Program Leadership
Department Chairman
Richard Lee Bucciarelli, M.D.
Associate Vice President for Health Affairs for Government Relations
Professor, Institute for Child Health Policy
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Professor, Department of OB-GYN
Professor, College of Nursing
Dr. Bucciarelli received his undergraduate and medical degrees from University of Michigan. He completed his pediatric residency training and fellowships in both pediatric cardiology and neonatal and perinatal medicine at University of Florida. After completion of his training, Dr. Bucciarelli became a member of the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at UF in 1976. He was appointed Associate Vice President for Health Affairs for Government Relations in 2004 and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in May of 2007. Dr. Bucciarelli is married to Lynda Bucciarelli and they have a son and daughter. He is a culinary expert and enjoys sharing his skills with appreciative audiences!
Please click here to view Dr. Bucciarelli’s distinguished career outlined in his curriculum vitae.
E-mail: buccirl@peds.ufl.edu
Residency Program Director
Maureen A. Novak, M.D.
Associate Professor and Vice Chairman
Reed Bell Chair for pediatric education
Medical Director, Adolescent and Young Adult Program
Dr. Novak received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School. She completed her pediatric residency at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and stayed on to do a chief residency year. She spent a year in private practice and then did a Pediatric Infectious Disease fellowship at Babies Hospital at Columbia University in New York City. Upon moving to Gainesville, she worked in a pediatric practice as a generalist for 5 years. She joined the General Pediatrics division as the head of the adolescent and young adult program at UF in 1997. She became program director in 2003. Her professional interests include integrating competency evaluation into resident and medical student education, infectious disease and adolescent health. She has received multiple honors for her work in medical education. Dr. Novak is married to another pediatric faculty member and they have six children. She enjoys spending time with her family, travel rollerblading, Gator sports, cooking and eating!!!
E-mail: novakma@peds.ufl.edu
Associate Residency Program Director
Nicole Paradise Black, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Division of Critical Care
Pediatric Hospitalist
Dr. Black received her undergraduate degree from The College of William and Mary and her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and went on to do a chief residency year at The Barbara Bush’s Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. She spent two years working as a community hospitalist for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and then joined the UF faculty in 2005. Her professional areas of interest include incorporating technology into resident and medical student education and breastfeeding. Dr. Black’s husband, Erik, is a PhD in Educational Technology and they have a son named Brennan and a daughter named Ryan. She enjoys spending time with her family and participating in endurance sports such as marathons and long distance triathlons.
E-mail: blacknm@peds.ufl.edu
Associate Residency Program Director
Robert Michael Lawrence, M.D.
Associate Professor
Division of Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Disease
Dr. Lawrence received an undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. He completed a pediatric residency and chief residency at Montefiore Hospital, in Bronx, New York. He enjoyed a Pediatric Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Bellevue Hospital and New York University and remained there as a faculty person for 16 years. He was the Associate Director for Residency Training there, for 5 years. He arrived at the University of Florida in 2001; where he has been a member of the Pediatric Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases Division. Dr. Lawrence’s professional interests include infectious diseases, immunologic and infectious disease issues related to breastfeeding, narrative medicine, communication in healthcare and he is learning more rheumatology everyday. He is married to a pediatric nurse, Rachel, at Shands. He strives to spend more time with his wife, his step-children, dogs and walking the trails of Florida.
E-mail: lawrerm@peds.ufl.edu
Co-Chief Resident
Lorena Merani Acosta, M.D.
Clinical Instructor, Graduate Medical Education
Dr. Lorena Merani Acosta was born in Lima, Peru. She moved to the United States with her family when she was 6 years old and has lived in Florida since that time. She grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL and then moved to Gainesville where she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida and dual-majored in Business Management and Cell Sciences and Microbiology. She decided to stay at the University of Florida for her medical school training as well as her pediatric residency training. She loves being a Gator! Lorena is married to Jason, who is currently in his last year of his Anesthesiology residency at UF. Outside of work, Lorena is involved with her sorority alumni group and she also enjoys traveling.
E-mail: lorenam@peds.ufl.edu
Co-Chief Resident
Erin Cannington, M.D.
Clinical Instructor, Graduate Medical Education
Dr. Cannington was born and raised in South Carolina and received her undergraduate degree from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. She then attended the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where she received her medical degree and later moved south to complete her pediatric residency here at the University of Florida! Following this year as co-chief resident, Dr. Cannington will be moving to Augusta, Georgia where she will complete a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at the Medical College of Georgia. She and her husband, Beau, a musculoskeletal radiology fellow, welcomed their first child, Cole, to their family this June.
E-mail: ecanning@peds.ufl.edu
Administrative Staff
From left to right:
Amy Cole
Housestaff Secretary
Tabatha Seay
Pediatric Clerkship Secretary
Imogene Seeger
Residency Program Coordinator
UF AD Web-Mail