Members of the Class of 2021 receive awards at honors ceremony

Gannon Ray and Jessica Cook pose for photos with their awards at the honors ceremony. 

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine presented awards to select members of the Class of 2021 at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 5, in the USA Student Center Ballroom. The following is a listing of award recipients:

Dean’s Award: Lauren Alexandra Galbraith Gibson
Awarded to the graduating senior who has accumulated the highest scholastic grade point average for the full four years of medical school.

Merck Award: Joshua Phillip Dehart, Vishal J. Shroff
Awarded to senior students who have demonstrated superior academic achievement.

Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citations: Lauren Alexandra Galbraith Gibson, Erin Olivia Schmale
Presented to those women students who graduate in the top 10% of their class.

Dr. Robert A. Kreisberg Endowed Award of Excellence: Stuart Joseph McFarland
Awarded to a graduating senior student in the top 25% of the class who is distinguished in both the clinical and basic sciences. This student has demonstrated superior leadership and integrity, possesses a strong work ethic, and has performed in such a way as to earn the respect of his or her fellow students and faculty.

The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award: Dala Mohamad Eloubeidi, Alison Bolton, M.D.
Presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to the senior student and to the faculty member nominated and selected by the senior class who have demonstrated outstanding compassion to patients and their families.

Medical Alumni Leadership Award: Zachary Bruce White II
Awarded to the senior student by vote of classmates, in recognition of outstanding leadership of the graduating class.

Excellence in Public Health Award: Ravi S. Rajendra
Presented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Public Health Service to recognize the medical student who has demonstrated a commitment to public health and public health practice and has exhibited leadership and hard work with a passion and dedication to public health within the medical profession.

Community Service Award: Jessica A. Cook, Ravi S. Rajendra
Presented by the Medical Society of Mobile County to two senior medical students whose classmates believe best fulfill the ideals of humanitarian public service as demonstrated by superior awareness of, and achievement in, civic and community programs.

SNMA Leadership Award: Ashley Breanna Cainion
Awarded by the Student National Medical Association to a graduating senior who has demonstrated outstanding community, school, and organizational service and leadership qualities.

Adele Mantiply and Dr. Gerald Galle Pediatric Endowed Scholarship: Gannon James Ray
Awarded to a graduating senior student who has accepted a position in a pediatric residency program at the University of South Alabama and intends to practice pediatrics in Mobile and/or Baldwin counties.

Ritha Baliga Memorial Medical Scholarship: Tina Etminan
Awarded to an outstanding senior student who demonstrates a merit ranking within the top 50% of the class and is interested in pursuing a career in pediatric healthcare.

Dr. Richard William Gurich Memorial Endowed Scholarship: Grayson A. Domingue
Awarded to a graduating senior student who has not only performed at the highest level during the third and fourth year, but has also demonstrated efficacy in patient relations and professionalism.

Dr. William James Atkinson Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship: Garrett Reid McClenny
Presented to a fourth year medical student exhibiting exemplary character, possessing a dedication to the field of medicine, and demonstrating a commitment to compassionate patient care. This student is interested in primary care and plans to practice in the state of Alabama.

Dr. Joseph G. Hardin Jr. Memorial Scholarship: William Hamilton Moore
Awarded to a graduating senior student who is interested in pursuing a career in internal medicine.

Henrietta Lacks Memorial Scholarship: Zachary Bruce White II
Established in 2021 by Margie Malone Tuckson and Dr. Reed V. Tuckson, this scholarship honors the life of Henrietta Lacks and the invaluable impact she has made in the advancement of science and medicine.

John A. Desak Award: Dala Mohamad Eloubeidi
In honor of USA College of Medicine graduate Dr. Maryella Sirmon’s father, this award is presented to the highest ranking female in the graduating class who has accepted a residency in internal medicine.

Steven Karl Teplick, M.D., FARC Memorial Award: Allen Mao
Awarded to a graduating senior student specializing in radiology and committed to lifelong learning as exemplified by Dr. Steven Teplick.

Cooke-Scott Scholarship: William Brooks Burns, Lauren Alexandra Galbraith Gibson, Samantha Noel Lee, Jeanetta Morgan Malone, Stuart Joseph McFarland, Kimberly Lachelle McWilliams
Awarded to a fourth-year medical student(s) wishing to pursue a career in the neuroscience field (neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, ophthalmology) and who has demonstrated exemplary qualities and commitment to their field.

Outstanding Student in the Pre-Clerkship Curriculum: Lauren Alexandra Galbraith Gibson
Awarded to a graduating senior student for outstanding performance in the pre-clerkship curriculum.

Award for Excellence in Teaching Clinical Skills: Jordan Matthews Smith
Awarded to a graduating senior student for outstanding teaching skills and student mentoring in the Clinical Skills Program. This student has demonstrated a dedication to education in the field of clinical skills.

Clinical Pharmacology Excellence Award: Raymond C. Dolcelli
Presented to a graduating senior student for demonstrating outstanding knowledge in basic and clinical pharmacology.

Hollis J. Wiseman Award for Excellence in Pediatrics: Tina Etminan
Presented to the student who best exemplified Dr. Wiseman’s outstanding scholarship, compassion for patients and families, involvement in the profession and community, enthusiasm for exploration and steadfast love of family, friends and colleagues.

Samuel Eichold Award: Dala Mohamad Eloubeidi
Presented to the graduating medical student who through scholarship, patient care, interaction with faculty and housestaff, and motivation, has demonstrated outstanding achievement in internal medicine.

Dr. Michael M. Linder Endowed Award: James Wiley West
Awarded to a senior student who has accepted a residency in family medicine and exemplifies a commitment to family medicine, as practiced by Dr. Michael Linder, through astute clinical acumen based on the knowledge of the human body and evidence-based medicine. This student possesses a passion for teaching this knowledge and the  art of family medicine to others, and demonstrates courage to do what is best for the whole patient and their family.

Ralph Denny Wright and Anne G. Wright Memorial Scholarship: Vishal J. Shroff
Awarded to the senior student focusing on internal medicine/family practice, who strives to become a compassionate physician and skilled diagnostician as exemplified by Dr. Wright.

The Orthopaedic Excellence Award: Austin D. Atkins, William Tanner Cox, Grayson A. Domingue, Ian Alexander Garrison, Ravi S. Rajendra
This award is presented to the graduating medical student who best personifies the compassion, selflessness and tireless work ethic of Drs. Anderson, McBryde and Meyer. These students have shown excellence above all pears during their orthopaedic rotations.

John W. Donald Memorial Award in Surgery: Austin C. Atkins
Awarded to the senior student who best demonstrated clinical and academic excellence in the surgery clerkship.

H. C. Mullins, M.D. Award: Adrienne Lee Vickers
Awarded by the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine to the graduating senior who demonstrated excellence in the ability to apply principles, practice, and philosophy of family medicine in caring for patients and their families. This award is given in honor of Dr. H. C. Mullins, professor emeritus and founding chair of the department.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Award: Macy J. Vickers
Presented to the graduating medical student who, through scholarship, patient care, interaction with faculty and housestaff, and motivation, has demonstrated excellence in obstetrics and gynecology.

Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award: Carly Turner McRae
This award is presented by the Department of Emergency Medicine to recognize the graduating senior student who demonstrated outstanding performance and academic excellence in emergency medicine.

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Award: Monica Mitta
Presented on behalf of SAEM to the graduating medical student who has demonstrated excellence and academic proficiency in emergency medicine.

Excellence in Psychiatry Award: Samantha Noel Lee
Presented to the graduating medical student who through scholarship, patient care, motivation, and interaction with faculty and housestaff, has demonstrated excellence in psychiatry.

Faculty Awards
Best Pre-Clerkship Module: Respiratory
Best Pre-Clerkship Educators: Abu-Bakr Al-Mehdi, M.D., Ph.D.
Best M3 Clerkship: Obstetrics & Gynecology
Best Clerkship Educator: Nicolette P. Holliday, M.D.

View the program for the full list of award and scholarship recipients. 

View more photos from the honors ceremony on Flickr. 

USA College of Medicine holds 2021 commencement

Zachary B. White II, president of the Class of 2021, addresses his fellow graduates at the USA College of Medicine's spring commencement ceremony.

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine held its 2021 commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 6, at the Mitchell Center on the USA campus.

The Class of 2021, with 69 members, became the 46th class to receive medical degrees from the USA College of Medicine.

Errol D. Crook, M.D., professor of internal medicine and the Abraham A. Mitchell Chair in the Department of Internal Medicine, congratulated the students. “You will be pushed by your faculty and your superiors to have all the answers, to not make mistakes and to document all that you have seen, heard, felt, thought and done, and to do so completely and on time,” Crook said. “In essence, they are asking you to be superheroes.”

Crook reminded the class that they have already lived through several significant health events: the epidemics of obesity and opioid use, and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have reduced the life expectancy of Americans and created health inequities.

“When you think about those realities, those inequities caused by the pandemic, it’s easy to see how one could be pessimistic,” he said. “It’s because of those superhero qualities and youthful spirit, and your energy and commitment, my colleagues on the faculty and staff of USA Health are optimistic.”

Medical students took the Hippocratic Oath and were hooded by a person of their choosing. Graduates matching at U.S. military facilities also took the military oath. The Class of 2021 brings the total number of physicians to graduate since the medical school’s opening to 2,905.

Zachary B. White II, class president, used the example of a car’s manual transmission as he urged his fellow graduates to “shift up.”

“After you practice, once you’ve maintained focus, it’s time for you to shift up,” White said. “Shift up to be a leader in your residency program. Shift up to go that extra mile for that patient in need. Shift up to be the doctor that the University of South Alabama College of Medicine has trained each and every one of us to be.”

Also at the ceremony, two graduate students received Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Basic Medical Sciences.

The event, which was limited because of COVID-19, was live-streamed on the USA webpage to accommodate those who were unable to attend.

View more photos from commencement on Flickr. 

Watch the commencement video on YouTube or below. 

Di Palma seeks ways to reduce side effects of breast cancer treatment in international study

Jack A. Di Palma, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine and a gastroenterologist at USA Health, is among a group of international researchers that contributed to a recently published study looking for ways to manage the side effects of neratinib, a medication for treating HER2-positive breast cancer.

Diarrhea is a universal side effect of neratinib that, when severe during early treatment, can lead patients to stop using it. When that happens, the drug’s effectiveness is reduced. The goal of the research was to develop ways to manage these side effects so that patients will better tolerate the chemotherapy.

“I proposed some of these strategies to mitigate diarrhea from this class of drugs,” Di Palma said. “I helped design several of the research protocols and am actively investigating a project to better understand why the diarrhea occurs from these drugs. Controlling the diarrhea makes these drugs acceptable and more useful.”

An effective management of the side effect was found by conducting a weekly dose escalation of neratinib at the start of a patient’s therapy. This method helped avoid some of the additional complications that came with incorporating anti-diarrheal medication into patient regimens, and made treatment more tolerable. The implementation of this strategy helps further optimize breast cancer treatment and improve cancer patients’ quality of life.

HER2-positive breast cancer can cause HER2 proteins to overproduce breast cells. It is a more aggressive type of breast cancer than HER2-negative. Between 20 and 30 percent of breast cancers are HER2-positive. There is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman in the United States will experience a breast cancer diagnosis in her lifetime.

The full research publication, titled “Optimal Strategies for Successful Initiation of Neratinib in Patients with HER2-Positive Breast Cancer,” is available to read online at ScienceDirect.com.

Mark your calendar for grand rounds

Surgery Grand Rounds
"Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and the Role of Surgery in the Era of Proton Pump Inhibitors"
Michael Caposole, M.D., PGY-5 surgery resident, University Hospital
7 to 8 a.m. Friday, May 7
Zoom: https://usahealthsystem.zoom.us/j/96986146728
Contact: Tyronda Rogers at 251-445-8230 or tmrogers@health.southalabama.edu

Cardiology Grand Rounds
"Anti-coagulation Conundrum"
Siva Chiranjeevi, M.D., PGY-5 cardiology resident, University Hospital
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 7
Zoom: https://usahealthsystem.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApceGsrzMsHt2gFsBT02ShnccVZpx-dS3-
Contact: Angela Hunt at 251-471-7923 or arhunt@health.southalabama.edu

Surgery Grand Rounds
"Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessment"
Christopher M. Malozzi, D.O., assistant professor of internal medicine, USA College of Medicine
7 to 8 a.m. Friday, May 14
Zoom: https://usahealthsystem.zoom.us/j/92941135936
Contact: Tyronda Rogers at 251-445-8230 or tmrogers@health.southalabama.edu

Mental Health Grand Rounds
"Mindfulness: A Fad or Religious Practice"
Binata Mukherjee, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine, USA College of Medicine
8 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 19
Zoom: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsf-isqjMiHtyYx3UlyuC-50kwlSE7ai2f
Contact: Sharrie Cranford at 251-414-8080 or scranford@southalabama.edu

Pediatric Grand Rounds
"Cerebral Hemodynamic Parameters for Early Prediction of Adverse Outcomes in Neonates with HIE"
Ramachandra Bhat, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, USA College of Medicine
8 to 9 a.m. Friday, May 21
Zoom: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvf-msrjMoE9BiXfFGZQqykv3z8OZ0TBSc
Contact: Jessica Petro at 251-415-8688 or jpetro@health.southalabama.edu

See the full schedule of grand rounds on CME tracker. 

Basic Medical Sciences: Four USA College of Medicine grads on a different career path

At the USA College of Medicine commencement, medical students receive their degrees and hoods as they transition from students to physicians in training.

At the same ceremony, graduate students in basic medical sciences receive doctoral degrees and hoods as they embark on the next stage of their careers, which could be in postdoctoral research, teaching, industry, scientific journalism, patenting or related fields.

At this spring commencement, two students will receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Basic Medical Sciences and are looking to research for their next step.

Kierra Hardy

Kierra Hardy earned a doctorate degree in the infectious diseases and host defense track. “My research focused on examining the mechanism by which Pseudomonas aeruginosa effector protein ExoU paralyzes the host inflammatory response,” Hardy said.

Hardy will join the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow. “I will be working on a project discovering small molecule drugs that target coronaviruses and other emerging viruses,” she said. “My next goal is to hopefully enjoy my postdoctoral experience, learn as much as I can, and grow as a scientist before entering the industry world.”

Christopher Davies, Ph.D., associate dean for research at the USA College of Medicine, emphasized the important role of the graduate program in basic medical sciences. “With many breakthroughs in healthcare having their origins in basic research, graduate students and other trainees working in labs play a vital role in the success of our research mission at South. It is only through their perseverance and dedication that we obtain knowledge of complex biological systems that can later be translated into new therapeutic approaches,” he said.

“In recognition of their central importance for research, the College of Medicine supports a vibrant graduate program backed by top-class research facilities and mentoring,” Davies said.

Sarah Voth

Sarah Voth will receive a doctorate degree in basic medical sciences with a focus on lung biology and vascular biology. Her studies focused on the amyloids that usually are associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Voth studied how amyloids, including beta amyloid, are expressed by the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels of the lung where they function as antimicrobial peptides to protect the lung during infection. She studied how Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common agent of hospital-acquired pneumonia, has evolved mechanisms to subvert this defense strategy by eliciting the cytotoxic amyloid tau during infection to convert “good” amyloids into “bad” ones.

“In the absence of infection-elicited cytotoxic tau, endothelial amyloids are cytoprotective and can condition or train naïve cells to resist and produce a more robust defense against subsequent infection,” she said.

Voth currently is working as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Charles Dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., at the Yale University School of Medicine. At Yale, she is expanding on her previous studies with innate amyloids, the role of amyloids during viral pneumonia, and the mechanisms through which the nosocomial pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae induces the production of cytotoxic tau.

“My next goal is to secure a fellow-to-faculty award that would facilitate my transition to an independent investigator,” Voth said.

Cinta Maria Papke, Ph.D.

At the fall commencement, two other graduate students received a Doctor of Philosophy in Basic Medical Sciences and are working as postdoctoral researchers.

Cinta Maria Papke earned a doctorate in the cellular and molecular biology track. The focus of her studies was to generate cell lines that model PPP2R5D variant disorder (also known as Jordan’s Syndrome) using CRISPR-Cas9 and to characterize their signaling alterations to better understand the etiology of the syndrome.

Jordan’s Syndrome is caused by variants in a phosphatase that result in a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, seizures, hypotonia and macrocephaly. Her graduate work was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in January 2021.

Papke is working as a postdoctoral researcher at the USA College of Medicine in the laboratory of Richard E. Honkanen, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, as she pursues further research into Jordan’s Syndrome. “My next goal is to transition into biotech, studying gene and protein function in a disease context using molecular biology techniques, including genetic editing and biochemical assays,” she said.

Alexander Richard, Ph.D.

Alexander Richard earned a doctorate degree in the cancer biology track. He also is working as a postdoctoral researcher in Honkanen’s lab pursuing research related to Jordan’s Syndrome. “My next concrete goal is to publish scientific papers about the syndrome,” he said. “The accomplishment of this next goal can provide strategies on how to treat Jordan’s Syndrome patients.”

Richard’s graduate studies focused on the role of a long noncoding RNA molecule called Gas5 (Growth Arrest Specific-5) in bone marrow cells. “The results of this study elucidated a novel and important role that this particular molecule plays in blood stem cells and its progenitors,” he said.

Meet a Med Student: Matthew Handley

Matthew Handley

Age: 24

Class of: 2024

Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.

Undergrad: Mississippi State University

Degrees earned: Bachelor of Science in biological engineering

Interests/hobbies: Reading, lifting weights, board games, movies, playing various sports (tennis, volleyball, spikeball) as well as watching sports

Something unique about me: I didn't start talking until I was 3 1/2 years old. One day, I was playing outside with my mom, and I stepped on a roach. I told my mom, "I got that bug." Those are my first documented words, and I haven't stopped talking since.

Three of my favorite things: Sausage balls on Christmas morning, board game nights, and long days at the beach

Doctoral hood for her; next year, white coat for him

Carey Johnson and Angela Mosley-Johnson, both students at the USA College of Medicine, married in 2018. Carey is completing his first year of medical school, and Angela graduates with her medical degree this week.

They met at church in 2016. Carey Johnson was sitting a few rows ahead of Angela Mosley at Spirit and Truth Believers Fellowship in Nashville. The two chatted, but it would be another three weeks before he asked her out.

“I was at work putting stuff on shelves when I turned around, and she was walking toward me,” recalled Carey, who was employed in the electronics department of a Target while working on a master’s degree in biology.

Carey Johnson will hood his wife, Angela 

Mosley-Johnson, at commencement. 

“I thought he was cute,” said Angela, who was managing clinical drug trials during a gap year. “He had this big smile on his face.”

A year later, he proposed, and the two were married in 2018 during the summer following Angela’s first year of medical school. 

Today, Angela and Carey, both 28, are medical students at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine; she’s a graduating senior and he has just finished his first year. This week, Carey will slip a doctoral hood of green and black, lined in red, white and blue, over his wife’s head during her commencement ceremony at the Mitchell Center.

“It’s going to be special for me to do that for her,” Carey said. “She’ll do the same for me next year during the annual White Coat Ceremony.” That’s when rising third-year medical students don their official white coats with assistance from a person of their choosing. Angela – and eventually, Carey – will be the first physicians in their families.

At Thursday’s commencement, Angela Mosley-Johnson will be one of the 69 members of the Class of 2021 to receive their medical degrees and doctoral hoods, and take the Hippocratic Oath – the 46th class to do so at the USA College of Medicine. Graduates who are serving in one of the U.S. branches of The Armed Forces will also take the Military Oath.

“We are thrilled to be able to return to an in-person ceremony this year to allow our newest physicians to celebrate this momentous transition to their next phase of training. We welcomed them to the College of Medicine as a group, and this year, as in years past, they can once again depart as a group,” said Kelly Roveda, M.D., associate dean for student affairs.

After an unusual year of virtual ceremonies and residency interviews, and mostly virtual classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2021 has returned to in-person, socially-distanced celebrations. On March 19, they sat six feet apart in the USA Student Center Ballroom to open their sealed envelopes from the National Resident Matching Program.

Angela was excited to learn that she would pursue her residency training in OB/GYN at USA Health. For the couple, who are buying their first house in west Mobile, it was very good news.

Three years from now, Angela will have another year of residency to complete when her husband finds out where he matched into his chosen specialty. Then, as a Blue Cross Blue Shield scholar, she will fulfill a commitment to work as an OB/GYN in an underserved area of Alabama for another three years.

“We try to take it day by day,” she said. 

Coordinating their calendars, studying separately and making time for each other have been their strategies for getting through medical school together, they said. For instance, their friends know better than to extend an invitation for any Friday evening, because that’s date night for them.

“Next year, we might be like ships passing in the night, so we are trying to make the most of our quality time now,” Carey said.

Tonight’s commencement will be one of those special moments.

Because members of the Class of 2021 can invite no more than four guests to the ceremony, Angela and Carey are planning a celebration with other family members at a beach house on Dauphin Island afterward. “Everyone is vaccinated,” Angela said. “We’re looking forward to spending time together after such a long and distanced year.”