USA Welcomes Dr. Antwan Hogue

USA College of Medicine alum, Dr. Antwan Hogue, was appointed assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and will serve as a hospitalist at USA Medical Center.

Prior to joining USA, Dr. Hogue served as a hospitalist and internal medicine physician at West Florida Hospital in Pensacola, Fla.

Dr. Hogue earned his medical degree from USA in 2012. He then completed his residency training in internal medicine at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital where he served as chief resident and was named Resident Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Hogue is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Eugene Cioffi Speaks at International Carbohydrate Symposium

Dr. Eugene Cioffi, associate professor of pharmacology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, was a keynote speaker at the International Carbohydrate Symposium (ICS) in New Orleans.

Dr. Cioffi was one of eight people selected to present at the forum and said it was “an honor to speak at such a prestigious event.”

His presentation, titled “Functional Glycomics: Our Sugar-Lined Blood Vessels,” illustrated how simple to complex sugars and sugar chains attach to the inner lining of blood vessels.  These sugars – known as glycans – are essential biomolecules with functions including the recognition of antibodies, which help remove viruses and bacteria.

Dr. Cioffi’s research for the ICS expanded upon the multi-disciplinary research being conducted at USA’s Center for Lung Biology (CLB) by showing the interesting differences in the lungs versus the rest of body, where carbohydrates play different and unique key roles in healthy and diseased states.

Dr. Cioffi completed his Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. He completed both a postdoctoral fellowship and a research faculty fellowship at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
The International Carbohydrate Symposium is presented by the American Chemical Society. For more information about the event, click here.

Students, Faculty Present Research Projects at 10th Annual COM Research Forum

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine’s 10th annual Research Forum was held Nov. 4, 2016, on USA's main campus.

The forum consisted of two sessions - the morning session was comprised of nine oral presentations, and the afternoon session included 55 poster presentations.

Dr. Donna Cioffi, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at USA, said the research forum is beneficial for both students and faculty. “The forum is a great way for students and post-docs to learn how to network and gives participants a chance to practice their presentation skills,” she said. “The forum also provides the researchers an opportunity to get feedback on their projects, which might include new or different ways of testing a hypothesis, consideration of novel applications or even what might be a good journal to publish in.”

Dr. Cioffi said the event often leads to new collaborations between different research groups within the College of Medicine and Mitchell Cancer Institute.

This is the second year that the research forum is offering travel awards – one for the best overall graduate student presentation and one for the best overall post-doctoral fellow presentation. These awards are $1,000 each and are to be used for travel to national or international meetings or workshops.

According to Dr. Cioffi, the awards were made possible by the generous support of the College of Medicine dean's office, the graduate school, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and the BMSSO graduate student organization. Awards will be announced within the next week.

To learn more about participating in the annual COM Research Forum, contact Dr. Cioffi at dlcioffi@southalabama.edu.

Click here to view more photos from the event.

Dr. Mary Townsley Named COM Interim Senior Associate Dean

Dr. Mary Townsley, professor of physiology and cell biology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, has been named interim senior associate dean of the USA College of Medicine.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Townsley served as associate dean for faculty affairs. She has been a member of the USA College of Medicine faculty since 1988.

"Dr. Townsley is an accomplished and respected leader in academic medicine.  She has a proven track record of success at our medical school," said Dr. John V. Marymont, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. "I am delighted that Mary has accepted this new role and look forward to working with her to continue strengthening our institution."

During her career at USA, Dr. Townsley has served the medical school in numerous key roles, including interim chair of the department of physiology and cell biology, director of training programs for the USA Center for Lung Biology, director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at USA and a lead organizer for LCME accreditation processes at the USA College of Medicine.

Dr. Townsley earned her Ph.D. in physiology from the University of California at Davis and completed postdoctoral studies at USA. Her research interests focus on mechanisms that regulate the integrity of the alveolar septal barrier in the lung and the pathobiology which leads to the development of acute lung injury.

In 2013, Dr. Townsley received the Leadership Award from the Pulmonary Circulation Assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). Also in 2013, she was named the USA Phi Kappa Phi Scholar of the Year.  Dr. Townsley was honored in 2011 by the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation with the Distinguished Achievement Award.  She was also a member of the 2000 Class of Fellows in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women (ELAM).

Dr. Townsley currently serves on editorial boards of the journals Microvascular Research, Pulmonary Circulation and Frontiers in Physiology. She has chaired peer-review study sections for lung biology, the United Peer Review Steering Committee, and the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation, all for the American Heart Association (AHA). She served on numerous peer review study sections for the National Institutes of Health and the Veteran's Administration, as well as other national committees for the American Physiological Society, the ATS, and the Microcirculatory Society.

Dr. Townsley is a member of the American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, the Society for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine, and the American Physiological Society.