Anastasia Award
The Anastasia Award honors alumni who through the practice of medicine have exemplified the professionalism, humanity and citizenship which brings distinction to themselves, all alumni and the University of Miami School of Medicine.
Anastasia Awardees
Barry Byer, M.D. ’69
Year inducted: 2009
Dr. Byer is a family practice physician who's devoted his career to giving back, founding two nonprofit humanitarian aid organizations. CrossLink International (now merged with Brother's Brother Foundation) supplies medical mission teams in more than 300 third-world countries annually. The Virginia Hospital Center Medical Brigade provides potable water, sanitation, smokeless stoves, recycled eyeglasses, physical therapy and surgery to those in desperate need in Honduras.
Joseph Gurri, M.D. ’75
Year inducted: 2009
As a young general surgeon, Dr. Gurri used his fluency in Spanish to help provide free health care to migrant workers, eventually offering services through the local hospital's free clinic system. He also developed a program that provided breast cancer education, identification, treatment and follow-up, offering Brevard County women complete access to breast health services.
Norman Kenyon, M.D. ’56
Year inducted: 2005
Dr. Kenyon has a long history with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, serving as president of the school's first graduating class. He was inducted into the Grand Founders Society, which recognizes those who donate $100,000 or more.
Walter Lambert, M.D. ’85
Year inducted: 2010
Dr. Lambert has dedicated his career to advocate for children's well-being, collaborating with the Florida Department of Children and Families to assess child abuse and neglect — work that has improved the lives of thousands of children. As a specialist in physical, mental and sexual child abuse, he's taught foster care advocates and medical providers how to recognize the signs of abuse.
Jack Sanders, M.D. ’57
Year inducted: 1997
Dr. Sanders — or Dr. Jack, as his patients and friends called him — didn't let a significant craniofacial deformity and hearing loss prevent him from becoming an extraordinary medical student and physician. He returned to his hometown of Graceville, Florida, where he helped found Campbellton-Graceville Hospital and provided exceptional care and community service for 46 years.
Hansel E. Tookes, M.D. ’14, M.P.H. ’09
Year inducted: 2026
Dr. Hansel E. Tookes III is a tenured Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the founder of the IDEA Lab, which advances evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes for people who use drugs. His work includes leading the IDEA Syringe Services Program—the first legal syringe services program in Florida—after years of advocacy that resulted in the 2016 pilot being signed into law and subsequent statewide expansion through the Infectious Disease Elimination Act of 2019.
Dr. Tookes has built a nationally recognized academic and clinical portfolio centered on health equity, HIV prevention and treatment, and structural interventions that reduce harm and improve access to care. His research leadership includes a NIDA Avenir Award and multiple NIDA R01 grants, and he has received honors such as Miami Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Hero and Starbucks Upstander. He has also served in prominent national advisory roles, including appointments to the HIV Medicine Association board, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse.