Every year, the UF College of Medicine Faculty Council recognizes its most outstanding faculty members for their extraordinary service and accomplishments that increase the College’s national reputation in their respective areas of expertise.
This year, Desmond Schatz, M.D., Interim Chair of Pediatrics and UFDI Pediatric Medical Director, was named to receive this award in recognition of his decades of dedication, innovation, careful work, and outstanding leadership to not only the local, state, and domestic…but the international community of type 1 diabetes researchers and care providers. His commitment to excellence in terms of patient-centered care in pediatric endocrinology and mentoring the next generation of clinician researchers is unquestioned.
The UF Diabetes Institute, for which he also serves as co-Medical Director, is honored to have Dr. Schatz as a member of its leadership team, working to stimulate significant innovation in multiple areas of vital diabetes research and patient care. Indeed, it is for such reasons, Dr. Schatz received the rare honor of being named the President of the American Diabetes Association in 2017.
We thank Dr. Schatz for his dedication and for providing an example of the excellence to which we as a UF community aspire. Indeed, we cannot think of a better role model for what is commonly referred to as the “triple threat”; an individual having excellence in teaching, patient care, and research. Countless individuals passing through his mentorship, from young to old, have benefitted from his insights in each of these areas. All of this while at the same time, maintaining his role as an exceptional husband, father, and active member to his local Synagogue.
As such, we cannot imagine a more qualified or deserving candidate for this award. Indeed, there is no doubt that Dr. Schatz’s ongoing work will continue take UF’s reputation to new heights, from type 1 diabetes, to pediatrics, any beyond.
Please join us in extending our most enthusiastic “Congratulations!” as we celebrate Dr. Schatz’s well-deserved recognition.
Mark Atkinson, Ph.D.
Director, UF Diabetes Institute
