Dr. Frederick S. Southwick has taught as an Assistant Professor at Harvard University, USA, followed by Associate Professorship with tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. A pioneer in the field of infectious diseases, Dr. Southwick served over 19 years as the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and as Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. An NIH funded investigator for more than 30 years, he has conducted groundbreaking research in the discovery of proteins to regulate white blood cells' ability to move and fight infection in the body. He also served on the Board of Scientific Directors of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Warren Magnuson Clinical Center.

As a consequence of a family member's near death while hospitalized, Dr. Southwick began to adopt a system to improve frontline care and the prevention of hospital errors. After attending Harvard Business School as an Advanced Leadership Fellow, he became Project Manager for Quality and Safety Pilot Programs for the University of Florida & Shands Healthcare system.