Medical student chosen for national AAMC advisory task force

Veena Krishnan, a third-year student at the USA College of Medicine, is among the medical students and residents selected to serve on a nationwide advisory task force for the Association of American Medical Colleges' CLASS Project.

The purpose of the CLASS Project, which stands for Clinical Skills Assessment and Standardization, is to aid in developing new practices and national standards that will properly assess clinical skills in medical education. Previously, medical schools used Step 2 CS of the United States Medical Licensure Exam to assess whether their students were prepared for residency. Step 2 was discontinued permanently in January 2021. The task force will work to determine a national standard for equitable, effective and appropriate clinical skills education.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be chosen to represent the USA COM’s voice on the national stage about this important issue,” said Krishnan. “I look forward to learning from some of the most knowledgeable voices in academic medicine and participating in a process that strives to make medical education more inclusive.”

More than 500 people were nominated for the task force, with more than 100 of those consisting of student and resident nominees across the United States. Krishnan’s selection to join this group provides an opportunity for her to contribute to the development of clinical skills educational guidelines that will be implemented nationwide.

Foot and ankle surgeon joins Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

USA Health’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery expands with the addition of Jess Mullens, M.D., a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon.

Mullens will treat patients for conditions including sports injuries, foot and ankle fractures, ligament and tendon problems, and arthritis.

He pursued orthopaedic surgery and the foot and ankle specialty because of personal and family issues.

“My grandmother suffered from Type 2 diabetes and developed several foot wounds, and I helped care for her, which led to my interest,” Mullens said. “In college, I played basketball, which led to my own foot and ankle injuries. My experiences give me a unique perspective for athletes wanting to return to performing at a high level.”

Mullens said he always was drawn to surgery and wanted to be a part of the process.

“The interactions with other surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, techs and staff was a unique experience within the operating room,” he said. “I was drawn to the way bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments work together to provide people the ability to walk, run and perform activities. I wanted to be a part of a specialty that could help those who had lost the ability to do the activities they love.”

While working in an academic health system, Mullens, an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, wants to broaden the study of the foot and ankle specialty.

“I would like to participate and lead more foot and ankle research, particularly in the areas of diabetic foot care and sports-related foot and ankle injuries,” he said. “I believe that resident and medical student education is the most important part of being on the faculty at USA. I am excited to be able to teach, mentor and encourage others to pursue a future in foot and ankle orthopaedics.”

Mullens earned a medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in Birmingham. He completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at the USA College of Medicine and a fellowship in the foot and ankle specialty at The Steadman Clinic at Vail Health Hospital in Vail, Colorado.

Mullens sees patients on the third floor of the Strada Patient Care Center in Mobile. To make an appointment, call (251) 665-8200.

Video online: 'Skull Base Neurosurgery and Brain Tumors'

Jai Thakur, M.D., director of minimally invasive cranial and skull base neurosurgery and neurosurgery education at USA Health, presented “Skull Base Neurosurgery and Brain Tumors: Rejecting Norms and Adapting Minimally Invasive Mentality” at the Med School Café lecture on Nov. 12.

Watch a video of the presentation on YouTube.

Nicotine weakens immune system, USA researchers find

Srijan Acharya, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow, and

Sirin Saranyutanon, a Ph.D. candidate in the Basic Medical

Sciences Graduate Program, study the effect of nicotine

at the Mitchell Cancer Institute.

Scientists at the USA College of Medicine and the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute found that nicotine, the addictive ingredient in tobacco products and cigarette substitutes, plays a novel role in immunosuppression. The findings highlight the health hazards of nicotine intake including an enhanced susceptibility to developing cancer.

As part of her doctoral research project, Sirin Saranyutanon, a Ph.D. candidate in the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program, investigated the effect of nicotine on macrophage polarization, growth and invasion to understand its role in human physiology. Macrophages are an important component of the innate immune system that can have both pro- and anti-inflammatory functions depending upon their polarization state.

“Our findings suggest that nicotine weakens our immune system by altering the function of macrophages, and converting them from defenders to the type that helps resolve protective inflammatory response and support tumor growth,” Saranyutanon said.

The findings add to the growing concern about the use of nicotine, said Ajay Singh, Ph.D., who is the advisor of Saranyutanon and a professor of pathology at the College of Medicine and leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Mitchell Cancer Institute. 

“The use of nicotine through vaping has increased tremendously in recent years, especially among teens, owing to the belief that it’s less damaging than smoking,” Singh said. “Moreover, vaping products are cheaper and available in tempting flavors. Being a relatively newer trend, epidemiological data associating vaping with slow-developing diseases like cancer is not yet available. However, our findings should raise awareness about the harms that it can cause to human health.”

The study was published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, a high-impact journal that publishes research on eukaryotic cell biology and physiology. Authors include researchers from the College of Medicine and the Mitchell Cancer Institute: Srijan Acharya, Ph.D., postdoctoral research fellow; Sachin Kumar Deshmukh, Ph.D., research associate; Mohammad Aslam Khan, Ph.D., research associate; Seema Singh, Ph.D., professor of pathology; and Ajay Singh, Ph.D.

As a doctoral student at the USA College of Medicine, Saranyutanon said she has felt both challenged and supported in her research. “I have had the opportunity to interact with incredible scientists in my field, and I am always learning and growing from my interactions with faculty, postdocs, academic advisors and fellow students,” she said. 

Saranyutanon said research can be stressful at times but ultimately is very rewarding. “When you discover something new and it gets recognized, the feeling is undefinable,” she said. “You become part of scientific advances that eventually contribute to a better, longer and disease-free life.”

Read the full article in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.