For more than 25 years, Laurence R. Sands, M.D., M.B.A. ’09, and Floriano Marchetti, M.D., stood side by side as surgical partners, collaborators and close friends at the Miller School. Their relationship shaped not only a nationally and internationally respected Division of Colorectal Surgery, but also generations of surgeons trained under their shared commitment to excellence, compassion and education. When Dr. Marchetti passed away last year, Dr. Sands sought a way to honor his legacy.
Dr. Sands and his wife, Dana Sands, M.D., established the Floriano Marchetti, M.D., Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency Education Fund through a philanthropic gift. For Dr. Sands, the decision was both personal and profoundly purposeful.
“Floriano was not just a colleague; he was like a brother to me,” said Dr. Sands, professor of surgery and chair of the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery. “We spoke several times a day about everything: patient care, operations, family, life.”
The pair first met as Dr. Marchetti was completing his colorectal training at the University of Minnesota; Dr. Sands recruited him to the Miller School in 2002. It would become Dr. Marchetti’s only professional home after training. Together, the two surgeons built the division from just two faculty members to seven, working together while constantly exchanging ideas and raising the bar for patient care. Dr. Sands said he still feels Dr. Marchetti’s presence in the operating room — a bittersweet reminder of a partnership rooted in trust and mutual respect.
Honoring Dr. Marchetti’s legacy through resident education was instinctive, Dr. Sands said. He explained that his late colleague was an international medical graduate who trained in Italy before repeating his surgical residency in the United States. Dr. Marchetti, he added, understood the transformative power of opportunity and mentorship. He was also a visionary surgeon who pioneered the robotic colorectal surgery program at the Miller School in 2012, embraced complex procedures others avoided and never gave up on a patient.
Laurence R. Sands, M.D., M.B.A. ’09, and the late, Floriano Marchetti, M.D.
“Training the next generation of surgeons is one of the most important things we do. Resources are increasingly limited, but the need for highly skilled, compassionate surgeons has never been greater.”
Above all, he was a passionate educator, serving for many years as program director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship and earning numerous teaching awards.
“This was the only tribute that made sense,” said Dr. Sands, who also holds the Laurence R. Sands Endowed Chair in Colon and Rectal Surgery. “Teaching was what he loved most. Creating a fund that supports residents and fellows is a lasting and meaningful way to honor who he was.”
The fund supports comprehensive resident educational activities, including advanced skills training, clinical competency development and professional growth. These experiences are essential but costly. Philanthropic support helps ensure that trainees enter the operating room better prepared, more confident and capable of delivering exceptional patient care sooner in their careers.
“Training the next generation of surgeons is one of the most important things we do,” Dr. Sands said. “Resources are increasingly limited, but the need for highly skilled, compassionate surgeons has never been greater.”
Dr. Sands hopes his gift also sends a message to fellow faculty members: Giving back is both easy and meaningful. “We’re not just asking others to support this,” he said. “We’re supporting it ourselves.” Patients cared for by Dr. Marchetti continue to ask how they can honor him, and this fund provides a tangible, lasting answer.
Looking ahead, Dr. Sands envisions growing the fund into an endowment, potentially supporting visiting surgeons from Italy and other countries — a reflection of Dr. Marchetti’s own journey and global impact.
“This is how his legacy lives on,” Dr. Sands said. “Through education, through excellence and through the surgeons who will carry his values forward for decades to come.”
