver comprehensive primary dental care to patients of all ages. Post-graduate endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and dental public health are also offered. Medical Sciences Offers a Master of Biomedical Science for individuals seeking careers in health care higher education. This program offers basic foundation courses, including anatomy, biochemistry, pathology and physiology which equips students with the scientific groundwork to ensure their success as health care providers. Optometry Prepares optometric physicians, through academic and clinical training so they are able to examine, diagnose, treat and manage disorders and diseases of the visual system and associated structures. Osteopathic Medicine The first of its kind in the southeastern U.S., this college m grants Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degrees, whereby graduates practice an approach to health care that concentrates on treating the patient with compassion in a manner that times into account all the body’s systems which are interconnected. Pharmacy Among the best in the country, the educational programs and facilities are on the cutting edge of pharmacy practice. With more than 200 clinical sites and over 450 preceptors, the experiential education provided is comprehensive and diverse.