A “Doctor’s Doctor” Lifts Off into Retirement
Physician, pilot and so much more, Dr. Lanny Gardner says he will still occasionally “haunt the hallways” at the Miller School.
Two things enable an airplane to escape the pull of gravity as it rolls down the runway. The engine provides the necessary speed and the wings capture the wind that provides the lift. Together, they make the miracle of human flight possible.
Laurence B. “Lanny” Gardner, M.D., who is retiring after five decades of distinguished service to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth—University of Miami Health System, has been a pilot for almost as long as he has been a physician. If his contributions to medical education have been the engine, his mentorship has provided the lift that has launched thousands of medical careers. His passengers have been the uncountable patients he has transported, directly or indirectly, from illness to good health.
There are few leadership roles that Dr. Gardner has not filled in the Department of Medicine and the Miller School since joining the University of Miami faculty in 1974. He’s been a program director, division chief, vice chair, chair, executive dean, interim dean and, since 2020, senior advisor to the dean.
“Lanny’s five decades of incomparable and extraordinary service have been nothing short of transformative,” said Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School. “His vision, steadfast leadership, humanism and exemplary conduct set the highest standards for all to emulate. On a personal note, I could never have dreamed of a better partner, counselor, adviser and friend to guide and support me during my first few years as dean of the Miller School.”
A Career Takes Flight
Raised on Long Island, New York, Dr. Gardner was the first in his family to attend college, and his academic trajectory was evident from the start. He earned his undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. His residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and subsequent fellowship and service as chief medical resident at the University of Pennsylvania established him as a clinician–scholar of exceptional promise. Having completed his advanced training, Dr. Gardner entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1972 with the rank of major. He served as chief of the nephrology service at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, a posting that showcased both his clinical expertise and his capacity to build programs, organize systems and elevate standards.
Following his discharge from military service, Dr. Gardner joined the Miller School, then known as the University of Miami School of Medicine, as assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. He arrived with a rare combination of intellectual rigor, practical ingenuity and a deep commitment to teaching. From his earliest days at UM, it was clear he would play a key role in shaping not just a department, of which he became chairman 20 years later, but an institution.
“I had the good fortune of being part of the inaugural intern class at UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital in 1974 that coincided with Lanny’s first year on the faculty,” recalled Daniel Lichtstein, M.D., who retired in 2023 as regional dean for medical education and professor of medicine and medical education. “Lanny, more than anyone else, influenced my career as an internist and educator. Lanny has been my teacher, mentor, boss, colleague and friend. As a role model and mentor, he showed me what it took to be an effective leader while remaining humble throughout. In addition to his clinical acumen and extensive knowledge of medicine, Lanny’s sharp wit and humor helped to create a safe and fun learning environment for all learners, including me.”
Guiding Through Growth and Change
Across his many roles, Dr. Gardner helped guide the institution through multiple eras of growth and change. As chair of medicine, he strengthened the department’s academic profile, advanced clinical programs and helped shape the faculty practice plan that laid the foundation for today’s clinical enterprise. As vice dean and later as executive dean, he championed innovations that elevated the Miller School’s national visibility and academic standing.
“Lanny was a key transformational leader, lifting our medical school to national prominence and international respect,” said Donna Shalala, Ph.D., former president of the University of Miami.
At the heart of Dr. Gardner’s career has been his devotion to teaching. Over five decades, he taught thousands of medical students and supervised close to 1,000 residents. Many recall his legendary morning reports, where he distilled complex clinical reasoning with clarity, wit and an insistence on thinking deeply. He built classrooms where curiosity thrived, where no question was too small and where humor opened doors to understanding in ways textbooks never could. Generations of physicians across South Florida — and across the country — trace their professional identities to his influence.
“Working with Lanny Gardner, not only as a colleague, but also as a friend and mentor, has been an immense privilege,” said Joan St. Onge, M.D., M.P.H., professor of clinical medicine and medical education and senior associate dean for faculty affairs and professional development at the Miller School. “I’ve valued our regular chats about patients, policy, education and everyday life. Lanny’s guidance has made me a better physician, a stronger leader and a more supportive colleague.”
A Commitment to Patient Care
Dr. Gardner’s commitment to patient care remained constant throughout his career. He delivered exemplary clinical care at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the UM Medical Group. His clinical work exemplified what he taught: rigorous science paired with compassion, humility and respect for patients.
His patients agree.
“Lanny has been my doctor for 30 years and my friend most of that time,” said Alberto Ibargüen, former president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. “It has been one of the great privileges of my life to count on his support, guidance and advice at some of the darkest moments of my life and to share with him the joy of better days. My wife told me once I needed a different doctor because I enjoyed my visits to Dr. Gardner too much. Nobody I know has been so committed to an institution as Lanny has been to UHealth. His concern for patients, his respect for colleagues and his desire to improve doctor/patient communications were just the starting point.”
As a scholar, Dr. Gardner authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, edited influential textbooks and lectured nationally and internationally on topics ranging from acid-base physiology to the future of academic health centers. His academic work reflects both depth and range, a hallmark of someone who believes that intellectual inquiry is inseparable from clinical excellence.
Focus on the Big Picture
“I often think back to the long, thoughtful conversations in Lanny’s office — moments carved out of his busy days — when he helped me think critically about consequential decisions and consistently urged me to keep the bigger picture in view,” said Julie Kornfeld, Ph.D., M.P.H., a former Miller School/UHealth epidemiologist who is now the president of Kenyon College. “He taught me what it means to be a thoughtful, ethical leader and instilled in me the profound responsibility of mentoring those who follow.”
Dr. Gardner’s leadership also helped produce two of the school’s most distinctive achievements in medical education. The flagship, four-year M.D./M.P.H. program — now a national model — was launched under his guidance as executive dean for education and policy. And the foundational planning that led to the NextGenMD curriculum, the Miller School’s transformative redesign of medical education, began during his time as interim dean and was launched under his tenure as executive dean.
“His support and guidance were essential to the successful creation of the NextGenMD curriculum,” said Sabrina Taldone, M.D., M.B.A., a former student who is now associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and associate dean for clinical affairs at the Miller School. “Dr. Gardner shared his insights and challenged us to move forward and to think outside of the box. He put the students’ education first, helping us explore opportunities to deliver medical education creatively.”
A Spirit of Adventure
Close colleagues and friends know Dr. Gardner not only as an academic leader, but also as a person who pursues knowledge and experience of many kinds with unusual breadth, joy and humor. Years ago, a friend asked Dr. Gardner to go flying with him. Dr. Gardner’s response was to take flying lessons first.
“I didn’t want to get into trouble with something I didn’t understand,” said Dr. Gardner, today a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor.
At sea level, he is a 100-ton Coast Guard–licensed captain, a competitive sailor, a skier and a lover of the countryside of Italy, where he has spent many summers exploring the back roads of Tuscany. And below sea level, he is a certified scuba diver who has literally swum with the sharks. His family describes him as a lifelong technophile who reads instruction manuals from cover to cover, embodying the qualities that define both great physicians and great teachers: curiosity, precision, calm under pressure and the pleasure of mastering the unfamiliar. At the age of 83, he decided to pursue amateur radio and achieved the highest level of FCC certification in a period of three months.
Beside Dr. Gardner since they first met at MIT has been his wife Behna, a professional photographer who has documented their many adventures together. Some of his colleagues have also joined him.
“Lanny was my attending, boss, skipper (bay races and blue water), co-author on papers, co-PI on training grants, co-editor on a textbook, my friend and family friend,” said Daniel Becker, M.D., a former Miller School resident and faculty member who retired as professor of medicine from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “If we were talking about triple acid-base disturbances, he was the smartest person in the room. If we were talking about anything else, he’d be in the running for smartest. However, if the task at hand was returning to harbor while relying on red and green navigation lights, he was no smarter than his best guess. He knows when to ask for help. We only ran aground when it was safe. It would be an interesting race against time, as is the long, careful glide path to retirement. There will be new adventures on the ground, at sea and in the air.”
Echoing Dr. Becker’s words, Dr. Gardner says he hopes to spend retirement enjoying more travel and time with his family, but he isn’t going away completely. He has been granted the status of professor emeritus, and because he wants to keep up with changes in medicine, he will continue to have some office space.
“I still plan to haunt the hallways on occasion,” he said.
In a message “from one chair to another,” Roy E. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Medicine, the Kathleen & Stanley Glaser Distinguished Chair in Medicine, the Rabbi Morris I. Esformes Endowed Chair in Medicine and Endocrinology and chief medical officer of UHealth Ambulatory Services, offered the following tribute.
“It is impossible to summarize the measure of Dr. Gardner’s impact in a single message because his influence is woven into every corner of the Department of Medicine and far beyond. He has shown us what principled leadership, intellectual rigor and deep humanity in medicine truly look like. Lanny is the ‘Mentor’s Mentor,’ the ‘Doctor’s Doctor.’”
Tags: Dean Henri Ford, Dr. Joan St. Onge, Dr. Laurence Gardner, Dr. Roy Weiss, Dr. Sabrina Taldone, Newsroom