Johannes Vieweg, M.D., FACS, and his wife LaDonna first met in New York City—he arrived from Germany to accept a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute, and she was in the city working as a volunteer with cancer patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
“I often joke that he married me because I was the only person in New York City he could understand with my slow Oklahoma drawl,” LaDonna Vieweg said. “We found in each other a mutual passion to try to make a difference in the world, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do for the past 32 years together.”
In early 2016, the Viewegs moved to Fort Lauderdale after he accepted a position at NSU to build the university’s medical school awarding the M.D. degree. As founding dean for NSU’s College of Allopathic Medicine (MD), later renamed the NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College for Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD), Vieweg recognized the enormous potential that NSU held and embraced the opportunity to create a world-class medical program. With the support of the university, the community, and his leadership team, he led NSU MD to full accreditation in less than seven years. That 2023 achievement was a pivotal milestone for both the college and NSU.
“NSU had all the right ingredients to build the high-quality academic program that the community needed,” Vieweg said. “I will never forget our accreditation celebration—we had nearly 200 special guests, faculty, staff, and friends. I think we all shared a massive sense of pride and accomplishment.”
“As the first in my family to go to college, I never could have imagined that I’d eventually have the opportunity to immigrate to America, train at world-class institutions, have a successful career as both a clinician and a cancer researcher, become a department chairman, much less a medical school dean,” he said. “It is the privilege of my lifetime to serve in this role and to advance the medical school towards excellence and national impact.”
Like her husband, LaDonna Vieweg was the first in her family to go to college. While supporting the medical school’s activities and initiatives, she serves as a mentor through Take Stock in Children of Broward and volunteers at Kids in Distress. She also supports the Pace Center for Girls, the Jack and Jill Children’s Center, and is a member and benefactor of the Royal Dames of Cancer Research. Currently, she is also working to collaborate with NSU MD faculty on a program that would provide career training opportunities to disadvantaged high school students.
“I know firsthand how impactful it is for kids to have adult mentors and role models,” she said. “In my experience, giving a young person a chance to be heard, helping them connect with the resources they need to thrive, and helping them learn to help themselves can be life changing.”
Philanthropy and volunteerism are hallmarks of the Vieweg’s story. At Duke University, the couple established the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Fund at the Triangle Community Foundation, which awards grants to organizations and initiatives focused on cancer immunotherapy research. The couple also has given major gifts to help establish and further develop the Wilmot Garden at the University of Florida (UF), a healing garden adjacent to the outpatient cancer clinic that provides a welcome respite for cancer patients and their care-providers during treatment.
At NSU, the Viewegs are members of NSU’s Shark Circle Society. They have supported cancer research, faculty development, and university-wide operations, as well as established the Dean’s Scholarship Fund to Support Students with an Interest in Cancer Immunotherapy Research.
Students who have earned this award include first-year NSU medical students Sean Limfat and Carina Ferraris. Both students were inspired to pursue medicine after a close relative contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Limfat watched his grandfather fight the disease, and Ferraris’ grandmother passed away as a result of cancer.
“I am so thankful for the encouragement that this scholarship represents. The Dean’s Scholarship is an investment in my education that will not only benefit me, but also countless others I hope to care for and serve in the future,” Limfat said.
“The Dean’s Scholarship has enabled me to pursue my dream of helping and healing people living with cancer. Although I have just started at NSU, I know that this will be a life-changing experience, and without this support, this would not be possible,” Ferraris added.
To date, NSU MD has graduated more than 150 physicians, all of whom matched 100 percent into their preferred residency programs both locally and at prestigious institutions nationwide.
“We can see the success our students are achieving, and it won’t be that long until we begin to see that success spill over into the community,” LaDonna Vieweg said.
Under Johannes Vieweg’s progressive and strategic leadership, NSU MD is positioned for sustained growth, with additional expansions planned throughout the state.
“Our hope is that NSU will continue to develop into a world-class academic institution that rivals the best of the nationally ranked medical schools,” Johannes Vieweg said. “Of course, that takes great infrastructure, facilities, and technology, but it also requires a deep commitment to the highest academic standards, support for world-class faculty, and ample research funding. We hope that our gifts, along with those of other committed benefactors, will provide the added layers of support necessary to build a legacy and propel NSU to the top.”
“I can honestly say that in 32+ years, I have never seen Johannes fail to accomplish whatever he sets out to do,” LaDonna Vieweg said. “And what he wants to do now is put NSU MD on the national medical school map. With the support of the university and this amazing community, I have no doubt that goal will be achieved in the near future.”