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Scholarships Help Students Focus on Academics

Three Miller School alumni establish funds to relieve financial burdens of medical school
Javier Flores, M.D. ’95, and Elsy Carbot-Flores, B.S. ’90, M.D. ’95, Francisco “Frank” Flores, M.D. ’95

Elsy Carbot-Flores, B.S. ’90, M.D. ’95, Javier Flores, M.D. ’95, and Francisco “Frank” Flores, M.D. ’95

J

avier Flores, M.D. ’95, and Elsy Carbot-Flores, B.S. ’90, M.D. ’95, have not forgotten the struggle to afford their education. Wanting to encourage outstanding students with limited financial means to pursue careers in medicine, they created the Javier Flores, M.D. and Elsy Carbot-Flores, M.D. Endowed Scholarship to benefit students at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“We know firsthand the weight of managing the cost of medical school,” said Javier, a board-certified dermatologist working in South Florida. “Relieving some of that burden allows students to focus on academics and not feel the need to work to offset costs or feel pressured to pursue higher-paying specialties. Elsy and I vowed that if we were ever in a position to help a financially struggling medical student stay the course, we would do whatever was in our power to do so.”

Javier’s twin brother, Francisco “Frank” Flores, M.D. ’95, and his wife, Maria Lalinde-Flores, also decided to establish the Francisco Flores, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund. He is grateful for the diversity of patients and experience he encountered at the Miller School and at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

“That prepared us, 100 percent, for anything that could be encountered in private practice,” said Frank, also a board-certified dermatologist in South Florida. “I would not be where I am today, professionally, had it not been for the opportunities and the support given to me by the benefactors at the University of Miami. I’m immensely proud of my alma mater and feel indebted to pay it forward.”

Born in Havana, the twins moved from Cuba with their family to Miami at age 11. Also born in Cuba, Elsy has lived in Miami since she was an infant. She met the Flores brothers in middle school and began dating Javier during college. They married during their fourth year in medical school. Their oldest daughter, Karla, graduated from UM this spring, and another daughter, Nicole, is currently a student. Their youngest daughter, Alexa, is a senior in high school.

“A lot of people would tell you it’s almost impossible to become a doctor coming from families with limited resources, as we did,” said Elsy, a radiologist who founded the Miami Breast Institute with classmate Anamary Quiros Mesa, ’91, M.D. ’95. “I feel like UM gave me a chance, and I’m always going to be grateful for that. I really hope the scholarship can help minorities, in particular, feel like they can do this.”

To support a Miller School scholar, visit SupportUMMedStudents.com

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MEDICINE
FALL 2021