The Robert Zeppa Memorial Chair in Trauma Surgery

Robert Zeppa, M.D., dedicated his life to providing the highest level of patient care, education and research. The Ryder Trauma Center, one of the premier Level-I trauma facilities in the nation, is a living legacy to Dr. Zeppa and represents the culmination of his life's work at the School of Medicine.

Dr. Zeppa, along with Dr. Dean Warren, developed the Distal Splenoral Shunt, known around the country as "the Miami shunt". A Brooklyn native and bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Dr. Zeppa received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. After an internship at the University of Pittsburgh and surgical training at the University of South Carolina, joined the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1966.

In 1971, Dr. Zeppa began a twenty-two year tenure as Chairman of the Department of Surgery. During that time, he built one of the finest surgical faculties in the country. In his nearly thirty years at the University of Miami, Dr. Zeppa emphasized the highest quality of patient care above all else.

In 1986, Dr. Zeppa assumed additional duties as chief of University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center's trauma service and was a strong advocate for the formation of the Miami-Dade County Trauma Network. His dream of a comprehensive trauma center was realized in 1992 when the Ryder Trauma Center opened on the medical school campus.

Dr. Zeppa served as chairman of the American Board of Surgery, where he was a long-time member. His many honors included being named the Lucille and DeWitt Daughtry Professor of Surgery in 1988 and receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Surgeons in 1990. Dr. Zeppa passed away in 1993, but his contributions to the educational process and his emphasis on providing the highest level of care will live on through the Robert Zeppa Memorial Chair in Trauma Surgery.

This chair ensures the continued development and enhancement of resources to maintain the high quality of research, treatment and teaching programs in surgery and trauma services. This endowment will forever reflect the School of Medicine's and the community's esteem and gratitude to the fine physician for which it was named.