Scientific research is often a low-key exercise, with fastidious people peering into microscopes and working under the radar. Seldom are they described as rising stars, but Jiajia Yang may have broken the mold.

This month, Dr. Yang became the first person to earn a PhD from USF through a new degree program within the newly opened USF Health Heart Institute.

The 30-year-old earned her degree in medical sciences from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, with a focus on heart disease, specifically genetic arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy gene mutations within a family.

The Heart Institute is housed within the new Morsani College of Medicine + Heart Institute building in the Water Street Tampa district of downtown Tampa. The facility, which also includes the MD degree program, opened in January 2020.

“You can’t imagine how excited I am,’’ Dr. Yang said of her degree and new career. “The most exciting part for me is that our research is really translational for patients. This isn’t just bedside to bench, but bench to bedside.’’

Originally from a small village in rural China, Dr. Yang attended medical school in Shanghai, then won a scholarship in 2015 at Descartes University in Paris. While there, she earned her Masters and learned to speak French ─ adding to her verbal portfolio of Chinese and English.

Dr. Thomas McDonald with Dr. Jiajia Yang.

After a year, she accepted a position as a research assistant at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and quickly showed promise as a fast and inquisitive learner, said Thomas McDonald, MD, professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology. He would later work with Dr. Yang on a variety of heart-related research projects, including the role of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.

“This is all technically difficult and she overcame so many obstacles,’’ Dr. McDonald said. “She really laid the ground work to help this take off.’’

During her time at USF, Dr. Yang published five research papers in peer-reviewed journals, including new findings on using patient-specific stem cells to study disease in human tissue.

“That had not been on the map at USF until now,’’ Dr. McDonald said. “Jiajia’s papers were the first.’’

Dr. Yang wasn’t shy about sharing her love for discovery.

“I don’t think I’ve ever run across anyone as enthusiastic about her work,’’ Dr. McDonald added. “She was literally jumping up and down in the hallways screaming (about the stem cells) ‘They’re beating! They’re beating!’ Her enthusiasm was contagious.’’

Armed with her degree, Dr. Yang accepted a job as resident physician in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. She expects to be there at least three years, but could stay longer if needed: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in New Mexico, according to the state’s Department of Health. When not working, Dr. Yang will devote time to her other passions: cooking, hiking and biking, tennis, and working out at the gym.

Dr. McDonald expects big things from his former colleague, and has no reservations about asking her to return to Tampa: “I’d like to see her career blossom and recruit her to come back to USF.’’

For more on the USF Heart Institute, visit: https://health.usf.edu/medicine/heart-institute

Written by Kurt Loft

The pharmacy program will build out shelled space in the new USF Health Downtown building over the next year and move in early 2023.

TAMPA, Fla (Aug. 12, 2021) – The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy is moving forward with its plans to build out space and move into the USF Health Downtown building, an opportunity for the innovative pharmacy program to expand its physical space, technology and creative learning pedagogies.

The new 30,000-square-foot home for the pharmacy school will fill about one and a half floors of the building and will enhance the pharmacy program in several ways, including:

• Clinical learning center: A dedicated space that will provide an innovative environment to learn advanced compounding techniques and hone clinical skills for students. This space will also be a resource for pharmacist clinicians, and others, to advance their health care knowledge through continuing education programs.
• Expansion of interprofessional education: As health care becomes even more team based moving into the future, the new home will foster even greater opportunities for interprofessional training, a core component of the educational mission for all USF Health programs, including MD, nursing, public health, physical therapy and physician assistant programs. The convergence of multiple disciplines learning together will create one of the most robust interprofessional learning centers in the country.
• Collaborative ‘maker’ space: A unique space offers a creative environment for student groups, such as ITEHC (Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Healthcare), to cultivate new ideas and discoveries resulting in the ability to generate prototypes of new health-related devices.
• Community outreach: Plans are in place to offer space as a resource for youth in surrounding areas to experience health professions through direct engagement and gamification. This will build upon long-standing successful community outreach programs already taking place with the Taneja College of Pharmacy.

“The Taneja College of Pharmacy continues to grow, and a move to the state-of-the-art USF Health Downtown Facility will provide incredible opportunities to enhance its innovative educational and research programs,” said Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “By building out new spaces in the facility, the TCOP will take the next step in establishing itself as a state and national leader in personalized medicine, pharmaceutical compounding, and advanced pharmacy education.”

The new space is being designed by architecture, engineering and design firm Gresham Smith. The design will integrate with the building’s existing mechanical, electrical and life safety systems, and will extend many of the classroom technologies and innovative educational initiatives already in place for the Morsani College of Medicine.

Already a leader for attracting Florida’s best pharmacy students, USF’s pharmacy school will likely feel further impact in both student and faculty recruitment efforts due to the appeal of its new location in the burgeoning Water Street Tampa district of downtown Tampa.

“We’ve had great success building our revolutionary curriculum and are already a much sought-after, forward-thinking pharmacy program,” said Kevin B. Sneed, PharmD, dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy and senior associate vice president for USF Health. “This new home will further elevate our program in stature, for providing an advanced pharmacy education and for its new location, where students can live, work, play and stay.”

The USF Health Downtown building opened in Water Street Tampa in January 2020, welcoming the MD program for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and the Heart Institute. Across the years from groundbreaking to opening the new USF Health Downtown building, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine experienced drastic upticks in recruitment efforts and caliber of students applying to the MD program.

At the August 2019 announcement that USF had received a $10 million gift from the Taneja Family Foundation for the USF Health College of Pharmacy.

The potential for the College of Pharmacy to move into USF Health Downtown began in August 2019, when the College announced a generous $10 million gift from Taneja Family Foundation, the largest philanthropic gift to a pharmacy school in the state of Florida.

“The generosity of the Taneja Family Foundation set into motion these plans for setting up home in downtown Tampa,” Dr. Sneed said. “And the ripple effect of that gift will be felt for years to come as we continuously improve our program and attract the best and brightest pharmacy faculty and students.”

The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy was established by the Florida Board of Governors in 2009 and welcomed its charter class in August 2011. From the start, the pharmacy program set out to build an innovative program that would be a pacesetter in both pharmacy curriculum and clinical experience. Today, the College of Pharmacy welcomes 100 new students each year for its PharmD program, and has expanded its offerings to include master’s degrees suited for students interested in pursuing a professional degree program, an advanced degree, a degree focused on research, or a degree for those interested in working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Renderings of the new space were provided by Gresham Smith:

A library is traditionally thought of as a place kept under strict orders of silence and is filled with wall-to-wall books that have a nostalgic, musty smell. While group study rooms are available, they are not the central focus.

The Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange is the future of medical libraries: an epicenter of collaboration and technology. Located on the second-floor mezzanine of the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute (MCOM+HI) in Water Street Tampa, the Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange is an almost completely digital database of medical information. At this time, there are only 18 physical books reserved for MCOM’s use in the Knowledge Exchange.

“Resources are available wherever our students and faculty are and 24/7,” said Rose Bland, MA, MPA, AHIP, director of the Shimberg Health Sciences Library at USF Health. “Libraries are changing for what the needs of the people are. We do need quiet spaces, but the Knowledge Exchange is meant to be a place where people can meet and collaborate.”

Floorplan of the Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange; part of the second-floor mezzanine in the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine + Heart Institute.

Some of the other exciting features of the Knowledge Exchange are a large-scale video visualization wall for multimedia presentations, an executive-style reading room, public-use computers, an IT help desk, and a space for technology demonstrations and recording lectures for online learning. A medical database that is wherever you need it to be is also an important asset for distance-learning students and staff spread across multiple campuses. Beyond the access to the digital database, “there will be digital-learning tutorials created by the librarians on topics, such as how to do a quick search in PubMed or how to use EndNote, that students can access when they are studying at one in the morning and they need a quick refresher,” said Larry L. Cramer, Jr, assistant director of library operations. Students and staff can also use the video conferencing capabilities outfitted in the Knowledge Exchange for a Microsoft Teams session or watch a live, face-to-face screen capture tutorial by a librarian.

The visualization wall is an interactive screen that can be used in its entirety to give presentations or be broken up into sections for multi-use collaborations, including annotations, web browsing and rotating 3D models.

“Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving world of health data and technology is critical in today’s health care environment. The Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange is aptly named, as it will serve that goal by facilitating information sharing and collaboration among students, health professionals and entrepreneurs,” said Florida Blue CEO Pat Geraghty in a 2017 interview with USF Health Development after giving a $1 million gift to support the Health Knowledge Exchange. “USF and the Tampa Bay community are well positioned to be a center of health knowledge and learning. We are very proud to be a part of this public facility, which aligns so closely with our own mission of helping people and communities achieve better health.”

The Florida Blue Knowledge Exchange offers digital access to a medical database and 5,000 sq. ft. of space for collaboration.

The 5,000-square foot space is not only a resource for Morsani College of Medicine and Taneja College of Pharmacy students, but also Heart Institute researchers, USF Health and Tampa General Hospital patients, residents and the downtown community. Dedicated research librarians for each area will be available in the Knowledge Exchange but they are also a central part of the building as a whole. Librarians will go into the lecture hall and around the collegia spaces to work and meet with the students. Rose Bland imagines being able to see a health care provider and a Heart Institute researcher meeting together in the Knowledge Exchange and pulling in a librarian for collaboration.

A spectacular view of Water Street Tampa can be seen from inside the Executive Reading Room.

The Florida Blue Knowledge Exchange expands the research and education support of the Shimberg Library, which will remain open at the USF Health Tampa campus. SonoSim check out will be the only resource that is removed from the Shimberg Library and brought to Water Street Tampa. The Tampa Bay community can look forward to a grand opening of MCOM+HI in early 2020.

USF Health Senior Vice President and MCOM Dean Charles J Lockwood, MD, MHCM, and Bryan Bognar, MD, MCOM chief academic officer, get a demonstration from Eric Pergola, director of USF IT Service Management during the Tech-IT Out event at the Shimberg Library.

One of the many challenges medical students face is managing opportunities for collaboration among students and with professors.  As the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa nears completion, USF Health leaders are addressing that challenge by providing students and faculty with innovative software that offers a digital hub for collaboration and teamwork.

In the new building, students will make use of Microsoft Teams to more effectively and efficiently communicate through online chat and meetings, calling and web conferencing. The goal is for medical students to never miss a day of their medical school education because their access to team learning is always available, said MCOM associate dean of Undergraduate Medical Education Deborah DeWaay, MD, FACP.

“One of the things we’ve struggled with is building community and better collaboration opportunities for students, while making sure we allow enough flexibility to avoid burnout,” said Deborah DeWaay, MD, MCOM vice dean of Undergraduate Medical Education. “This will allow us to do things that are exciting enough for students when they are on-site, while giving them the ability to participate remotely when they need to.”

Joe Ford, JD, associate vice president of USF Health Shared Student Services, and Carol Post, JD, associate vice president and chief administrative officer for USF Health, get a demonstration from Ryan Candler, Microsoft community development specialist during the Tech-IT Out event at the Shimberg Library.

Morsani College of Medicine leaders recently got a chance to test drive some of the Microsoft technology the students will have access to in the new building at a special demonstration in the new Tech-IT Out lab located in the Shimberg Library. As medical knowledge rapidly accrues so does the need to have access to it along with the technology needed to make it happen, according to Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

“This begins to address the biggest challenge we have in medical education, which is the acceleration of medical knowledge,” Dr. Lockwood said.  “We have the opportunity to leverage technology and incorporate medical data into our talks, but also allow for a more interactive and engaging experience for the learners.”

The Microsoft devices on display include:

– Surface Book

– Surface Laptop

– Surface Pro

– Surface Go

– Surface Hub

– Surface Studio

These devices will be on display for demonstration in the library until the end of 2019.  USF Health leadership plans to organize small group visits, including first and second year medical students, to help them get acquainted with the new technology before moving into the new building.

Events and demonstrations are coordinated through Kristy Andre, USF IT’s Relationship Manager to MCOM at kandre@health.usf.edu.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-yUgH33P2A

On a warm, breezy November day, an 800-pound white beam was slowly lifted skyward by a construction crane, marking another milestone in USF’s history – the topping off of the 13-story USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa.

A construction crew hoisted the 20-foot long, 800-pound beam into the air and and placed it on top the 13-story Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute building in downtown Tampa.

Below, as the USF Fight Song played on, a crowd of university and community leaders, elected officials, faculty and medical students – with cell phone cameras aimed skyward — watched the ascent of the beam bearing a green USF Bulls topiary and gently flapping flags on either end.  Many had earlier signed the steel beam at the Nov. 14 topping-off celebration, an event traditionally held when the last beam is placed, signifying completion of the building’s exterior structure.

The beam was placed at the top of the 13-story, 395,000-square-foot building shortly before noon, culminating the morning’s topping-off program held under a tent in Water Street Tampa, a $3-billion real estate development by Strategic Property Partners (SPP), the joint venture of Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investments, LLC.   USF Health’s iconic building, scheduled to open in late 2019, is a key anchor for SPP’s transformative downtown waterfront district.

From left: Calvin Williams, USF System vice president for administrative services; USF System President Judy Genshaft; and Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

“Today we are celebrating a momentous occasion — the topping-off of one of the most significant projects ever to be completed in USF System history,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft.

“This project belongs to all of us, and would not be possible if it were not for the incredible support of visionary Tampa Bay and state leaders.  It is staggering in its impact — in terms of academic, research and economic significance.”

Guests gathered under a tent set up in the heart of Water Street Tampa for the topping-off celebration.

Once complete, the building will house more than 1,800 students, faculty, researchers and staff — equipping them with world-class labs, technologically advanced lecture halls and learning spaces, and research facilities to help shape the next generations of physicians and pioneer new discoveries for cardiovascular health.

The new state-of-the-art hub for medical education and research is located in close proximity to USF’s primary teaching hospital, Tampa General Hospital, and its world-class Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) facility.  It will be a key driver of economic activity for the Tampa Bay area by helping to generate a substantial increase in research grant funding, attract new biotechnology companies to the region and position USF to move up in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Dr. Lockwood signs the beam before the topping-off celebration in Water Street Tampa.

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, said the new building has been designed with a new generation of physicians and other health professionals in mind – and is already attracting top talent.  USF’s incoming class of medical students in fall 2018 was its most competitive ever, with the highest median MCAT score in the state of Florida, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“Medical knowledge is doubling every 73 days, so how do you prepare students for a world like that?” Dr. Lockwood said.  “You don’t memorize textbooks anymore; you have to be able to curate knowledge, understand it and apply it appropriately at the point of care.

“This building will be an extraordinary gem for the community and medicine in general. We will push the boundaries of medical knowledge and keep pace with its rapid expansion.”

Among those attending the celebration were university benefactors Frank and Carol Morsani, for whom the USF medical college is named. Frank Morsani told those in the audience that they had the unique opportunity of a lifetime to be part of the city of Tampa’s transformation over the last two decades.

USF benefactor Frank Morsani was among the speakers. USF’s medical college is named after Frank and his wife Carol.

“Not only is today a celebration of this university and medical school but, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a celebration for this community and city,” Morsani said. “Carol and I hope that this school of medicine will continue the transformation and philanthropy necessary for the growth of our community.”

Then with his voice choking back emotion, he added: “As we stroll hand in hand into the sunset of our lives, we are proud, honored and humbled to have this school of medicine as our legacy.”

First-year medical student Tampa Hutchens represented his fellow students at the podium, sharing their enthusiasm for the new downtown MCOM and Heart Institute.  They will be among the first occupants of the building when it opens.

First-year USF medical student Tampa Hutchens represented his classmates at the podium.

“My classmates and I are extremely happy about this new building, the resources it will have to offer, and the chance to pioneer our medical education with new facilities that enhance our research and learning experiences  — not to mention the view,” said Hutchens, who received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from USF and was “so excited” to be accepted to medical school here.

“The Morsani College of Medicine stands ready to transform its students into the kind of medical professionals we want to see in our clinics, in our hospitals and in our time of need – the compassionate, talented, patient-centered people who will improve the health of Tampa Bay and its surrounding communities.”

The event included the unveiling of a rendering of USF Health Heart Institute Weatherford Family Atrium in honor of Will Weatherford, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and his family.

Will Weatherford with wife Courtney (right) near the rendering of the USF Health Heart Institute Weatherford Family Atrium unveiled at the topping-off celebration.

Weatherford played a key role in helping champion the relocation of the MCOM and Heart Institute downtown and secure initial funding for the building, and he remains an advocate for the project.  “Our family feels blessed and honored to play a small role in the incredible transformation of our community and of this university, and in this real estate project that will forever change the way downtown Tampa looks,” he said.

Representatives from SPP and Skanska, the firm building the MCOM and Heart Institute in Water Street Tampa, also spoke at the topping-off celebration. (The project’s architect is HOK.)

James Nozar, chief executive officer for Strategic Property Partners, spoke on behalf of Jeff Vinik. The new MCOM and Heart Institute building is a key anchor of Water Street Tampa, the $3-billion real estate development by SPP, the joint venture of Vinik and Cascade Investments, LLC.

Water Street Tampa will be the world’s first WELL-certified district, and the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute are a vital part of that health and wellness initiative, said James Nozar, chief executive officer of SPP, who spoke on behalf of Jeff Vinik.

“The partnership with USF has been very important to SPP,” Nozar said. “It’s bringing all these great minds downtown to be part of the ecosystem we’re working to create here in Water Street Tampa. Having 2,000 or so students, faculty and researchers downtown is an incredible opportunity…  A lot of of the office tenants and retail people we’re speaking with are interested in being near that. We’re designing residential facilities with that in mind.”

Tracy Hunt (right), vice president of operations for Skanska U.S.A, with USF Foundation CEO Joel Momberg, who served as master of ceremonies for the event.

“Our team’s mission is to deliver a state-of-the-art building that will benefit the Tampa Bay community for years to come,” said Tracy Hunt, vice president of operations for Skanska U.S.A. “As strong as the steel (reinforcing the building) is, the building’s real strength is all of you.”

What they said:

Bryan Bognar, MD, vice dean of Educational Affairs for the Morsani College of Medicine, watches as the beam is lifted to the top of the new building.

“This is a once-in-a-generation transformational moment. In my 30 years with USF, this moment is a bit surreal. We’ve been saying that this place is a diamond in the rough. Well, now it’s in full view – cut, polished and brilliant.”
-Bryan Bognar, MD, MPH, FACP
Vice Dean for Educational Affairs USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

“I always hoped this day would come. It took a lot of people doing a lot of work, and who believed in the vision. This is truly a partnership that will reap benefits to USF and the City of Tampa for decades to come.”
– Bob Buckhorn, City of Tampa Mayor

City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn with USF medical student Liz Lafranchise and USF mascot Rocky D. Bull.

“This is definitely a game changer, certainly for top students and faculty for years to come.”
-Mark Moseley, MD
Chief Clinical Officer, USF Health and Chief Medical Officer, USF Health
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Morsani College of Medicine

“To have seen this building come from an idea to where it is today is so gratifying. And the presence of this building here today is stunning.”
– Hal Mullis, USF Trustee

“It’s thrilling to see USF expand its footprint in such a meaningful way. It’s great to be a part of all of this. In all of the planning, it was critical to be inclusive. We planned this college of medicine for its occupants, but it’s really for all of USF Health. We are making sure we get in the building on time and that everyone has a voice.”
-Carole Post
Associate Vice President, USF Health
Chief Administrative Officer, USF Health
Chief Executive Officer, HPCC/CAMLS

Kevin Sneed, PharmD (right), dean of the USF College of Pharmacy, on a recent tour of the USF Health building under construction in downtown Tampa.

“This is not just about the medical school or the Heart Institute. It’s about every community that wants to build a workforce.”
-Kevin Sneed, PharmD
Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health
Dean, College of Pharmacy

“Now that we can see the building, we are even more excited to fill its space with our Heart Institute teams. The people we’re recruiting are very impressed with the whole project and eager to get to USF.”
Sam Wickline, MD
Professor of Cardiology, Director of the USF Health Heart Institute

The new Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute facility is scheduled to open in late 2019.

USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute by the numbers:

50 percent – Rise in USF medical school applications since the facility was announced

1,800 – Anticipated students, faculty, researchers and staff who will occupy the building

$2.35 to $2.60 — Amount that every $1 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding adds to the local economy (Not including the potential for increased economic activity from biotech, pharmaceutical companies and USF start-ups)

31 – NIH funded cardiovascular faculty researchers to work at Heart Institute, more than half already recruited

$28 million – Projected increase in NIH research funding generated by the Heart Institute alone within five years.

$66 – $73 million – Expected yearly economic activity driven by the Heart Institute

47,000 tons – Amount of concrete used to build the facility, comparable to the weight of 155 Boeing 747 jets.

2.5 million linear feet – Amount of rebar used to reinforce the structure, equivalent to nearly 500 miles, or the approximate distance from Tampa to Atlanta.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCaPVmOkbcg

A commemorative gift from the topping-off celebration included a piece of reinforcement steel like that used to reinforce the building’s auditorium, and reads: The Building’s Real Strength is You.

Learn more about the project and its progress at www.usf.edu/waterstreet, including a live feed of construction available here.

-Sarah Worth contributed to this story
-USF Health video by Torie M. Doll, and photos by Eric Younghans and Freddie Coleman, USF Health Communications and Marketing
-USF video, drone images, and additional photos by Ryan Noone and Sandra C. Roa, University Communications and Marketing

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OENGXesctE

Inside Amalie Arena, and with a view above the bustling construction site across the street, USF leaders, friends and supporters from throughout the region gathered to mark the start of construction of the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute.

Called Dig This!, the morning event was held Sept 20 on the upper floors of Amalie Arena. Guests met inside to hear remarks, and then gathered outside on a balcony to view from above the future home of the USF medical school and research facility at Channelside Drive and Meridian Avenue.

USF System President Judy Genshaft set the celebratory tone of the morning as she welcomed everyone.

“This celebration symbolizes the University of South Florida’s commitment to the city, the region, and the state,” Genshaft said. “The construction is happening!”

She highlighted the forward momentum this project is giving many in the region, including USF.

USF System President Judy Genshaft

“A project of this magnitude moves forward because of the commitment of so many of our partners, and this is an outstanding example of the private and public sectors coming together to benefit the Tampa Bay region,” she said. “When this is complete in 2019, the result will be improved health outcomes through superior education, training, and research. We are creating a future that will attract and retain the brightest students and physicians, something we’re already seeing. USF has become the most selective medical school in the state of Florida, with applications growing 60 percent since this project was first announced in 2014. We actually had over 6,000 applications to our medical school for only 170 slots.”

The USF Health building will be a key anchor in a $3-billion real estate development by Strategic Property Partners, the joint venture between Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment, LLC. The group is developing 53 acres in downtown Tampa into a multi-use, urban waterfront district that will promote a walkable, sustainable, healthy environment for downtown Tampa residents, workers, students and visitors.

At the Dig This! Event, Vinik reminded everyone that USF helped launch the entire Water Street Tampa district.

Jeff Vinik

“The idea for the Morsani College of Medicine coming downtown was conceived long before anything else – it was the first, it was the catalyst,” Vinik said. “And what a catalyst it has been. USF was the first building to be thought about and the first building to have a groundbreaking. So it makes perfect sense that it’s the first building under construction, and it will be the first building completed in this district two years from now.”

Placing the medical school in downtown will change the city forever, said Florida Senator Dana Young.

Florida Senator Dana Young

“Tampa is on fire and I think much of it is because of this wonderful vision of Tampa as the up-and-coming city,” Young said. “And now to have this medical school downtown to anchor what is going to be a complete transformation of our downtown will be a complete transformation of how we live… People living together, people eating together, working together and talking about the future of health care in Tampa and in our country.”

The new location brings the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in closer proximity to its primary teaching and clinical affiliate, Tampa General Hospital, and to its flagship Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS). Skanska/HOK is the design/build team constructing the new USF facility that is expected to cost at least $153 million. The investment strengthens USF’s presence in downtown Tampa and will contribute to the area’s continued rapid growth and national recognition, a point emphasized by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn

“This is the beginning of that next chapter in this city that is becoming the place in America where the best and the brightest want to be,” Buckhorn said. “It’s becoming that place where talent comes. It’s becoming that place where intellectual capital is the currency of the marketplace… Look at what we are on the verge of. Look at what this university has become. Look at what this medical school is becoming. Look at what this district is going to be. Five years from now, 10 years from now, you’re not going to recognize this city.”

Several medical students were also at the Dig This! event, and U.S. Representative Kathy Castor acknowledged them, asking them to come forward and be recognized.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor

“In my position, I have opportunities to interact with a lot of these young medical students, and they are remarkable,” Castor said. “This is a new breed of talented students. They have all the tools of technology and innovation at their fingertips, unlike ever before. And now they will have a facility and partnerships that are equal to their talents and passions. If you ever have an opportunity to talk with these students you will understand the passion they have. There is no greater inspiration for what you all have invested in.”

Turning to the students, Castor added “Because we are doing this for you.”

USF’s newest state-of-the-art facility will combine under one roof a medical school to teach the next generation of physicians and a cardiovascular research institute to pioneer new discoveries for heart health. Recent accomplishments have USF well on its way to fulfilling this goal, said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

Dr. Charles Lockwood

“It has all come together in such a magnificent way, but you can’t just build a building and then fill it,” Dr. Lockwood said. “We have made a lot of strides in the last four years. We have increased applications from 3,900 to 6,358 this time around. Our MCAT scores have gone from the 80^th percentile to the highest ever this year at the 92^nd – and a half – percentile, the highest in the state. We have worked really hard on the research side, too. We have increased our total funding, this includes our faculty at Moffitt, from about $127 million to roughly $212 million.”

Dr. Lockwood also noted USF’s success in – recruiting top-tier faculty, including cardiovascular scientists and founding Heart Institute Director Sam Wickline, who “embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that is the DNA of our school.”

USF’s cardiology programs have also blossomed, Dr. Lockwood said.

“We’ve gone from six to 40 cardiologists at Tampa General, we have built one of the top cardiac surgery programs in the country, one of the busiest heart transplant programs in the country, and our lung transplant program has doubled in the last year,” Dr. Lockwood said.

In summing up, he added, “We have great partners, and we really are poised to fill that building with great students and great researchers. You can tell I’m a little excited about this opportunity, and I’m incredibly grateful to this community and Tampa General and to my wonderful university.”

With that, the guests made their way to the balcony for a group shot overlooking the busy construction site, where a USF Bull flag flew in the breeze.

Visit the USF Water Street Tampa website for more information about the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute project.

Story by Sarah Worth, video by Sandra C. Roa, and photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications