Parker named chair of the Department of Psychiatry

Sandra Parker, M.D., chief medical officer for AltaPointe Health, has been named chair of the USA College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry.

Parker served as vice chair and associate professor of the department from January 2009 until July 2021. Ronald Franks, M.D., the former chairman, retired this summer after a career that spanned more than 40 years. Prior to 2009, Parker served in various faculty and adjunct faculty positions at the USA College of Medicine beginning in 2001.

“Dr. Parker is a skilled physician and educator whose knowledge and passion make her an excellent fit to lead the Department of Psychiatry,” said John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “With two decades of experience in academic medicine, I’m confident she will continue to build upon the foundation of exceptional patient care and student education our program provides.”

Parker attended medical school and completed residency training in psychiatry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. She completed a fellowship in child/adolescent psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Health Sciences in Little Rock.

She has received numerous honors and awards. Parker is president of the Alabama Psychiatric Physicians Association and past president of the Mobile Bay Psychiatric Association. In 2017, she received the Martha Myers Role Model Award given by the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association. In 2015, she was recognized as an Inspirational Physician Honoree of the American Medical Association, Women’s Physician Section. For her work in coordinating care for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, she was the 2012 recipient of the Bruno Lima Award, an honor given by the American Psychiatric Association to recognize outstanding efforts of members who contribute to the care and understanding of victims of disasters.

Three times – in 2015, 2016 and 2018 – USA medical students have awarded Parker the Red Sash Award, which is given to faculty members who students say have had the most meaningful impact on their medical education.

“It’s an honor to transition into this new role with the USA College of Medicine,” Parker said. “Through collaboration with AltaPointe Health, our faculty remains committed to providing outstanding clinical care to our patients and a superior education to our psychiatry residents and students.”

Dual certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in adult psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry, Parker’s major psychiatric interests are in the fields of autism-related disorders, healthcare disparities and tele-psychiatry.

USA College of Medicine announces summer research award winners

Summer Research Day winners, from left, are medical students Claudia Stephens, Daniel Irelan, Ben Kimbell, Anthony Fant and Bailey Manning.

The USA College of Medicine recently announced the top oral and poster presentations of the 48th annual Summer Research Day.

Ben Kimbell, a second-year medical student, won the Clyde G. Huggins Award for Summer Research for his oral presentation “Development of Novel Fluorescent-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to Measure Antibody Responses in Vaccinated Individuals.”

“I’m honored to have been chosen out of such a great group. All the oral presentations were incredible,” Kimbell said.

Kimbell said his project was made possible through the collaborative efforts of faculty and staff in the labs of Jonathon Audia, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology; Robert Barrington, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology; and Brian Fouty, M.D., professor of internal medicine. He also acknowledged Andrew Stokes, Brandon Webb, Peter Whitehurst and Rachael Motamed for their support and contributions.

The four poster presentation winners were:

• Anthony Fant, first-year medical student: “Barriers to the Retention of Human Mitochondrial DNA in Human-Mouse Hybrids”
• Daniel Irelan, second-year medical student: “Inactivation of Type 4 Cyclic-am Phosphodiesterase Subtypes 4B and 4D Induce Weight Loss and Improve Glucose Handling in Mice”  
• Bailey Manning, second-year medical student: “Proximity-dependent Biotinylation (BIO-ID) Identifies Histone Chaperone Nap-2 as a DNA Damage Dependent Methylpurine DNA Glycosylase Binding Protein”
• Claudia Stephens, second-year medical student: “Racially Disparate Levels of Hormones and Cytokines in Breast Cancer Patients" 

For their accomplishments, the dean’s office presented each winner with a plaque and $100.

The  Clyde G. Huggins Award for Summer Research honors the memory of Clyde G. "Sid" Huggins who served as the first dean of students at the USA College of Medicine.

The USA Summer Research Program is a 10-week program that allows medical students to develop an appreciation of how research is needed to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. 

Mark your calendar for upcoming grand rounds

Surgery Grand Rounds
"Vision for the Mitchell Cancer Institute"
Martin Heslin, M.D., director of the Mitchell Cancer Institute
Friday, Aug. 27 at 7 a.m.
Zoom: https://southalabama.zoom.us/j/96457019824
Contact: Tyronda Rogers at (251) 445-8230 or tmrogers@health.southalabama.edu.

Mental Health Grand Rounds
"Eating Disorders 201"
Daniel Preud'Homme, M.D., professor of pediatrics, USA College of Medicine
Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 8 a.m.
Zoom registration: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsf-isqjMiHtyYx3UlyuC-50kwlSE7ai2f
Contact: Sharrie Cranford at (251) 414-8080 or scranford@southalabama.edu

Neurology Grand Rounds
"Monoclonal Gammopathy of What Significance: Peripheral Neuropathies and M Proteins"
Robert Kobelja, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, USA College of Medicine
Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 8 a.m.
Zoom: https://southalabama.zoom.us/j/93354788103
Contact: Tommye Mangrum at (251) 660-5420 or tmangrum@health.southalabama.edu

See the full schedule of grand rounds on CME tracker. 

Meet a Med Student: Trentyn Shaw

Trentyn Shaw 

Age: 23 

Class of: 2024 

Hometown: Halsell, Ala., and Milwaukee, Wis.  

Undergrad/grad institution: Alabama State University 

Degrees earned: Bachelor of Science in biology pre-health, minor in chemistry 

Interests, hobbies: I love watching movies, especially classics. I also enjoy camping and traveling. 

Something unique about me: I'm afraid of chickens, and I can play two instruments. 

Three of my favorite things: Listening to and making music, going to museums, and playing sports (rugby and wrestling)

What I enjoy most about being a student at the USA College of Medicine: The community and family aspect of my class! Everyone wants everyone to be their best.  

Med School Café to address weight management for children and adults

Ann Payne-Johnson, M.D., a family medicine physician with USA Health and an assistant professor of family medicine at the USA College of Medicine, will present “Weight Management for Children and Adults” at the Med School Café lecture on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. The event will be held virtually via Zoom.

Johnson has an extensive history in wellness care, preventative medicine, women's health and weight management.

She earned a medical degree from the Spartan Health Sciences University in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. She completed residency training in family medicine at the University of Tennessee in Jackson, Tenn. She is double board certified in family medicine and obesity medicine. 

Register for the lecture on Zoom.

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. For more information, contact Kim Partridge at kepartridge@health.southalabama.edu.

Faculty Spotlight: Grace Lagasse, M.D.

Grace Lagasse, M.D.  

Academic title: Assistant professor of emergency medicine

Joined the USA College of Medicine faculty: August 2020

What does your position in the USA COM/USA Health entail?
I function in a variety of roles within the Department of Emergency Medicine that involve medical students, EM residents, off-service residents, and improving departmental processes and patient care delivery. I am the director of the Division of Global Health within the Department of Emergency Medicine. I coordinate off-service resident rotators who spend time in the ED, mentor medical students who are interested in EM, I am one of the faculty liaisons for the Emergency Medicine Interest Group, and I participate with peer review and operational activities within the department.

What is your favorite or most rewarding part of your position?
The most rewarding parts of my job are patient care and getting to interact with the entire EM team – our techs, medics, respiratory therapists, nurses, students, residents, advanced practice providers, faculty and consultants.

What research or other initiatives are you involved in?
As part of my role as director of the Division of Global Health, I am in the process of establishing international and resource-limited clinical opportunities for our medical students, EM residents and EM faculty.

What is your advice for medical students?
My advice for medical students is to look at what others consider to be "the worst part" of the specialty. If "the worst part" of the specialty is something that doesn't bother you or if you even enjoy it, that is a good sign that you could have longevity in that field. My other piece of advice is to try to learn as much as you can from each clinical rotation, even if you know that you are not going to pursue that specialty. As a future physician you will need to be able to collaborate with providers from other specialties. The more you can learn about different fields of medicine, the better you will be able to communicate and collaborate with consultants to provide the best care possible to your patients.

What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?
Outside of work I love to cook, try new restaurants, and spend time outside especially at the beach!

Pediatric gastroenterologist joins USA faculty

With a goal of providing the highest quality care to the children in our community, Osman Altun, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., is joining USA Health as a pediatric gastroenterologist. As an assistant professor of pediatric gastroenterology and the medical director of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, Altun will provide subspecialty care and treat gastrointestinal issues and diseases in patients.

“I have a special interest in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease,” he said. “I want to take the opportunity to learn more about the IBD patient population and explore resources at USA Health to provide the complete care that they may need. I am eager to learn the system and serve my patients.”

One of his goals at USA Health is to collaborate with the pediatric gastroenterology group to build an inflammatory bowel disease program. “An inflammatory bowel disease program may open up multi-specialty care for the most complex IBD patients. A program could also recruit patients to national databases that will provide us with national standards for care. Enrolling our patients in these databases could assure that we are performing at or above national level for inflammatory bowel disease treatment,” he said.

During his residency at the University of Florida, Altun helped treat a young patient with an inflammatory bowel disease that was refractory to the hospital’s treatment options. The complexity of inflammatory bowel disease and the urgency for research and development of patient care piqued his interest in pediatric gastroenterology.

“Despite significant advances in modern medicine, there are many major discoveries to be made to allow us to build personalized care for this patient population,” Altun said.

Altun grew up in Sweden. He earned a bachelor’s degree in medical sciences and a Ph.D. in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology from the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. He earned a medical degree from Windsor University School of Medicine in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 2015, Altun moved to the United States and began a residency in general pediatrics with the University of Florida in Pensacola. In 2018, he was accepted for a pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at Yale School of Medicine's Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.

Altun was drawn to USA Health, he said, because of the academic health system’s opportunities in pediatric gastroenterology and the anticipated growth of the program.

He is accepting new referrals at Strada Patient Care Center. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 251-410-5437.