USA Welcomes Stephanie Landry, FNP-C

Stephanie Landry, FNP-C, recently joined the University of South Alabama department of neurology as a pediatric neurology provider with the USA Physicians Group.

Prior to her joining the physicians’ practice, Landry was a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital.

Landry earned her nursing degree from Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and her master’s of science in family nursing at USA.

Landry is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

For appointments, call (251) 660-5108.

Dr. David B. Adams to Present Frazer/Leigh Memorial Lecture

David B. Adams, M.D., F.A.C.S., professor and interim chairman of the department of surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, S.C., will present two AMA/PRA/ CME accredited lectures in May 2015.

Both lectures are open to the public and to all medical, nursing and allied health professionals and are made possible through the Emmett B. Frazer, M.D., F.A.C.S., and Milton M. Leigh, M.D., F.A.C.S., Memorial Endowments at the University of South Alabama department of surgery.

Dr. Adams will present the first lecture, "The Radical Cure of Chronic Pancreatitis,” Thursday, May 7, 2015, at 5:30 p.m. in the USA Medical Center conference room.

His second lecture, “Mistakes I Have Made: What are we talking about when we talk about surgical error?" will be delivered Friday, May 8, 2015, at 7 a.m. in the second floor conference room at the USA Medical Center.

Dr. Adams earned a doctor of medicine degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Va. Following his residency in general surgery at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., Dr. Adams served successively as chief of surgery at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and chief of surgery at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Charleston, S.C.

While at MUSC, Dr. Adams has served as medical director at the One West Trauma Center; program director for the graduate general surgery residency educational program; and director of the MUSC annual postgraduate course in surgery.

Dr. Adams’ research interests have focused upon gastrointestinal and laparoscopic surgery, funded by private and public sources, including the National Institutes of Health. His educational achievements have been recognized with  multiple awards, including Best Clinical Instructor in General Surgery; MUSC Faculty Excellence Award; Paul H. O’Brien Resident Teaching Award; Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award; MUSC Health Sciences Foundation Outstanding Clinician Award; Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society; and Best Doctors in America.

Dr. Adams is councilor for the state of South Carolina to the Southeastern Surgical Congress. He is a former representative to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and past second vice president of the Southern Surgical Association. He also holds memberships in the Association for Academic Surgery, the American Surgical Association, and serves on the American Board of Surgery.  He was inducted into the prestigious Halsted Society and served as its president from 2012-2013. He is also the past president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and the South Carolina Surgical Society.

This annual Memorial Lectureship is given to honor the legacies of Dr. Emmett B. Frazer and Dr. Milton M. Leigh as leaders in clinical service and graduate surgical education in the Mobile community.

For more information contact the USA Department of Surgery at (251) 471-7990.

Tiffany Norton Awarded American Society for Microbiology Travel Grant

Tiffany Norton, a basic medical science student at the University of South Alabama, recently was awarded a grant from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

This grant will be used to assist with travel funds to this year’s 2015 ASM general meeting in New Orleans. Award recipients must be an ASM member and a presenting author for a presentation at the meeting. This grant is highly competitive, with only 25-30 percent of applicants receiving the grant each year.

Norton received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Elon University in North Carolina and her master’s in engineering physics from the University of Virginia. After 11 years in engineering at Northrop Grumman / Huntington Ingalls Industries, Norton decided it was time to make a career change to the biomedical sciences. While enrolled in some undergraduate courses to brush up on areas of science that were not required for her prior degrees, she discovered that USA had a Ph.D. program in Basic Medical Sciences.

“Serendipitously, I was guided to the University Committee on Undergraduate Research program in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Rich, associate professor of the department of pharmacology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine,” Norton said. “Dr. Rich was instrumental in convincing me to apply for the Basic Medical Sciences Ph.D. program.”

Norton entered the program in Fall 2012 and is now in her third year of study. She chose to do her research in the department of microbiology and immunology in the lab of Dr. Jarrod Fortwendel, working with the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus.

The biological and medical sciences hold the greatest interest for Norton. “Trying to decipher the intricacies of how a living organism works -- and what can break it -- never gets old,” said Norton. “I chose microbiology because microorganisms are smarter than we are, and there's no better source for learning than someone who knows more than you do."

Aspergillus fumigatus can cause rare but severe and difficult-to-treat disease in humans. Norton is motivated in her work by the thought that something her lab discovers may lead to safer and more effective treatments for patients.

The Basic Medical Sciences Ph.D. program has provided Norton not only with intensive classroom training in the major subfields of medical science, but also with hands-on lab experience and presentation experience through research forums and journal clubs. Most importantly in science, these exercises have developed her critical thinking and experimental design skills.

“My adviser has encouraged me to develop professional skills by presenting my research at conferences such as ASM 2015 and the Fungal Genetics Conference,” said Norton. “With his guidance, I've also been able to have a short review article published in Mycopathologia, a journal focusing on the role of fungi in human and animal disease.”

Dr. Allan Tucker Receives Service Award

Dr. Allan Tucker, Louis Lenoir Locke professor and chair of pathology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, recently was selected to receive the 2015 Distinguished Service Award sponsored by the Association of Pathology Chairs.

This honor recognizes lifetime achievements in the field of academic pathology that includes accomplishments in all academic missions, medical education, research and clinical service. Recipients of this award include many of the association’s most coveted mentors and historical leaders.

Dr. Tucker has served on the board of directors and as treasurer for the American Registry of Pathology. He has been an influential member of the American Medical Association/Specialty Society Resource-Based Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) and served as a member of the Economic Affairs Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Dr. Tucker has served as a member of the RUC workgroup and the Graduate Medical Education Committee of the CAP, and has served as treasurer of the International Academy of Pathology and as treasure and president of the Society for Ultrastructural Pathology. In addition, he has played a pivotal role in the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, including being elected to the position of vice president. Dr. Tucker has served as an active member of the Association of Pathology Chairs, including as a member of the Executive Council, and most recently as secretary/treasurer.

During his time at USA, Dr. Tucker has served as co-director of anatomic pathology. He served the USA community as chairman of the USA Admission Committee, a member of the USA Medical Center Executive Committee, the University Fringe Benefits Committee and the USA Curriculum Committee. Additionally, Dr. Tucker serves as president of the Health Services Foundation board and chair of the USA Housestaff committee.

Dr. Tucker earned his medical degree at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and completed both his residency and fellowship at Duke University. He joined the USA College of Medicine team in 1991.