{"id":137468,"date":"2023-10-16T15:07:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T19:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=137468"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:51:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:51:56","slug":"dean-of-ucfs-college-of-medicine-named-central-florida-woman-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/dean-of-ucfs-college-of-medicine-named-central-florida-woman-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean of UCF’s College of Medicine Named Central Florida Woman of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Women\u2019s Executive Council of Orlando has named Deborah German, UCF\u2019s vice president for health affairs and founding dean of its medical school, as the organization\u2019s 2023 Central Florida Woman of the Year.<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s mission is to encourage and recognize women leaders and students to serve the Central Florida community.<\/p>\n

In accepting the award on Oct. 12, German said she came to Orlando in 2006 to build a top-tier medical school that would anchor an emerging Medical City just minutes from one of the world\u2019s most visited airports. The goal was to create what would become a global destination for medical research, patient care and education \u201cfor all of us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Under Deborah German’s leadership, the UCF College of Medicine has graduated more than 1,000 physicians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI wanted to have a great adventure, a life project, so that when I was 90 years old like my parents \u2014 who are now 96 and 93 \u2014 I could look back and say, \u2018Good job,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI have so much for which to be grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under her leadership, the UCF College of Medicine<\/a> has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and welcomed its 15th M.D. class this fall. Thanks to community donations, UCF was the first medical school in U.S. history to offer full four-year scholarships to an entire class \u2014 the charter class of 2013. Since that time, UCF\u2019s College of Medicine has created one of the fastest-growing graduate medical education programs in the state \u2014 with 550 residents and fellows training in UCF-HCA Healthcare programs from Orlando to Pensacola.<\/p>\n

The college is unique nationally because it includes the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, which provides undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs. Biomedical Sciences is UCF\u2019s third most popular major. Burnett School faculty researchers focus their discoveries on the diseases that plague humanity \u2014 such as cancer, cardiovascular, infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. UCF Health, the College of Medicine physician practice, has two locations \u2014 in East Orlando and Lake Nona \u2014 and provides primary and specialty care to patients across the community. The college has also begun a clinical trials program to advance translational medical research and recently partnered with NASA to conduct space medicine research<\/a> that will impact the health of space travelers and those on earth.<\/p>\n