USA College of Medicine student pursued two goals – football and medicine

Growing up in Alabama, 23-year-old Matthew Byers loved the game of football and the competitiveness that came with it. “Football was my passion.”

“I consistently played the game from seventh grade to my last year of college,” he said. “I’ve played the sport for most of my life.”

Although football was his focus at the time, Byers, a second-year medical student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, quickly realized he had another passion – medicine. “I wanted to help others and decided to take pre-med courses heading into college. Football was a big part of my life and I still wanted to play. I had to figure out a way to make it work.”

Byers enrolled in the pre-med program at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala., and was able to continue playing football. The rigors of school and football often felt overwhelming, he said, but he was determined to do both.

With good time management and set priorities, he was able to find a schedule that worked for him. “Every day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. I would try to get most of my schoolwork finished before or in between football activities. Then, I would have most nights available to hang out with friends.”

His schedule was tight, but he said it was worth it. He also found time to join a fraternity. 

Nearing the end of his undergraduate years, Byers had to make a difficult decision. He ended his collegiate football career and chose to pursue medical school instead. “Football was a major part of my life so it was strange how it just suddenly stopped,” he said.

Byers explained he didn’t have aspirations to become a pro athlete, but the decision to not play football was tough. He knew, though, it was important to focus solely on academics for his future career. 

Eventually, he chose to attend the USA College of Medicine because of the small class sizes and its encouraging faculty members.

His competitiveness didn’t end with his football career. Byers now serves as the intramural chair for his class and competes in a variety of recreational sports.

He’s undecided about the specialty he’d like to pursue in school. For now, he’s enjoying the moment and taking it day by day.

“I plan to help my patients by being the kind of doctor that always puts them first,” he said. “I want to be able to console and inform all my patients while alleviating any issues or concerns they may have. That’s my goal.”

Med School Café video online: 'Chest Wall Reconstruction'

USA Health hosted the first-ever virtual Med School Café on Aug. 21.

Hanna Alemayehu, M.D., assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and a pediatric surgeon at USA Health, discussed chest wall reconstruction treatments provided by the USA Health pediatric surgery department.

Watch the recording of the event at https://youtu.be/9998ujxAaeY.

Menger answers the call to treat patients in COVID-19 hotspot

As a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve Medical Corps, Richard Menger, M.D., assistant professor of neurosurgery at the USA College of Medicine, was deployed to Bellevue Hospital in New York City as part of the Navy Medicine Support Team. 

In early April, when the number of people getting sick and dying from the novel coronavirus was skyrocketing, Richard Menger, M.D., got a call and had to make a choice. Just 36 hours later, leaving behind his wife, young children and a new medical practice, he fulfilled his oath as both a military and medical professional and headed to treat COVID-19 patients in New York City, which quickly was becoming the epicenter for the virus in the United States.

"This is the entire purpose of military service in the reserves: to step up at the time you are needed most and to go forward and make a difference,” said Menger, assistant professor of  neurosurgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. “It was intense and impactful, and I'm honored to have had the opportunity to play a small part.”

As a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve Medical Corps, Menger, who is also chief of complex spine surgery at USA Health, was deployed to Bellevue Hospital as part of the Navy Medicine Support Team (NMST) with Operation Gotham.

Menger ran a COVID-19 intensive care unit at Bellevue and most of his time was spent housed in an endoscopy suite that had been converted into an overflow intensive care unit. Normally, Bellevue Hospital has 18 medical ICU beds and 54 total ICU beds, but 150 patients needed ICU care when Menger arrived.

Menger worked with pediatricians, obstetricians, eye doctors, residents, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants that were all doing their part outside of their primary specialty to care for the large number of coronavirus patients. For 84 days from April to June, Menger had more than 300 patient encounters while the entire deployment cadre of the NMST treated approximately 31,000 patients. In April alone, New York City averaged upwards of 5,000 daily cases and now has had more than 200,000 reported cases in the five boroughs.

Menger sees his time in New York as also fulfilling the mission of service that those in academic medicine work for every day and said he is thankful for the support of his partners, Anthony Martino, M.D., and W. George Rusyniak, M.D., in neurosurgery at USA Health in taking extra call, performing extra cases and caring for his patients while he was deployed to New York.

“This was in line with the values of USA Health and its academic calling to service to the community,” Menger said.

With three small girls at home and another (this time, a boy) on the way, Menger said he also is thankful for the sacrifice made by his wife and family. “Without her, I wouldn't be able to do any of this. Her sense of duty and service are incredible," he said.

With Menger's deployment, four generations of the Menger family have now served New York City as physicians. Louis C. Menger, M.D., practiced otolaryngology in Brooklyn from 1910 to 1947. Harold C. Menger, M.D., practiced otolaryngology in Queens from 1951 to 2005, and Peter Menger, M.D., has been practicing ophthalmology in Queens and Long Island since 1988.

Mark your calendar: Upcoming grand rounds

Mark your calendar for the following grand rounds:

Surgery Grand Rounds
"Optimization of Cirrhotic Patients Prior to Elective Procedures"
Phillip Henderson, D.O., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, USA College of Medicine
7 to 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27
Zoom: https://usahealthsystem.zoom.us/j/95556985343
Contact: Tyronda Rogers at 251-445-8230 or tmrogers@health.southalabama.edu

OB-GYN Grand Rounds
"Introduction: The New ASCCP Guidelines and Primary HPV Screening"
Jennifer Young Pierce, M.D., Professor of Oncology
Stephen Varner, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27
Zoom: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuf-Gsrz0oH9PNDQgKTE4Fh6h_j4keBDJL
Contact: Nichelle Bradley at 251-415-1566 or nbradley@health.southalabama.edu

USA researchers study significance of RAB genes in pancreatic cancer

Shashi Anand, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in pathology, is the lead author of a study on the potential prognostic significance of RABs in pancreatic cancer.

A group of researchers and physician-scientists from the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute along with University of South Alabama College of Medicine faculty in the Department of Pathology and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are studying how certain genetic abnormalities affect the progression of pancreatic cancer. They recently published a research article titled “Comprehensive Analysis of Expression, Clinicopathological Association and Potential Prognostic Significance of RABs in Pancreatic Cancer” in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

According to the National Cancer Institute, pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. “Poor clinical outcome of pancreatic cancer is mostly due to its late diagnosis and lack of effective therapies, emphasizing the need to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for effective disease management,” said Shashi Anand, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in pathology and the lead author of the article. “Several genetic aberrations have been identified in pancreatic cancer that drive its malignant progression. However, we have not succeeded in translating the existing information into effective therapies.”

Thus, finding novel differentially expressed genes in pancreatic cancer and understanding their role in biology holds the potential to improve pancreatic cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, Anand said.

Ajay Singh, Ph.D., professor of pathology and senior author of the study, explained that all human cells are comprised of various membrane-bounded compartments that interact with the cells’ surroundings. Cells release their internally synthesized biomaterial into the extracellular matrix via exocytic pathways, or they internalize the material from the environment to the inside of the cell via endocytic pathways.

Shashi Anand, Ph.D., left, works in the lab of Ajay Singh,
Ph.D., right, at the Mitchell Cancer Institute.

“This bi-directional communication between the cells and their external environment is crucial for optimal tissue and organ functions,” Singh said. “A specific set of closely related proteins, named RAB GTPases, controls this vesicle trafficking by acting as regulatable switches in response to the cellular needs and external cues. The abnormal function of RAB proteins, resulting from genetic changes and aberrant transcriptional activation, can cause a disease state including the promotion of carcinogenesis.”

In the published study, Anand analyzed the expression of 62 RAB genes in hundreds of pancreatic cancer patients using The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The study identified 10 RAB genes that exhibited significant differences in expression between normal and cancerous pancreatic tissues. In addition, differential RAB expression was also correlated with patient’s race, drinking habits, and prior diagnosis of diabetes and pancreatitis. A significant association of transcript levels of some of the RAB genes with the survival predictability of pancreatic cancer patients was also recorded. Additionally, Anand identified low-frequency genetic mutations, amplifications and deletions of RAB genes in pancreatic cancer.

“These are very important early findings suggesting the potential diagnostic and prognostic significance of RABs in pancreatic cancer,” said Moh’d Khushman, M.D., a medical oncologist at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and a co-author of the article. “Further investigations on their functions and underlying mechanisms can also provide important leads for the development of mechanism-based therapies.”

The work outlined in the research paper was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant funding and internal support from the Mitchell Cancer Institute.

Anand is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Singh, who leads the cancer biology program at the Mitchell Cancer Institute. He received his graduate degree from CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, India. He is the recipient of a senior research fellowship from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, a federal research agency in India.

Bander Award supports e-cigarette research

In this pre-COVID-19 photo, Natalie Gassman, Ph.D., left, assistant professor of physiology and cell biology, works with Griffin Wright, a student in the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program, in her lab at the Mitchell Cancer Institute.

Natalie Gassman, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and cell biology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and a cancer researcher at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, recently received the 2020 USA Center for Lung Biology Murray Bander Faculty Development Award. The award, which is given each year, seeks to foster innovative discoveries in pulmonary research and promote faculty development.

As a member of the USA Center for Lung Biology, her research seeks to answer questions about how electronic cigarettes cause lung injury and offer new information about the potentially compromised immune function in electronic cigarette users.

“Unfortunately, we don’t yet understand what causes the lung damage or how it manifests so quickly,” Gassman said. “Electronic cigarette use has grown exponentially in adolescents and young adults, and reports of lung injury and compromised lung function among electronic cigarette users have also increased dramatically.”

According to Gassman, her work examines dihydroxyacetone (DHA) – a small molecule produced by electronic cigarettes. “We have shown that DHA exposure causes cell injury and impairs cell function, which may contribute to lung damage,” she said. “We have identified a protein, triose kinase/FMN cyclase (TKFC) that is critical to the incorporation of DHA into cells and their metabolic pathways.”

The Bander Award will allow Gassman and her lab to examine if DHA, through TKFC, promotes lung injury by changing lung cell function and altering immune responses.

Gassman said her research has far-reaching potential to impact patient care. “There is a pressing need to understand how electronic cigarettes damage the lungs in order to develop treatment strategies for users and regulations to restrict dangerous ingredients and/or electronic cigarette use,” she said. “This research will answer questions about how electronic cigarettes cause lung injury and offer new information about the potentially compromised immune function in electronic cigarette users.”

Murray Bander, a World War II veteran who moved from New York to Mobile to operate a clothing shop, died from complications of pneumonia in 2001. He left his estate to the USA College of Medicine in 2003, and the Murray Bander Endowment for the Center for Lung Biology was established to support scholarly activities in lung biology.

Trammell and Hanks honored with community health leadership awards

The Mobile Medical Museum hosted the first Mobile Community Health Leadership Awards on Aug. 6. Presented via Zoom and Facebook Live broadcast, the museum recognized local leaders in education, awareness and action around Mobile's most urgent community health issues.

“Healthcare professionals have partnered with grassroots community leaders to confront some of the most urgent and challenging public health crises in history,” said Daryn Glassbrook, Ph.D, executive director of the Mobile Medical Museum. “This event honored the work of extraordinary individuals and organizations who recognized an unmet health need in our community and charted a path forward for others to follow.”

Katrina Roberson-Trammell, M.D.

Among the 2020 honorees were Katrina Roberson-Trammell, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and a pediatrician with USA Health; and Roma Stovall Hanks, Ph.D., co-director of the Community Engagement Core at the USA Center for Healthy Communities.

As a clinical faculty member, Trammell teaches and supervises medical students, nurse practitioner students and physician assistant students. Since 2013, she has served as medical director for several regional Medicaid programs, including the Alabama Coordinated Health Network and Gulf Coast TotalCare. Known affectionately by her patients as "Dr. T.," Trammell uses community platforms to discuss topics such as childhood obesity, adolescent health issues, the doctor-patient relationship, preventive screenings and well child visits. She is also a state liaison coordinating communication between pediatricians and school nurses.

"It is truly an honor for me to be one of the recipients of the Mobile Community Health Leadership Award. I have always had a passion to give back to my community, and I strive to be a mentor to others and promote health wellness and awareness," Trammell said. "My pediatric practice at USA Health for over 20 years has allowed me to stay engaged with community activities, teach students, as well as provide leadership in our regional Medicaid-managed care program. I am truly grateful that I can play a fundamental role in the children of our future. Receiving recognition for my contributions in the Mobile medical community is very rewarding."

Roma Stovall Hanks, Ph.D.

In addition to her work with the USA College of Medicine’s Center for Healthy Communities, Hanks is professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at the University of South Alabama. Her research has been funded by the Administration on Aging; the Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities; the Alabama Department of Public Health; the Community Foundation of South Alabama; and the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission-Area Agency on Aging.

"I am so grateful to be recognized by the Mobile Medical Museum as a Community Health Leader and for the privilege of working with healthcare educators, researchers, providers and advocates to address health inequities in our community," Hanks said.

"The current pandemic has made us keenly aware of the disparities that result in poorer health outcomes for black and brown communities and communities with high rates of poverty," Hanks added. "But broader current events have also shown that it is possible for people from all backgrounds to come together in support of justice. Committed individuals like the Community Health Advocates of the USA Center for Healthy Communities are creating change. They are the true leaders."

Reminder: Complete the College of Medicine Justice Initiative Survey

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine has been tasked with identifying and addressing areas for improvement in the culture and climate of both USA Health and the USA College of Medicine.

The Justice Initiative Survey will help us assess how we are doing on a variety of themes that focus on racial justice by deepening our understanding of your perceptions of racial justice as they relate to the College of Medicine. This information will be used to develop plans that will become improvement goals for the College of Medicine and will be tracked by the Continuous Quality Improvement Committee.

“The goal of this survey is to hear the voices of all members of the COM community and listen to what those voices are telling us we can do better,” said Franklin Trimm, M.D., associate dean for diversity and inclusion at the USA College of Medicine and assistant vice president for medical affairs at USA Health. “The more individuals who share their perspectives through the survey, the more complete the picture will be as we plan the hard work necessary to improve the culture and climate of our community for everyone. Everyone belongs. Everyone has a voice.”

A link to the survey, which is unique to each person, was sent to USA College of Medicine medical and graduate students, faculty and staff via their USA email. The survey will be open until 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28.

The USA Office of Institutional Effectiveness is conducting the administration and analysis for the survey. Responses are anonymous and will not be seen by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion or anyone within the College of Medicine.

Scholarship fund established in honor of Samantha Thomas

In honor of our beloved classmate, Samantha Thomas, a memorial scholarship fund is being created. While the specifics of the scholarship fund are still under consideration, donations are being accepted.

If you would like to make a memorial gift to the future Samantha Alison Thomas Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund, please make a secure, online donation at https://giving.usahealthsystem.com/sthomas, or mail a check to the Office of Medical Affairs Development, 650 Clinic Drive, TRP III, Ste. 150, Mobile, AL 36688.

USA College of Medicine names Emily Wilson, Ph.D., associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development

Emily Wilson, Ph.D., will be joining the University of South Alabama College of Medicine as associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development. She also will serve as a professor in the department of physiology and cell biology.

Plans call for Wilson to join the USA College of Medicine October 1, 2020.

“The continued development of our faculty, including implementing a sustainable faculty mentoring program, enriches the educational environment for students, residents and fellows in our academic healthcare system,” said John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “In this newly created role, Dr. Wilson will have the responsibility of organizing and growing faculty development initiatives across our college, ensuring an optimal experience for faculty members and those we educate.”

Wilson currently serves as associate vice president of faculty development at Texas A&M Health Science Center. She also serves as the associate dean for faculty development in the Texas A&M University College of Medicine in College Station, Texas, where she is also a professor in the department of medical physiology.

Wilson has held many leadership roles within the Texas A&M Health Science Center and College of Medicine, where she began working in 1997 as an assistant professor. She is a charter member of the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Cardiovascular Research and served as director of the office of graduate studies. She was also appointed assistant vice president for graduate studies and served as the executive associate dean for the school of graduate studies. In 2014, Wilson was appointed associate vice president for academic affairs. She also serves as the director of the Education for Healthcare Professionals MS/Certificate Program.

She earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, a doctor of philosophy in biochemistry from Emory University, in Atlanta, and performed postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Orientation welcomes students entering doctorate program in Basic Medical Sciences

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine held orientation this week for students entering the doctorate program in basic medical sciences at USA. This year, seven students are entering the program.

A unique aspect of the program at USA, during their first year, students complete the core curriculum while they explore and ultimately decide which research area they wish to focus on for their dissertation.

“We have students from various backgrounds – some have master’s degrees while others have their bachelor’s,” said Angie O’Neal, an academic advisor in the USA College of Medicine’s Office of Research Education and Training. “The variation in degrees and experience is part of what makes our program special. We appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and what they add to our program.”

Because of COVID-19, Mark Taylor, Ph.D., director of the graduate program and associate professor of physiology and cell biology at the USA College of Medicine, said this year will be exceptionally unique.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or redirected almost every aspect of our education mission, including how we train the next generation of biomedical researchers,” he said. “Nevertheless, the current situation has also been a true source of motivation for our current and incoming Ph.D. students. Having experienced the devastating impact of widespread disease, they understand why their contributions will be so important in addressing existing and future threats worldwide.”

Taylor said the training will continue to focus on application of knowledge and cutting-edge approaches to address real problems in human health and disease. “We emphasize adaptability as a crucial tenet of our Ph.D. program and this year’s incoming students will certainly need to adapt to blended instructional and mentoring strategies like no other class before them,” he said. “In the end, new challenges inspire novel problem-solving strategies and I look forward to watching this new generation of scientists take on the challenges to come.”

Virtual Med School Café set for Aug. 21

The first-ever virtual Med School Café planned for noon, Friday, Aug. 21, will feature Hanna Alemayehu, M.D., pediatric surgeon and assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. She will discuss chest wall reconstruction service and treatments provided by the USA Health pediatric surgery department.

Prior to joining USA, Alemayehu served as a clinical instructor in surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. She received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and completed her residency at New York Medical College. Following residency, she completed a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Alemayehu has performed extensive pediatric surgical outcomes research and has authored dozens of manuscripts.

Med School Café will be held Friday, Aug. 21, at noon via the Zoom digital platform. Register for the virtual event here. For more information, contact Kim Partridge at (251) 460-7770 or kepartridge@health.southalabama.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by USA Health. Each month, faculty and physicians share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatments available.

Implicit bias in healthcare the topic of Pediatric Grand Rounds on Aug. 21

A primer on implicit bias in healthcare will be presented by Franklin Trimm, M.D., during pediatric grand rounds at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, via the digital platform Zoom.

A pediatric developmental and behavioral physician, Trimm serves as associate dean of diversity and inclusion and assistant vice president for medical affairs at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

Objectives of the presentation are:

• Understanding the science of unconscious bias
• Identifying how bias and the processes of the unconscious mind can impact critical decisions and results
• Applying strategies for practicing more conscious awareness

Also known as implicit social cognition, implicit bias (or unconscious bias) refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner, according to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without someone’s awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, implicit biases are different from known biases that people may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness.

Research shows that implicit biases are not accessible through one’s own introspection. The implicit associations humans harbor in the subconscious cause them to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age and appearance. These associations, according to research, develop during the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages.

Participants are asked to pre-register using this link: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvdO-urTguEtzVhEtTdKn8vXy80tR_emTO

Pediatric grand rounds is held the third Friday of each month from 8 until 9 a.m. for the physicians, advanced practice providers, residents, nurses, social workers, medical students and other members of the healthcare team who are interested in increasing their knowledge, addressing competence, performance, and improving patient outcomes in healthcare.

For more information, contact Jessica Petro at 251-415-8688 or jpetro@health.southalabbama.edu.

High school sweethearts tackle life and medical school together

Emily and Tyler Hunter are both third-year students at the USA College of Medicine.
Photo credit: Ashton Clark Photography

“It’s great to have a lifelong companion, study buddy, and classmate all in one,” said Tyler Hunter, a medical student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. “For us, having a partner that understands the rigors of medical school and the constant need to have a productive study environment is essential.”

Tyler and his wife, Emily, also a medical student at the USA College of Medicine, originally met in middle school. They started dating their sophomore year of high school and eventually got married their senior year of undergraduate school at USA.

“We have always been interested in healthcare,” Emily said. “Growing up, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, later deciding to pursue training as a nurse while in high school and entering college. It wasn’t until my second-year of college that I decided I’d rather become a doctor.”

Now, the Hunters are beginning their third year of medical school.

According to Tyler, the key to being married to another medical student is to establish healthy stress management skills. “Medical students love comparing themselves to others – even if it is their spouse,” he said. “To manage this stress, we have gone through several seasons of our medical life where we shared class time together, but did not share our grades with one another.”

Tyler also credits premarital counseling for establishing a healthy foundation prior to medical school. “Premarital counseling was extremely useful for our relationship and it let us go into our marriage knowing what expectations to have and how we react to stress,” he said. “When people are stressed, they can put less work into their relationships. It is important to be aware of this and take steps to avoid any problems.”

According to Tyler, finances are also a huge topic for arguments among couples and he thanks the U.S. Army for helping to eliminate that stressor in his marriage. “The Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program allows us to have our school paid for and a monthly stipend to live on,” he said. “It has given financial peace of mind while also helping the men and women who serve our country.”

Though unsure of what specialty they each want to practice at this point, Emily and Tyler are already looking forward to Match Day 2022. “We would prefer to have different specialties to increase our chances of being able to find a single hospital where we can both complete our residencies,” Tyler said. “As of now, we both share an interest in internal medicine, infectious diseases and pulmonology and critical care.”

Emily said she extremely lucky to go through medical school with her best friend. “He understands what the stress is like from a first-hand experience and encourages me to be my best self every day,” she said.

Pediatric epilepsy specialist joins neurology faculty

Asri Yuliati, M.D., a neurologist specializing in pediatric epilepsy, joins the USA College of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor of neurology.

As a level 4 epilepsy center, USA Health is expanding its epilepsy treatment capabilities with the addition of Asri Yuliati, M.D., a neurologist specializing in pediatric epilepsy. She will join the neurology team at USA Health and will also serve as an assistant professor of neurology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

“It is important for children with epilepsy to see a pediatric epileptologist who is familiar with the different types of epilepsy syndromes so they can have the appropriate evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment,” Yuliati said. “The earlier we intervene, the better the neurodevelopmental outcome will be. Epilepsy is one of the most treatable conditions in neurology.”

Many children grow out of their epilepsy while other cases are more difficult, requiring comprehensive evaluation, such as genetic testing and pre-surgical evaluation, and different types of treatment, such as anti-seizure medication, epilepsy surgery and vagus nerve stimulation, that USA Health is able to offer as the only level 4 epilepsy center in the region.

Yuliati said she volunteered to work with children with disabilities and this inspired her to study medicine and become a pediatric neurologist. She received her medical degree from Sun Yat Sen University in China. She completed a pediatric residency at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in New York followed by a child neurology residency at Wayne State University in Michigan and an epilepsy fellowship at the UCLA Medical Center in California.

Besides epilepsy, she will treat autism, headaches, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, vascular malformations, and cerebral palsy with a special interest and research focus on neonatal seizures, neurocritical care and epilepsy surgery.

USA College of Medicine mourns loss of third-year student Samantha Thomas

Students at the USA College of Medicine created a memorial at Hippocrates Park in honor of Samantha Thomas, a third-year student who passed away on Aug. 1.

Samantha Thomas is remembered by classmates as a ray of sunshine, a beautiful spirit with an ever-present smile, a brilliant mind with compassion to match, a nonjudgmental and supportive friend, and a strong young woman who overcame hardships and persevered in life.

“This weekend, we were notified of the tragic news that we lost one of our College of Medicine family,” said John Marymont, M.D., MBA, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. “Samantha Thomas, a third-year medical student, lost her life as a result of a car crash early Saturday morning. Our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends and classmates.”

The 24-year-old was just beginning her third year of medical school. During her time at the USA College of Medicine, Thomas served on the Honor Council and as secretary of the Anesthesiology Interest Group.

Throughout the week, as a memorial to Thomas, fellow medical students have left flowers, messages and decorated rocks at the foot of the Hippocrates statue on campus.

“Samantha was a fun, hard-working, intelligent and driven woman. She was a great friend and a great study buddy,” said Zack Aggen, president of the Class of 2022. “We would grind through material for hours and then out of nowhere she’d say something like, ‘Hey! Did you know …’ This invariably led to a decrease in motivation and often an impromptu trip around the pond on campus to see the fish, turtles and geese. Even though we'd eventually get distracted, she was brilliant and a great organizer. She helped me learn so much material.”

Aggen added, “Samantha had a huge heart. She would often go out of her way to help friends that were struggling even when she had difficulties in her own life.”

A native of Guntersville, Ala., Thomas graduated from Guntersville High School as valedictorian of her class. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Alabama.

In her free time, Thomas enjoyed water skiing, horseback riding, volleyball, hiking and reading.

Mark your calendar: Upcoming grand rounds

Mark your calendar for the following grand rounds:

Orthopaedic Surgery Grand Rounds
"Spondylolisthesis/Spondylolysis"
Prasit Nimityongskul, M.D., Professor and Interim Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, USA College of Medicine
7 to 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7
Zoom
Contact: Rhonda Smith at 251-665-8251 or rhondasmith@health.southalabama.edu

OB-GYN Grand Rounds
"Coding and Billing for OB-GYN Services"
Tammy G. Heim, CPC, Director of Education, ACS
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7
Zoom
Contact: Nichelle Bradley at 251-415-1566 or nbradley@health.southalabama.edu

Cardiology Grand Rounds
"Through the Looking Glass: ‘Abnormal’ EKGs"
Nilarun Chowdhuri, M.D., Cardiology Fellow, University Hospital
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7
Zoom
Contact: Angela Hunt at 251-471-7923 or arhunt@health.southalabama.edu

Cardiology Grand Rounds
"Cardiology Research"
Cherie Revere, CRNP, Cardiology Nurse Practitioner, USA Health
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14
Zoom
Contact: Angela Hunt at 251-471-7923 or arhunt@health.southalabama.edu

Visit the CME Tracker website for more information.