An event featuring presentations from research in the biomedical field marks the first-in-the-region joint effort of scientists from the University of Florida and University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee. 

The event, titled “BioMed: Research to Reality — Discovery, Innovation, Commercialization,” will feature Dr. Christine Schmidt, chair of the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Biomedical Engineering at UF, and Dr. Christopher Passaglia, a chemical and biomedical engineering professor at USF. The experts will discuss real-world applications for research done at the universities, and the event will also discuss the business side of launching BioMed products in the marketplace. 

Allen Carlson, Sarasota County regional director for the UF Innovation Station, says the event came together because of the Gainesville university’s presence here. The Innovation Station worked closely with Schmidt to organize it. Carlson said the original planning team for the event comprised of CORE at Lakewood Ranch, the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance.

“USF-SM learned about the initiative and requested participation,” Carlsen says, “which we gladly accepted.”

The event will take place Wednesday with a luncheon from 11:30am-1pm and later a cocktail reception at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club. Admission will cost $25, or $10 for students and grade school teachers. The presentation will be repeated at both the luncheon and reception.

“This is a unique opportunity for biomed professionals, researchers, companies, teachers, students and others to hear firsthand from university researchers who successfully took their biomedical research from concept to production to the commercial market,” says Carlson.

Following the state’s recent approval allowing Venice Regional Bayfront Health to proceed with building a replacement hospital in South Sarasota County, Bayfront Health Network CEO Joe Mullany has announced a leadership addition to facilitate the project. Current Venice Regional CEO Bob Moore will transition to a role focused on completing the replacement hospital project, while Karen Fordham will assume the post of hospital CEO. Moore joined Venice Regional as CEO in 2017. He previously served as CEO at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala. Fordham has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare operations, mostly at hospitals in her home state of Michigan. Most recently, she served as CEO of St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Under her leadership, Huron Valley Sinai Hospital achieved a 4-star HCAHPS rating—the only hospital in the Detroit Medical Center system to do so. The leadership transition will be effective September 1. With the community’s support, Venice Regional received state approval in July to proceed with building a 200-plus-bed hospital on East Venice Avenue, one-quarter mile east of Jacaranda Boulevard. Construction is slated to begin in late 2018 or early 2019, with a projected opening in early 2021. 

Venice Regional Bayfront Health

Beach Snoballs, a hand-crafted shaved ice shop that serves authentic New Orleans-style Snoballs with a beachy island twist, celebrated its grand opening this past Sunday, August, 5, at 28A S. Boulevard of the Presidents in Sarasota. The shop, found on St. Armand’s Circle in Sarasota, serves more than 65 flavors, including natural and sugar-free options, served alongside a variety of toppings. Adults 21 and over can also indulge in “Spiked Snoballs,” as each Snoball flavor can be infused with various kinds of alcohol. The operation is owned by celebrity co-owners Desmond Howard, a Heisman Trophy winner, Superbowl XXXI MVP and ESPN football analyst, and Tripp Welborne, a University of Michigan Wolverines alum and first-team All-American. 50 percent of all proceeds from the re-opening event will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County. 

Beach Snoballs

Gill Phelan has joined RE/MAX Alliance Group as a realtor in the Bradenton office. He is owner and developer of Grand View Estates in Costa Rica with his wife, Myrna, a native of Costa Rica. Phelan started in the building trades in 1971 and studied construction at the Milton Hershey School in Hersey, Pennsylvania. Since then he has used his knowledge to renovate and resell homes, and was the owner of Horse Valley Enterprise Custom Woodworking in East Waterford, Pennsylvania, for 10 years. In 2007, he started development on Grand View Estates, a private residential community in the hills of Cimarrones, Costa Rica. He also provides custom construction services to buyers of the homesites. The Bradenton office is located at 3007 Manatee Avenue West. RE/MAX Alliance Group is the #1 RE/MAX franchise in Florida and the #16 RE/MAX franchise in the United States. 

RE/MAX Alliance Group