Alumni Family Establishes Endowment to Support International Medicine Institute

Nearly 30 years ago, Paulo Hoff, M.D., Ph.D., and Ana Hoff, M.D., ventured from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Miami to further their medical training in what is now called the William J. Harrington Internal Medicine Residency Training Program within the International Medicine Institute at the Miller School. Three decades later, their daughter, Camilla, is also an alumna of the program.

In gratitude for the program’s life-changing impact on their professional development, the family made a generous donation to establish the Hoff International Medicine Institute Endowment Fund to help future residents.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Hoff family for their ardent support of the program and for their donation to establish the endowment fund,” said Eduardo de Marchena, M.D., associate dean of the IMI. “They are a wonderful family with an intense dedication to advancing the field of medicine in Latin America.”

The late William J. Harrington, M.D., created the program for the same reason. It offers internships and observerships to medical residents from Latin America and the Caribbean and is designed to give those physicians-in-training the opportunity to learn cutting-edge medicine that can be taken back to their home countries.

“When we were doing our medical training in Brasilia 30 ago, there was a large gap in technology,” said Dr. Paulo Hoff, professor and chair of medical oncology at the University of São Paulo and president of Oncologia D’Or Network. “I could see that we were not doing the state-of-the-art medicine that was happening in other parts of the world.”

As luck would have it, his mentor at the time was a friend of Dr. Harrington, who recommended that Paulo and Ana apply to the Miller School program. After being accepted, the couple moved more than 3,000 miles to continue their medical training journey.

Training Gives Latin American Physicians New Perspectives

“The program in Miami gave us a different perspective on medicine,” said Dr. Ana Hoff, who is chief of endocrinology at the Instituto do Cancer do Estado de São Paulo at the University of São Paulo. “It opened our eyes to technology and innovation, which paved the way for us to grow and become successful in our careers.”

“I grew up hearing the inspiring stories of my parents as residents of the Harrington program,” said Camilla, who is an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of São Paulo. “It molded them as professionals and physicians and had an immense impact on their lives. When the opportunity arose for me to participate in the program, I was incredibly excited.”

Camilla was born in Miami during her parents’ training, and participating in the program brought her back to the city of her birth.

“I was blown away with the variety of cases and clinical presentations that I got to see,” Camilla said. “It was so much more than a simple observership. They really welcomed me as if I was a student at the Miller School and allowed me to be involved in all aspects of the training.”

Giving Back to Support Medical Residents

The Hoff family considers themselves very fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in the program, and they are grateful they can give back to support future residents.

“We are certain that Dr. de Marchena and the University will use the donation wisely to continue to improve health care in Latin America,” Paulo said.

The endowment will be used to support the financial needs of Harrington residents during their time in the program, making the opportunity possible for a wider range of students.

“We hope that more people will support the program so that we can increase the number of services that the university provides to Latin America,” he added. “The program that Dr. Harrington started and Dr. de Marchena is continuing is a very noble mission.”

If you would like to join the Hoff family in supporting the Harrington program, contact Shelly Friedman at [email protected] or 561-758-0837.

Tags: Dr. Ana Hoff, Dr. Eduardo de Marchena, Dr. Paulo Hoff, Hoff International Medicine Institute Endowment Fund, International Medicine Institute, medical alumni, Medical Alumni Association, philanthropy, WIlliam J. Harrington Medical Training Program