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A Powerful Boost For Neonatal Care

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2007

A year ago, the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital received a generous $6 million gift to develop a world-renowned research center for the treatment of premature babies.

The promise moved closer to reality this week when the university revealed that it has recruited one of the nation's top researchers in newborn medicine to fill the Pamela S. and Leslie M. Muma Endowed Chair in Neonatology.

Lewis P. Rubin, co-director of the Cleveland Clinic's Fetal Care Center, will be chief of neonatology at USF Health and medical director of Tampa General's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

"This donation and this recruitment means we'll have one of the nation's premier centers for helping infants in trouble," said Stephen Klasko, vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine.

Combined with matching state funds, the Muma's gift generated $14 million that will be used to fund the endowed chair, double the size of Tampa General's NICU, build new laboratories and recruit research fellows.

It's obviously attracting medical talent. Rubin plans to bring several members of his Cleveland research team to Tampa, where they will collaborate with other researchers at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg and Moffitt Cancer Center as well as TGH.

Like the announcement of Muma's gift last December, the revelation of Rubin's hiring merits a community salute.

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