Since 2018, the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL) has elected leaders who strive for excellence in their respective fields and elevate Florida as a national leader in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This year’s list of ASEMFL inductees, announced July 23, includes Hudson P. Santos Jr., RN, Ph.D., FABMR, FAAN, Dean, Professor and Dolores J. Chambreau RN Endowed Chair at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Dean Santos, who is also the immediate past president of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG), is the only nurse among the 2025 cohort’s 26 new members. He was elected for his significant societal impact in “advancing understanding of health origins and demonstrating how early adversity affects perinatal health and child development in diverse, high-risk populations,” according to the ASEMFL citation.
Dean Santos is lead principal investigator on a multi-year initiative to establish the Miami cohort study site of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program—a National Institutes of Health program focused on understanding five pediatric health outcome areas: pre-, peri- and postnatal; upper and lower airway; obesity; neurodevelopment; and positive health, such as happiness and a sense of well-being.
“As a nurse scientist, I am truly grateful to the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida for including me among this prestigious group of my peers from around the state,” said Dean Santos. “It has been my life’s honor to work with extraordinary researchers to understand the impact of early-life adversity on health outcomes and translate that knowledge into actionable clinical practice recommendations that are supported by evidence-based protocols.”
Inductees are selected based on outstanding research contributions and innovations with consequential impacts in the fields of science, engineering or medicine. They are considered for their potential to be inducted into the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. “We welcome our new ASEMFL members,” said ASEMFL President Hortensia Amaro, a member of the National Academy of Medicine. “Their lifelong dedication, creativity, and talent have resulted in critical and impactful advances in their fields with resulting benefits to society.”
This invitation to ASEMFL membership comes as Dean Santos marks his first anniversary as dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies and third year at the University. Maria L. Alcaide, M.D., the University’s interim vice provost for research scholarship and a professor of medicine and public health sciences at the Miller School of Medicine, also was selected to the 2025 ASEMFL new member cohort. The induction ceremony for new members will be held during ASEMFL’s Annual Meeting, scheduled to take place in Orlando, Florida, from November 7 to 8, 2025.
