Endowed Chairs

Robert Boucek, Jr., M.D. - Program director of the Pediatric Cardiac Transplant Program at All Children's Hospital and USF. Dr. Boucek's research aims to understand how "tolerance" of a transplanted heart or organ might be achieved. Young infants who receive a donor heart often need less immune suppressing drugs to ward off organ rejection than do older children or adults. Looking at the interaction of immune cells from the donor organ with the immune cells of the recipient, Boucek's team hopes to track the early indications of tolerance and determine whether immunosuppressive drugs can be reduced or eliminated. For the past three years, this work has been funded through Dr. Boucek's position as the Steven & Sonia Raymund Endowed Investigator in Pediatric Cardiology. Mr. Raymund, Chairman and CEO of Tech Data Corporation, is also the current chairman of the All Children's Hospital Board. He and his wife Sonia generously created an endowment funding Dr. Boucek's work.

James Huhta, M.D. - A recognized leader in the field of fetal heart function and disorders. Dr. Huhta's investigations focus on the early detection of congenital heart disease using fetal echocardiography for prenatal diagnosis. Outcomes research will track the benefits of such early detection and management of pediatric heart disease. A long-term research goal will be the possible use of fetal surgery to repair significant heart defects before birth. Through the Andrews/Daicoff Chair in Perinatal Cardiology, Dr. Huhta's work will benefit from an endowment established by the late Sarianne Andrews, a long-time friend of All Children's Hospital. Mrs. Andrews' late husband Ed was an inventor and entrepreneur who befriended a young George Daicoff while he was still at the University of Chicago Medical School. Dr. Daicoff went on to direct All Children's Pediatric Heart Surgery program for two decades. Mrs. Andrews made her generous bequest to All Children's research efforts in honor of her husband and his friendship with Dr. Daicoff.

Kersti Linask, Ph.D. - A doctorate-level researcher in the cellular, molecular and developmental biology of the heart. Dr. Linask's work focuses on the earliest stages of heart development, such questions as how the fetal heart develops from a straight tube to a four-chambered heart. She brings a $1.25-million grant from the National Institutes of Health, as well as funding as an American Heart Association Established Investigator. Her work at the CRI will receive further support through the David and Janice Mason Chair in Heart Development. David Mason co-founded the Hops Grill & Bar Restaurant concept, now part of the national restaurant group Apple South. While a member of the All Children's Hospital Board of Trustees, Mr. Mason and his wife Janice became parents of twin girls, one of whom was immediately rushed to All Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for treatment of a congenital heart defect.

Gary Litman, Ph.D. - A molecular geneticist noted for his research on the genetic structure and origins of antibodies. Dr. Litman has directed the Molecular Genetics Lab at All Children's Hospital/USF since 1990. His lab has made several contributions to the Human Genome project, mapping previously undiscovered genes. Dr. Litman's studies aim to further understanding of the human immune system by focusing on the origins of immunity in more primitive animal models such as fish. Since 1990, his work has been funded in part by a prestigious ten-year Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health, as well as proceeds from the Ann & Andrew H. Hines Jr. Chair in Molecular Genetics. Both Ann and Andy Hines have served as members of the All Children's Hospital Board. Andy is a former president of Florida Power and Chairman of Florida Progress. Ann has served as a trustee of St. Petersburg College and been active in many community organizations. Their donation provides the endowment to fund Dr. Litman's work.

Bernard Pollara, M.D., Ph.D. - Holds The John E. and Aliese Price Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The Chair was created through a gift from John E. Price, a Florida native who spent 50 years building railroads, highways and bridges, and established a charitable foundation over 30 years ago. Dr. Pollara, formerly the Chairman of Pediatrics at the Albany Medical College in New York, is the first Price Chair recipient, appointed in 1993. He is now a general pediatrician with major interests in training medical students and residents and development of junior faculty. He has been awarded several federal grants from Health and Human Services for training and faculty development. He, along with several key members of the department, facilitated the establishment of the principal USF Pediatrics outpatient clinic located on Davis Islands. He also has a major interest in HIV and clinical immunology, and is the co-discoverer of adenosine deaminase deficiency, a cause of severe combined immunodeficiency disease. In recent years, he has been involved in numerous clinical trials of vaccines and on anti viral agent palivizumab, a human respiratory syncytial virus monoclonal antibody used to prevent RSV disease.

John Sleasman, M.D. - A pediatric immunologist and expert in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in children and adolescents. As a leader in pediatric HIV research, Dr. Sleasman brings more than $2-million in grants from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the impact of HIV on the immune systems of children and adolescents. Collaborating with Dr. Sleasman on the NIH grants is Maureen Goodenow, Ph.D., a molecular geneticist whose work in the laboratory focuses on the impact of genetic variation on the clinical course of HIV infection. The work of Drs. Sleasman and Goodenow is further supported at the CRI by the Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust. This trust established the Robert A. Good Chair in Immunology. The Chair honors All Children's own Robert A. Good, Ph.D., M.D., D.Sc., a pioneer in modern immunology and bone marrow transplantation, who has been a Dana trustee since 1982.