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Max BotticelliHonolulu — More than 400 friends and colleagues have joined the Botticelli family and University Health Alliance (UHA), in funding an endowment at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) to memorialize the legacy and impact of academic medicine pioneer, Dr. Max G. Botticelli.

“Dr. Botticelli was one of the ‘giants’ in our medical school’s history.  He was a masterful clinician-educator who contributed significantly to the professional development of our medical students and residents during the formative years of the John A. Burns School of Medicine." said Jerris R. Hedges, dean of the UH medical school. He continued, "Dr. Botticelli was also an early proponent of using problem-based learning (PBL) to train our future physicians.  He believed strongly in the potential of medical students and residents to be active participants in their learning experiences.  Through this endowment, his impact will continue to grow."

The new endowed fund will provide JABSOM with resources to further develop its problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum and support the ongoing training and development of PBL teachers. It will enable the medical school to develop, test, and evaluate new curriculum concepts and integrate them across the spectrum of medical education approaches used at JABSOM, such as simulation, clinical skills, and online training.

"Through the generosity of the many donors contributing to this fund in Dr. Botticelli's honor, our medical school will be able to continually encourage and support innovation in teaching and medical education, with the ultimate goal of helping to shape and develop outstanding physicians," said Dr. Richard Kasuya, Associate Dean for Medical Education, and a former trainee and faculty member under Dr. Botticelli.  "We believe that this is a wonderful opportunity to continue to grow and evolve our curriculum in ways that Dr. B would be proud of."

Dr. Botticelli's daughter Ann Botticelli noted, “This fund, which is dedicated to providing our community with highly trained physicians, is a great legacy.  Our family is so grateful to all who contributed, and especially to UHA whose significant contribution allowed this fund to become a perpetual endowment.”

Max Botticelli was born on Dec. 10, 1931 in Fenton, Michigan, the youngest of five children born to Joe and Agnes Botticelli. He graduated from Fenton High School in 1949 and attended Michigan State University. He transferred after his junior year to Wayne State University College of Medicine and earned his M.D. in 1956.  An internship at the Queen’s Medical Center brought him to Honolulu, where he met a young nurse named Alice Miyoko Watanabe. They married in 1957 and had four children: Marc, Ann, Paul and Lisa.

Botticelli completed one year of general practice residency at Monterey County Hospital in Salinas, CA. and then completed a Fellowship in Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He served for two years in the U.S. Army Medical Corp. in Ft. Polk, LA., then returned to Honolulu in 1963 and spent 22 years in private practice. From 1986-1995 he was a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine. He served at that time as the director of the Queen Emma Clinic.  In 1996 he embarked on his third career, as CEO of UHA. This was formerly the medical school’s Faculty Practice Plan.

To learn how you can support JABSOM, please contact:

Elaine EvansElaine Evans
Director of Development and Alumni Engagement for the John A. Burns
School of Medicine
[email protected]
t (808) 692-0991, f (808) 692-1246

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The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), UH Mānoa was named for a visionary governor. Nearly half of the physicians practicing in Hawaiʻi are graduates of JABSOM, its affiliated residency programs, or serve on JABSOM's faculty. JABSOM also trains Biomedical Scientists and Public Health, Communications Sciences and Medical Technology Professionals. For more information about JABSOM, visit http://jabsom.hawaii.edu.