The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center Welcomes Dr. Marianne P. Florian As Inaugural Post-Doctoral Fellow in Medical Humanities
NEWS RELEASE
The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center is announcing the appointment of Dr. Marianne P. Florian, PhD., as the inaugural Post-Doctoral Fellow in Medical Humanities. This new position is a collaboration between the Institute and the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School. This role marks a significant step forward for the Institute’s Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals.
In this shared role, Dr. Florian will contribute to the development of innovative programs and curricula to address critical gaps in medical education related to the intersection of healthcare, spirituality, and compassion. This position is made possible through the generous support of philanthropic donors.
At the Institute, Dr. Florian will lead key initiatives aimed at deepening the integration of spirituality in healthcare. Principally, she will develop a curriculum focused on spirituality and health for medical students, helping to fill a vital gap in medical education. As part of this work, Dr. Florian will support students from Rice University’s Medical Humanities Program who are investigating whether and how spirituality is currently integrated in American medical school education. She will also organize and facilitate conferences and symposia, including ISH’s annual Psychotherapy & Faith and Nursing conferences, that bring together healthcare professionals to explore the role of spirituality in health.
At the McGovern Medical School, Dr. Florian will play a pivotal role in developing and teaching courses in medical humanities and biomedical ethics. She will also mentor medical students as part of the medical humanities scholarly concentration.
“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Marianne Florian to the Institute as our inaugural Post-Doctoral Fellow, in collaboration with the UTHealth McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics,” said Stuart Nelson, president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Spirituality and Health. “The unique skills and innovative perspectives Dr. Florian brings will be invaluable as we build the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center’s curricular offerings, with the ultimate goal of filling gaps in medical education related to religion and spirituality in healthcare. Welcome, Dr. Florian!”
Healthcare professionals continue to bear heavy burdens beyond the unique challenges of their professional calling. The global pandemic, ever more frequent natural disasters, and deepening social isolation are taking a toll on healers, diminishing their well-being, and negatively impacting their ability to care for patients. While there is no single solution to these complex issues, the Karff Center and the Institute recognize that training in spirituality and health is a resource for renewal across interdisciplinary caring professions.
The curriculum that Dr. Florian is developing is geared toward healthcare professions students and will promote professional wellbeing and enhance patient care. Topics addressed in this curriculum will: (a) enhance spiritual health and flourishing, (b) examine the links between spirituality and health, (c) advance the field of spirituality and health by responding to cultural and technological change.
The Karff Center will partner with medical schools who want to offer a curriculum in spirituality and health to their students. The program will also empower enterprising students to form grassroots extracurricular learning communities to train in spirituality and health using this program. The Institute envisions expanding the audience for this curriculum to include students of nursing and other health disciplines, as well as working healthcare professionals who wish to train or become leaders in the field.
Reflecting on her new position, Dr. Florian said, “I am honored to join the Institute for Spirituality and Health and the UTHealth McGovern Medical School in this collaborative role. My goal is to promote a constant renewal of humanistic and spiritual values in healthcare, focusing on fostering compassion, generosity, and deeper connections between medical professionals and their patients. Drawing upon the resources of the medical humanities and spirituality and health, we can enhance medical education and cultivate a more compassionate healthcare environment.”
Dr. Florian earned her Ph.D. from Emory University in American Religious Cultures with a Graduate Certificate in Mind, Brain, and Culture. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies from the Candler School of Theology and both Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in French from the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Florian has received numerous prestigious awards and honors throughout her academic career. These include the Mellon PhD Interventions Project Dissertation Completion Fellowship and the George W. Woodruff Fellowship, both from the Laney Graduate School at Emory University. She was also awarded the McNair Scholarship and the National Merit Scholarship during her undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina.
In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Florian is an active member of the American Academy of Religion and is affiliated with Emory’s Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture and Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. Dr. Florian has an extensive record of publications and speaking engagements, with her research featured in numerous peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences.
Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Florian taught undergraduate courses in religion and health in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Florian speaks French and Spanish and enjoys a variety of creative hobbies and interests, including collage art, sewing, crafting, music, and perfumery. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and traveling. She is known for her sense of humor.
For questions, interviews, and media inquiries, please contact Pennino and Partners (details below).
About the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals
The Institute for Spirituality and Health’s Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals provides educational tools and research to advance spiritual attunement and providers' self-care in clinical settings. The vision is to empower all healthcare professionals to incorporate spirituality into their approach to health and healing.
Under the direction of the Karff Center, the Institute partners with Rice University to provide undergraduate and graduate students with a venue and network for independent research, self-guided readings, and collaborative projects. This program frequently hosts students from Rice University, the University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Saybrook University. In addition, the Institute sponsors conferences on healthcare and spirituality tailored to the disciplines of medicine, nursing, palliative care, and psychotherapy.
About the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center
The Institute is an independent interfaith organization established in 1955. A founding member of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, the Institute has made a meaningful difference by cultivating heart and humanity in healthcare. The Institute will celebrate a major milestone in May 2025 as it prepares for its 70th anniversary. Over the past seven decades, the Institute has emerged as a pioneering institution at the intersection of faith, medicine, and mental health. Driven by the belief that healthcare must nurture the body, mind, and spirit, the Institute has engaged in years of mission-focused community education.
The mission of The Institute for Spirituality and Health is to enhance well-being by exploring the relationship between spirituality and health. The Institute advances this mission by engaging in education, research, and direct service programs, guided by its four centers of excellence: the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals, the Center for Body, Spirit, and Mind, the Center for End of Life and Aging, and the Center for Faith and Public Health. For more information about The Institute, visit https://www.spiritualityandhealth.org/.
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Media Contacts:
MaKlay Simon, Public Relations Consultant for The Institute for Spirituality and Health
325-262-1862 (mobile)
281-286-9398 (office)
maklay@penninoandpartners.com
Laura Pennino, Senior Public Relations Consultant for The Institute for Spirituality and Health
713-419-1776 (mobile)
281-286-9398 (office)
lp@penninoandpartners.com