Dr. Jeffrey Brosco Named Senior Advisor at the University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development
The UHealth pediatrician and national leader in pediatrics and child health pledges to advance autism care and community‑focused initiatives.
For nearly three decades, Jeffrey Brosco, M.D., Ph.D., has helped shape how the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine understands and advances child health, disability and development. This month, he begins a new chapter at the Mailman Center for Child Development as senior advisor to the director, a role that builds on a legacy of leadership, collaboration and community‑focused impact.
“When I started as director of the Mailman Center in 1999, the first person I asked to join our leadership team was Jeff Brosco,” said Daniel Armstrong, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the Miller School and director of the Mailman Center for Child Development. “Jeff served as associate director for more than two decades, and his return in this new role is a tremendous asset as we look toward the future.”
Bridging Clinical Care and Child Health Policy
Dr. Brosco, a Miller School professor of pediatrics and nationally recognized leader in child health policy, spent recent years in senior federal leadership with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) at the Health Resources and Services Administration. He was Florida’s Deputy Secretary of Health, Children’s Medical Services, from 2016 to 2018 and was the state’s Title V Director for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs.
At the national level, has been a member of more than two dozen health policy groups, including the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Workgroup on Standards for Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs/National Academy for State Health Policy) and the steering committee for the National Institutes of Health Newborn Screening Translational Research Network.
He assumes his new role at the Mailman Center with a deep expertise in state and federal systems. But his work and philosophy are grounded in patient care.
“I see myself first and foremost as a pediatrician,” Brosco said. “I’ve had the same general pediatrics practice for nearly 30 years, specializing in developmental and behavioral concerns, including autism, ADHD and learning differences. That one‑child‑at‑a‑time work connects directly to everything else I do.”
A Senior Advisor Role Focused on Strategy and Collaboration
In his new role as senior advisor, Dr. Brosco will work closely with Mailman Center leadership on major initiatives while continuing to engage in state and national policy work related to pediatrics and child development.
One of Dr. Brosco’s first priorities is helping lead a multidisciplinary autism initiative designed to unify and strengthen autism programs across the University of Miami. The effort brings together experts from pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, human genetics, audiology and education, along with long‑standing community partners.
“We have extraordinary autism‑related resources across the university, such as the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities,” Dr. Brosco said. “What we haven’t always had is a fully coordinated system. The goal is to create a more seamless experience so families can access high‑quality autism care that supports both the child and the family.”
Initially focused on autism in early childhood, the initiative is designed to expand across the lifespan, with partnerships extending into adolescence and adulthood. Dr. Armstrong noted that Dr. Brosco’s experience building systems of care and aligning clinical services, research and funding priorities will be essential to that vision.
The Mailman Center’s Community‑Centered Model of Impact
Beyond individual programs, Dr. Brosco points to the Mailman Center’s mission and culture as its greatest strengths. As a university‑wide center for child development and disability, the Mailman Center connects faculty across disciplines and campuses while maintaining a deep commitment to the surrounding Miami community.
“About a decade ago, we made a conscious shift,” Dr. Brosco said. “We decided success wasn’t just grants and publications. It was whether children were actually doing better. That led us to partner closely with nearby communities like Overtown and East Little Havana and to measure outcomes that mattered to families, like school readiness and graduation.”
That community‑embedded approach, he believes, is essential to advancing child health.
“Where a child grows up matters enormously,” Dr. Brosco said. “If you want to improve health and development, you have to understand the neighborhood, the schools and the family context. That local perspective has to connect all the way up to policy.”
As he steps into the senior advisor role, Dr. Brosco sees his work as a bridge linking clinical pediatrics, child development research, community partnership and child health and disability public policy into a shared vision.
“It’s an extraordinary privilege to be part of the Mailman Center,” he said. “We get to work across the University of Miami, stay grounded in the community and focus on what truly makes a difference for children. There’s no better place to do this work.”
Tags: autism spectrum disorder, child wellbeing, Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Daniel Armstrong, Dr. Jeffrey Brosco, Mailman Center for Child Development, pediatrics