Ippolito family celebrates milestone and a transatlantic legacy

From Palermo, Italy, to Detroit and Dallas, the parents of Giulia Ippolito, M.D., spent decades building lives centered on family, medicine, and service to others.

Now, Giulia, an assistant professor in the Department of Urology, and her siblings have created a fund to honor the 50th wedding anniversary of their parents, Giuseppina Ippolito, M.D., and Robert Ippolito, M.D. The fund will support learning and exchange programs between the University of Michigan Medical School and the University of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.

Inspiring parents and clinicians

Robert and Giuseppina Ippolito studied medicine at the University of Palermo in the 1970s. Giuseppina completed her ophthalmology residency in Italy. Robert completed general surgery residency at SUNY in Buffalo, New York, in 1979 and a hand surgery fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit in 1980. He is board certified in general, plastic, and hand surgery in the United States and in general surgery and surgical oncology in Italy. 

The Ippolito family spent much of the 1980s moving back and forth between Italy and the United States and finally settled in the U.S. in 1990. They moved to Dallas, Texas, where Robert set up a private practice specializing in hand and plastic surgery and wound care. 

As they were growing up, Giulia and her siblings noticed their parents’ commitment to hard work. 

“They have always been focused on education and using the gifts they have to the best of their ability, and not being wasteful with those things,” she says. 

A surgical legacy

Giulia is inspired by each of her parents’ commitment to medicine, education, and family over the years.

“My mom is like a saint,” she says. “She went through medical school, worked as an ophthalmologist in Italy, then came here and was told she had to repeat residency. At that point, she had eight kids and her husband was a general surgeon, so she didn’t think it was feasible. She redirected her efforts toward education and volunteering in the church and schools. She’s never once said, ‘I regret doing that,’ which after my own experience in medical school and residency, I find amazing.

“For my dad, I think his career was his legacy. When he retired, I think that was a really hard thing for him. He really likes teaching. He had a private practice, but he was always showing me his books and was into medical history, and that got me interested in keeping his legacy of being a surgeon going.”

Giulia attended medical school at Texas A&M University, then completed a general surgery internship and urology residency at the University of Minnesota. She went on to pursue an additional fellowship in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery at the U-M Medical School, and also earned a master’s degree in health and health care research at U-M. She now treats people who have bladder, urethral, and pelvic floor issues, and neurogenic bladder.

Building a transatlantic partnership

During recent family trips to Palermo, Giulia heard about local gaps in female urologic care. She realized there could be opportunities to improve options for people living with issues like incontinence, prolapse, and bladder issues.

“That was a few years ago,” she says. “I cold-emailed the urologists there and met up with them at the American Urological Association annual meeting, and we started to talk more about options and collaboration. It has developed really nicely.”

Giulia has given a few lectures in Palermo, and Paholo Barbolgio-Romo, M.D., an associate professor in U-M’s Department of Urology, traveled to Palermo for an entire week to give presentations at a regional urology meeting. Two urologists from the University of Palermo hospital have visited Michigan Medicine, and a resident from Italy recently began a one-year research fellowship at U-M. 

“We realized there are a lot of things we can learn from each other,” says Giulia. “From our side, I think there’s a lot for us to learn about resource utilization and management.”

Marking a milestone

With their parents’ anniversary coming up in 2026, Giulia and her siblings were inspired to mark the occasion in a way that celebrated their parents’ shared love of education and their family history that is woven throughout Italy and the United States.

Giulia also saw an opportunity to support the growing partnership between U-M and Palermo.

She connected with Jason Keech, associate director of development in Michigan Medicine’s Office of Development, to see how she and her siblings could make a gift that would both honor their parents and help develop the partnership between U-M and Palermo.

"It's been such a pleasure partnering with Giulia to raise funds for this new educational exchange,” says Keech. “Her generosity is such a kind tribute to her parents’ legacy and the values they share. Once complete, this new endowment will extend that legacy for generations to come."

“The 50th anniversary, their shared passion for education, and their history of bridging Italy and the United States — it went together so nicely,” Ippolito says.

The Drs. R. Robert Ippolito and Giuseppina Ippolito Fund will be used to establish a urology lectureship in their names. It will help cover speaker honorariums, travel expenses, supplies, planning time, and other lectureship expenses. 

One of Giulia’s hopes is that the fund will grow to the point that it can become endowed and sustain the exchange program indefinitely.

Through the lectures, students and faculty will have more opportunities to engage and learn across borders, continuing the legacy of Giuseppina and Robert and inspiring both universities to continue to find new ways to connect and grow.

If you are interested in supporting the partnership between Michigan Medicine and the University of Palermo, please consider giving to the Drs. R. Robert and Giuseppina Ippolito Fund. To learn more about supporting the Department of Urology, please visit the department’s giving page. Thank you for your support.

About the Look to Michigan campaign