Research & Fellowship Funds

The DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery has a number of funds that provide support for research, education and training. Research funds have been established in the department through the generous philanthropy of patients and members of the South Florida community. These funds enable our surgeons to conduct research, attend conferences, recruit and train fellows and in other ways support the goals and mission of programs, including transplantation, cardiothoracic and cardiovascular surgery, trauma and critical care surgery and surgical oncology.

Burn Center Research Fund
The University of Miami/Jackson Memorial (UM/JM) Burn Center Research Fund was established in 1995 to provide funds to ensure excellence in burn patient care, research and education. The fund was raised through the extraordinary support of thousands of South Floridians over the years: by firefighters, Florida Power & Light and its employees, and the bequests of many generous supporters.

The Burn Center Research Fund provides critical support in advancing the (UM/JM) Burn Center's mission of delivering the best possible patient care, training and education and enables the Burn Center to obtain crucial equipment, such as the Burn Intensive Care Unit's state-of-the-art system for patient monitoring and computerized charting. This electronic medical record provides precise, daily clinical documentation and creates the vast data bank used for clinical and basic science research.

As the only burn center south of Lake Okeechobee, the Burn Center admits an average of 400 patients every year and its clinic treats 2,000 patients annually. Through innovative research, the burn center provides the best patient care available. Because fires and burns have remained among the five leading causes of death in the United States, the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center has been at the forefront of education and prevention programs that reach thousands of elementary school children each year.

The Burn Center Research Fund also supports research on infection and inflammatory responses to burns. Understanding how and why burn patients become infected will lead to significant reductions in complications and deaths from this severe trauma. The research fund also supports the continuing education of those entrusted with caring for burn patients and insures that the best knowledge and procedures are provided for those who need the burn center.

Through charitable estate and gift planning, the Department of Surgery can sustain its important work and medical advancements. Planned gifts through a will, trusts or life income agreements help ensure a sound financial future for the University of Miami School of Medicine and its Department of Surgery. They can also be a wise investment for individuals and their families and may result in significant tax savings and increased income for you now.

Crash Research at the William Lehman Injury Research Center
The William Lehman Injury Research Center at the University Of Miami School Of Medicine is uniquely positioned in the Ryder Trauma Center to improve the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of traumatic injuries resulting from blunt trauma. The goal of the crash research is to create techniques that could be used on the scene and in trauma centers throughout the country to characterize how injuries occur in automobile crashes. The study analyzes the epidemiology, acute care, biomechanics and associated rehabilitation of severe automobile injuries. The multidisciplinary research team includes experts in biomechanical engineering, trauma medicine, automobile crash investigation, computer experts, and health team members from every discipline.

The Robert Zeppa Memorial Library Fund
The Robert Zeppa Memorial Library Fund is an endowment established in memory of longtime Surgery Department Chair Dr. Robert Zeppa. This endowment provides funds for academic advancement for a resident library.

The Vascular Education and Research Fund
The Vascular Education and Research Fund supports the research activities of Vascular Surgery Chief, Dr. Darwin Eton, such as the retroviral gene therapy engineering of grafts project, basic research into healing of vessels after intervention and clinical research into vascular disease and its prevention.

The Plastic Surgery Research & Development Fund
The Plastic Surgery Research and Development Fund provides support for educational programs for residents to pursue academic and research interests in the field of plastic surgery.

The Colon & Rectal Surgery Research Fund
The Colon & Rectal Surgery Research Fund provides support for faculty and fellows to pursue academic and research interests in the field of colon and rectal surgery.