Page 3 - May 2017 Health Care Heroes Section

GREATER MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2017 HEALTH CARE HEROES ®

AXA ADVISORS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECEPIENT

EUGENE R. SCHIFF, MD
Leonard Miller Professor of Medicine
Director and Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid Chair of the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases
Director of the Hepatology Research Laboratory
UHealth-University of Miami Health System/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

For nearly 47 years, world-renowned hepatologist Eugene R. Schiff, and current standards of care. As a result of one of Dr. Schiff’s many
MD, has led the University of Miami’s clinical research aimed at devel- impactful studies, all expectant mothers are now screened for hepatitis
oping improved treatments and cures for hepatitis B, C and D, cirrho- B. Dr. Schiff also led the campaign to change the blood bank policy of
sis, and the entire spectrum of liver and biliary tract disorders. using paid donors to using volunteer donors only, which improved the
Dr. Schiff, along with his father, Dr. Leon Schiff, literally wrote the quality of the blood supply, preventing transmission of hepatitis.
book on liver disease, with the 11th edition of Schiff’s Diseases of the His expertise is regularly sought by the National Institutes of Health,
Liver currently in publication. The 12th edition will be published this the Centers for Disease Control, and researchers all over the world,
November. Dr. Schiff has also authored or co-authored more than 450 and he has shared his knowledge across the globe, attending confer-
articles, books and book chapters concerning liver diseases and related ences in developing countries, and training international physicians, “The Miami community is
topics. researchers and laboratory researchers from Central America, South fortunate to find world-class
Dr. Schiff is committed to identifying people in the local Miami America, the Caribbean Islands, Africa, Asia and Europe. He has also care and research in our own
community who are unaware that they have hepatitis B or C. The developed a network of former fellows of the University of Miami backyard. Dr. Eugene R.
University of Miami Health System’s Schiff Center for Liver Diseases Center for Liver Disease, who are practicing in their home countries Schiff is nationally renowned
has provided free hepatitis screenings at community events through- in Latin America, to provide a resource in their treatment of liver in the field of hepatology,
out South Florida for many years, including the Asian Cultural patients and to promote liver research on their patient populations. having been instrumental in
Festival in Homestead, Miami’s Little Haiti, City of North Miami His impact on former colleagues is so significant, in fact, that a num- helping to guide current proto-
Health Fair, Miami Dade Municipal Building, Hepatitis Screening ber of them got together to create the University of Miami Hepatology cols for treating hepatitis C.
Among Minorities, East Coast Dental Winter Meeting and Expo, and Fellows Research Fund in his honor to provide financial support to the And to his patients, he is a
at health fairs in the Florida Keys. The Center is also currently provid- Hepatology Fellowship Program and the needs of its participants. true comrade in the struggle
ing free hepatitis E testing and research to raise awareness of hepatitis In 2012, Dr. Schiff received the Distinguished Service Award from
E in the community. the Florida Gastroenterologic Society, which honors a Florida gas- for health.”
Researchers have been seeking a vaccine and effective cure for hep- troenterologist whose accomplishments (clinical, academic, educa- -Thinh Tran, MD, MBA
atitis C since they first identified it in 1989. Many clinical trials in liver tional, socioeconomic and humanitarian) have made a significant con- Chief Operating Officer and Chief
disease treatments have taken place at the University of Miami Miller tribution to gastroenterology within the state. He also received the Clinical Officer
School of Medicine and the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Hepatitis B Foundation’s 2015 Baruch S. Blumberg Prize, the founda- University of Miami Health System
Some of these new agents promise better results in less time with far tion’s highest scientific honor, in recognition of his work. The faculty
fewer side effects. At the University of Miami Miller School of senate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine bestowed
Medicine, Dr. Schiff has conducted and overseen a spectrum of clinical its highest honor, the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, on Dr.
trials, many of which have developed into pharmaceutical licensures Schiff in 2016.

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Alejandro Badia, MD, FACS
Hand and Upper Limb Surgeon
Badia Hand to Shoulder Center
CEO and Chief Medical Officer
OrthoNOW® Orthopedic
Urgent Care Center

Throughout his career, Dr. Alejandro Badia, a
world-renowned hand and upper extremity surgeon
at Badia Hand To Shoulder Center in Doral, FL, and
formerly chief of hand surgery at Baptist Hospital,
has been instrumental in positioning Miami as a cen-
ter for clinical excellence and as a renowned interna- “For over 20 years,
tional medical destination. Dr. Badia has been an avid
Over the years, he has expanded his footprint and contributor to the healthcare
the healthcare landscape of Miami by co-founding
the MARC Institute, a world-class, 9,000 sq. ft. edu- industry in Miami and
cational training and conference facility, and The beyond. Whether he is shar-
Surgery Center at Doral, a state-of-the-art ambulato- ing his knowledge on the
ry surgery center. Most recently, he founded Miami- world stage, or speaking to
based OrthoNOW®, the only network of orthopedic young students considering a
urgent care centers in the country. career in medicine, he has
Dr. Badia runs an active international hand fellow- been invested in making a
ship where physicians, fellows and medical students difference at all levels. It has
travel from all over the world to South Florida to been a true honor to work
observe firsthand and learn about the techniques that with such a passionate and
he has developed over the years, and he also travels giving healthcare hero.”
extensively overseas to do charitable surgery and
educational missions. Justin Irizarry
His commitment to the South Florida community Co-founder & CFO
runs deep; he and his team of medical specialists OrthoNOW Orthopedic Urgent
from OrthoNOW® treat thousands of participating Care Center
athletes at sporting and fitness events at no cost, and
he supports organizations such as the Special Olympics South Florida, providing more
than 600 free physicals to students who would not otherwise be able to compete.

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