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Florida State University is reaching new heights in research excellence, thanks to the leadership of its accomplished women.

From the Vice President of Research to the Dean of the College of Medicine and the Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab), women are at the forefront of groundbreaking science at FSU.

During a recent roundtable forum, five of FSU’s leading women in science gathered to discuss their career journeys, leadership styles and the challenges they’ve overcome to excel in their fields. The discussion, held in the Student Union Ballrooms, was part of FSU’s Discovery Days, a weeklong celebration of research, scholarship and creativity.

The event featured FSU First Lady Jai Vartikar, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Chief Scientist Laura Greene, College of Nursing Associate Dean for Research Lisa Hightow-Weidman, Dean of the College of Medicine Dr. Alma Littles and Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson.

“I just love working with these women,” Patterson said. “They are truly an inspiration to me, and it’s so exciting to be able to share that with the whole FSU community.”

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Dr. Alma Littles, dean of the Florida State University College of Medicine, was elected vice president of the Florida Medical Association (FMA) at its Aug. 2-4 annual meeting in Orlando. The FMA is a professional organization representing more than 25,000 members on issues of legislation and regulatory affairs, medical economics and education, public health and ethical and legal issues. Read more …

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Florida State University Provost Jim Clark has announced Dr. Alma Littles as the new dean of the College of Medicine. She begins in the role today.

Littles has served as interim dean of the college since February 2023 and as a senior associate dean for medical education and academic affairs for nearly 20 years.

“Dr. Littles’ dedication to Florida State University and to the people of Florida has made a profound impact on the health and well-being of thousands of people,” Clark said. “Her career exemplifies the mission of the FSU College of Medicine to practice patient-centered health care, advance medical knowledge, and bring high-quality care where it is most needed. Dr. Littles has provided outstanding leadership as the interim dean, and I have heard from an impressive number of health care leaders across the state that they looked forward to her appointment to permanent Dean. That day has arrived!”

Littles replaced Dr. John P. Fogarty, who served as dean from 2008 until his retirement in 2023.

Her commitment to service began in her hometown of Quincy, Florida, where she was the youngest of 12 children. She saw the difficulty of accessing health care in her rural community, and after graduating from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1986, and the Family Medicine Residency Program at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) in 1989, she returned home to practice.

“When I first saw the College of Medicine mission statement, it resonated with me,” Littles said. “The college’s priorities and my goals as a physician mirror each other. Growing up in a rural and underserved community stimulated my interest in investing my talents toward helping people whose health care needs are not easily met. The college has remained dedicated in training physicians who can help to meet those needs.”

Teaching and leadership have long been a part of her work. She began precepting medical students and residents soon after beginning to practice and joined the faculty of the Family Medicine Residency Program at TMH in 1996, later becoming director of the program. After the FSU College of Medicine was created in 2000, she became the acting and then founding chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health. She also served as a president of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.

“Dr. Littles is not only an outstanding physician, she’s outstanding at developing the next generation of physicians,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “Her dedication to education and patient care sets a remarkable example for all. Dr. Littles embodies the spirit of excellence that defines our institution’s mission to advance health care and nurture future leaders in medicine.”

As dean, she will oversee a college with a robust research and teaching portfolio. College faculty tallied more than $126 million in research expenditures from 2019 through 2023. Along with the central campus, the college includes nine regional campuses or training sites where medical and physician assistant students complete their third and fourth-year education.

FSU’s model of medical education has a unique community focus that sends students across Florida for one-on-one, apprenticeship-style clerkships with established community physicians. Most medical students in the U.S. complete their clerkships in a large teaching hospital or academic medical center.

Littles has firsthand experience with that education model. She was a preceptor for students in the FSU Program in Medical Sciences and was the acting dean of the Tallahassee Regional Campus when it was developed prior to the first cohort of third-year medical students at FSU going out into community settings to complete their required and elective rotations.

She has also led the college’s accreditation efforts, the development and evolution of its curriculum and the expansion of its community-based education model in her role as senior associate dean for medical education and academic affairs.

“I see teaching and mentoring as an essential part of being a physician,” Littles said. “New doctors and physician assistants have so much to learn. Along with hours of study and practice, they need experienced practitioners to guide them on their journey. My own mentors were instrumental in helping me become a successful physician, and it is gratifying to pay it forward to the next generation.”

FSU has ambitious plans for advancing health care research and education. Littles will continue to play a major role in FSU Health, an enterprise she supported as interim dean. FSU Health is an initiative to transform health care delivery in North Florida. FSU is partnering with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to build an academic health center on the TMH campus that will offer advanced medical training and translational research for FSU faculty and TMH clinicians. The work is funded by $125 million from the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis.

Other components to FSU Health include a health care campus in Panama City Beach that will bring together clinicians, researchers and students to meet the rapidly increasing need for medical care in the Florida Panhandle. FSU is also partnering with Mayo Clinic and others on projects to improve health care research and practice.

“Dr. Littles is an excellent leader for this initiative,” McCullough said. “Her experience and vision will guide us toward achieving our goals with precision and compassion. I am pleased to welcome her as the new dean of the FSU College of Medicine.”

The Florida State University College of Medicine was created by the Florida Legislature in June 2000. The college welcomed its first students, the Class of 2005, in May 2001 and now counts nearly 2,000 physicians among its alumni. The college ranks in the 86th percentile nationally for alumni physicians practicing in-state and in the 98th percentile nationally for alumni physicians practicing in underserved areas.

For more information about the College of Medicine, visit med.fsu.edu.

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Saturday’s commencement ceremony for the M.D. Class of 2024 marked a major milestone in the history of Florida State University’s College of Medicine. The college graduated its 20th class of physicians and added 110 medical doctors to its alumni, bringing the total to 1,956 physician alumni.

This year’s graduates started their medical degrees during a global pandemic, dealt with changes in the medical licensing exam and other challenges, said Interim Dean Dr. Alma Littles.

“But none of this kept you from your goal and your class stepped up time and again to the challenges in front of you,” she said. “You persevered and with true grit and resilience. You made it!”

Class President Nick Thomas also mentioned how the pandemic necessitated changes.

“Who would have thought that our first day of medical school would begin in our bedrooms?” he asked. “We had no idea that we likely would be the only class in history to start their medical school career completely virtual. Yet we embraced the unknown.”

He encouraged his classmates to continue to embrace the unknown, “not as a source of fear, but as a canvas upon which we can paint the story of our lives — a story filled with triumphs, setbacks and everything in between.”

“Most importantly, let us remember that the true beauty of our dreams lies not in their attainment but in the journey itself,” Thomas said, “in the lives we will touch, the hearts we will heal, and the difference we will make in the world.”

Graduation ceremonies at the College of Medicine can feel like family reunions in some ways, with the affection and bonds between classmates, as well as between students and faculty, apparent through the hugs and laughter. That was especially true this year.

John Thrasher was a key partner as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives when the Florida Legislature authorized the college, the first new medical school in the U.S. in more than 25 years. He later became president of FSU, now president emeritus, and served as commencement speaker. Littles introduced Thrasher as “a dear friend of this university, the College of Medicine and mine.”

Thrasher shared that although he has spoken at many graduation ceremonies, this was his first time speaking at an FSU College of Medicine commencement. He said he was “deeply honored.”

“This great privilege is even more meaningful to me because my granddaughter Ashley’s husband, Matt Williamson, is one of today’s graduates,” Thrasher said. “Matt, GiGi and I, along with the entire family, are so proud of you.”

He joked that graduates’ lives would change forever after today, in part because their parents would never call them by their first names again.

“It will always be ‘my daughter, the doctor’ or ‘my son, the doctor,’” he said. “In my case, Matt Williamson will now always be known as ‘my grandson-in-law, the doctor.’”

He said he had learned a few lessons throughout his law and legislative careers that were applicable to physicians, offering four bits of advice. First, communication is crucial.

“Effective communication is at the heart of patient-centered care,” he said. “You will interact with patients from all walks of life, each with their own unique background, experiences and perspectives, so it is imperative that you listen attentively, explain medical concepts in plain language so those of us who are not physicians can understand it, and always, always demonstrate empathy, kindness and respect.”

Second, he advised students to get involved in their communities and embrace leadership roles.

“You don’t have to go into politics to make a positive impact,” Thrasher said. “You can use your expertise to advocate for your patients, mentor the next generation of medical professionals and champion causes you believe in and are important to you.”

Third, commit to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

“We are living in a world of rapidly changing innovations, and the knowledge and skills you have today might be outdated tomorrow,” he said. “Stay curious, stay humble and never stop seeking opportunities for continued education and self-improvement.”

Fourth, maintain a work-life balance.

“This is a lesson, frankly, that took me a while to learn, and my wife would tell you I’m still learning it, but it is imperative,” he said.

Only by taking care of yourself will you be equipped to care for others, he added.

A double alumnus of FSU with bachelor’s and law degrees, Thrasher closed with this: “Congratulations, Class of 2024, and may you find fulfillment, purpose, and joy in the noble calling of medicine. May God continue to bless you, and I couldn’t walk away from here without saying, ‘Go Noles!’”

Following Thrasher’s comments, Provost and Executive Vice President Jim Clark conferred master’s degrees in biomedical sciences in the Bridge to Clinical Medicine program to eight students. Later this month, they will begin medical school as members of the Class of 2028.

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Florida State University College of Medicine students from the M.D. Class of 2027 celebrated a major milestone in their medical journeys at their white coat ceremony on Friday at Ruby Diamond Concert Hall.

Also during the ceremony, 11 members of the M.D. Class of 2024 were inducted into the FSU Chapman Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS).

As interim Dean Alma Littles explained in her welcoming remarks, it was not a coincidence that the two are held together.

“We hold these inductees up to you, first-year medical students, as an example of what we hope you will strive for,” she said. “As you watch the Gold Humanism pinning ceremony, keep in mind that medicine is about more than just science and knowledge. At its best, medicine is defined by compassion and service to your fellow human beings.”

Membership in GHHS is capped at 10% to 15% of a medical school graduating class, meaning inductees are the best of the best. They are nominated by faculty, staff and fellow students and selected by a committee.

Keynote speaker Alexandra “Lexie” Mannix (M.D. Class of 2014 and a GHHS member), assistant professor of emergency medicine and assistant director of residency and clerkship at UF Health-Jacksonville, told the first-year students to take time to celebrate the milestone of earning a white coat.

“FSU College of Medicine will foster your dreams the way it has supported mine,” she said. “And through your hard work and dedication, you will one day do something wonderful that you never thought you could do.”

She shared four “invaluable lessons” she has learned in her career:

• Find yourself in medicine. Embark on a “profound exploration of yourself, your values, and your purpose. Remember that finding yourself in medicine is not a destination. It is a lifelong journey. It is an ever-evolving process of self-discovery, personal growth and professional development.”
• Use your privilege. Slipping into the white coat “confers upon you a unique power. The world will now perceive you differently. Your voice and opinions will carry greater weight, shaping the lives of those you encounter.”
• Just care. Care for your patients, your classmates, your colleagues, and practice self-care. “Care so much that you let empathy be your guiding light as you navigate through the complexities of a career in medicine.”
• Be like Brad. Bradford Maguire Jr., a collegiate quarterback and a member of FSU’s M.D. Class of 2018, was two days from completing his residency in emergency medicine when he died in a car accident. The stories shared at his memorial service demonstrated how he touched the lives of everyone he met, “making them feel special, important, valued, seen and loved. He brought out the best in everyone through his genuine care and devotion.”

“I know he would want me to tell you this on this important day,” Mannix said. “Brad took almost a year off from residency, to focus on bettering himself for his son, Cal. He knew the importance of self-care and prioritized his well-being above all else. His legacy serves as a powerful reminder that even those of us who seem the strongest and brightest still need support. Strive to be like Brad — caring, compassionate and unwavering in your pursuit of excellence.”

Once the future doctors had been “coated,” Littles returned to the podium and said, “Suddenly, you look so doctorly!”

Jack Kramer, president of the Medical Student Council, then led 119 members of the Class of 2027 in a student oath.

After recognizing second-year medical students who served as tutors for the Class of 2027 this summer, as well as the simulated patients who helped them learn how to interview and interact with patients, Littles had some encouraging words for the students: “One semester down, only 10 semesters to go. We’ll see you in 10 days.”

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Florida State University Provost Jim Clark has named Dr. Alma Littles interim dean of the College of Medicine. The appointment will begin Feb. 1.

Littles, who has served as senior associate dean for medical education and academic affairs at the medical school for nearly 20 years, succeeds Dr. John P. Fogarty. Fogarty is retiring after 14 years as the College of Medicine’s dean.

“Dr. Littles is assuming this role at an exciting time for the College of Medicine,” Clark said. “Her long tenure at FSU combined with her relationships with the local health care community make her an ideal fit to lead the college, and we are grateful that she is willing to take on this challenge.”

Littles grew up in Quincy as the youngest of 12 children and returned there following medical school to provide primary care in an area where such medical providers were scarce. The FSU College of Medicine was created to produce more primary care physicians, especially those who would care for older patients and patients in rural and minority communities.

“The medical school’s mission sounded like my life story,” Littles said. “I was from a rural area, and I was interested in the health care of people from rural areas and in recruiting more students from those places into medicine. The words in the mission statement about serving underserved communities were like they were written for me.”

After graduating from the UF College of Medicine, Littles completed her family medicine residency at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, later returning to serve as the program’s director. She became the acting and then founding chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health not long after the FSU College of Medicine was created during the 2000 legislative session.

“Growing up, and having practiced medicine in a small, rural Florida town, I was acutely aware of the needs regarding physicians providing primary care and serving citizens in rural and other underserved areas of the state,” Littles said. “It was my recognition of and commitment to this purpose that motivated me to leave the patient-care setting I loved to move to the FSU College of Medicine.”

She also became acting dean of the Tallahassee Regional Campus when the first cohort of third-year medical students at FSU went out into community settings to complete their required and elective rotations. The college also went on to open regional campuses in Daytona Beach, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Pensacola and Sarasota.

In her role as a senior associate dean, Littles has led the college’s accreditation efforts, the development and evolution of its curriculum and the expansion of its community-based education model that differs from the vast majority of medical schools.

FSU’s model sends students across Florida for one-on-one, apprenticeship style clerkships with established community physicians. Most medical students in the U.S. complete their clerkships in a large teaching hospital or academic medical center. The goal at FSU is to also expose students to the role of community physicians and the value those individuals have in a patient’s life.

From its initial class of 27 graduates in 2005, the college has produced 1,721 M.D. alumni, and recently graduated its fourth class of physician assistants. More than 1,000 FSU alumni physicians are now in practice (with more than 500 of those in Florida) while others are completing residencies and fellowships. Nearly 200 PA graduates have also entered the workforce.

Littles assumes leadership of the college at a critical juncture. FSU is partnering with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and the St. Joe Company to develop an academic health care campus located on an 87-acre parcel near Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, a 55-plus community planned for 3,500 homes in Panama City Beach.

The campus initially will include an ambulatory and urgent care center, for which a groundbreaking ceremony will take place Jan. 17. Future development plans include the construction of an urgent care center and a 100-bed inpatient facility in a region where the nearest hospitals are 30 to 45 minutes away.

The university also is preparing for the development of a new academic research building in Tallahassee with a $125 million appropriation from the Florida Legislature.

“The FSU College of Medicine can become a medical school that demonstrates the effective coexistence of a strong medical education program, robust research program, and formidable clinical faculty practice without shortchanging success in all areas,” Littles said. “In addition to its strong educational programs, our clinical practices will need to grow in a manner that meets the medical school’s mission and goals for patient care, provides clinical education sites for students and residents, and contributes to the growing clinical research initiatives.

“The clinical practices of faculty at the regional campuses provide a rich resource for clinical and translational research and education and require continued nurturing to allow the medical school to advance knowledge in the 21st century.”

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