Barry Byrne, MD, PhD, dressed as a character from the movie "Avatar," and Barbara
Smith as Darth Vader, visit a patient in Alabama.
Barry Byrne and patient Evan Procko.
Maddie Crowley, a UF undergraduate student; Barry Byrne; and Emma Crowley, a
clinical trial coordinator at the Powell Center for Rare Disease Research and Therapy.
12 | F LO R I DA P H Y S I C I A N
In 2012, Earl and Christy Powell, of Miami,
established the Earl and Christy Powell
University Chair in Gene Therapy and
Genetics Research at UF with a $5 million
donation. Held by Barry Byrne, MD,
PhD, the endowment has had a
significant impact on gene therapy and
its translation to patient care. Through
endowments, donors create streams of
funding that enable faculty to discover
solutions to problems we can only
now imagine, while paving the road to
improved health for our communities. The
prestige and recognition of an endowed
professorship allows the UF College of
Medicine to attract and retain those
scientists, physicians and teachers who
will carry on that tradition and help us
move medicine forward.
The UF College of Medicine looks to
raise $50 million through endowed
professorships and chairs during
the Go Greater fundraising initiative.
Professorships and chairs established
during the campaign to date include:
• Robert A. Cooper Chair in
Orthopaedic Trauma
• Barbara Padgett Dein Professorship
in Parkinson’s
• Carlos E. Donayre, MD,
Professorship in Vascular Surgery
and Endovascular Therapy
• Randolph B. Mahoney Directorship
Fund (Endowed School of
Physician Assistant Studies
Directorship)
• James and Brigitte Marino Family
Professorship in Cerebrovascular
and Endovascular Neurosurgery
• Nell W. Potter, MD, Assistant
Professorship in Adolescent
Medicine
• Earl and Christy Powell University
Chair in Gene Therapy and
Genetics Research
• B.J. and Eve Wilder Professorship in
Alzheimer’s Disease
COURTESY OF MADDIE CROWLEY PHOTO COURTESY OF THE POWELL CENTER FOR RARE DISEASE RESEARCH AND THERAPY PHOTO COURTESY OF BARBARA SMITH