Three of our faculty members are taking on new and vital roles at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.
After an extensive internal search, Associate Professor Rebecca Toonkel, M.D., has been selected to serve as the new associate dean of Curriculum and Medical Education.
Toonkel joined FIU in 2013, recently serving as assistant dean for Curriculum, Clinical Education and Advising, and medical director for the Albert and Debbie Tano Simulation Center.
Toonkel received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. And completed residency training in internal medicine at Columbia University, followed by a 3-year basic science research fellowship in pulmonary medicine. She later completed a clinical fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. She is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Associate Professor Rodolfo Bonnin, Ph.D., has been selected as the new founding assistant dean for Institutional Knowledge Management (IKM). The newly-formed Office of Institutional Knowledge Management will serve to manage all academic, accreditation, and programmatic effectiveness information. IKM will collect and analyze the necessary data for decision-making across the College of Medicine to enhance our development and fulfill the college’s strategic plan.
He joined the College of Medicine in 2008 and most recently served as director of assessment and evaluation and co-course director for Professional Behavior. Bonnin earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Missouri and his Bachelor of Science Management and Organizational Behavior from the University of La Verne, California.
Associate Professor Yolangel Hernandez-Suarez, M.D., MBA, has been appointed senior associate dean for Student Affairs.
Dr. Hernandez-Suarez joined the College of Medicine in 2010 and has served many faculty and administrative roles at FIU. She is a former CEO of the FIU HealthCare Network Faculty Group Practice and past vice provost for Population Health and Wellbeing. Since last year, she’d been serving as interim executive associate dean for Student Affairs.
Dr. Hernandez-Suarez earned her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and performed her residency training at the University of Iowa. She is board-certified in gynecology and obstetrics.