Alumni couples: Keep sending us your stories

Did you and your significant other meet as medical or graduate students at the USA College of Medicine? There’s still time to share your story for a special Valentine’s Day feature in the Med School Watercooler.

“Thank you to everyone who has sent in their stories and pictures so far,” said Anna Claire Parks, associate director of medical alumni relations at the University of South Alabama. “The USA College of Medicine is a special place that nurtures friendships and relationships. We look forward to hearing from all of our alumni couples.”

The stories will be highlighted in a special feature in February in the Med School Watercooler blog and on social media. Email your brief story along with photos (then and now) to medalum@southalabama.edu.

Follow the USA Medical Alumni Association on Facebook at @usacollegeofmedalumni.

Faculty, staff and alumni named to Mobile Bay's 40 Under 40

Five representatives from the USA College of Medicine faculty, staff and alumni were named to Mobile Bay’s 40 Under 40 this year. The program is designed to recognize the top individuals younger than age 40 who demonstrate leadership, professional excellence and a commitment to the Mobile community. 

Omar Alkharabsheh, M.D., is an assistant professor of interdisciplinary clinical oncology and a medical oncologist and hematologist at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. He received his medical degree from Jordan University of Science and Technology-Faculty of Medicine in Irbid, Jordan. He completed a hematology and medical oncology fellowship at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, Michigan. He also completed an advanced hematology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education in Rochester, Minnesota. He is the principal investigator for four open clinical trials at the MCI.

Daniel McMahon, M.D., is an assistant professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine and a general surgeon with USA Health. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham and completed his general surgery residency at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. The author of two books, he served as a flight surgeon in the United States Navy, Medical Corps, where he was selected as a commander in 2019.

Patricia Powe, C.P.A., is a business manager at the USA College of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama. She served as the 2021 South Fund Campaign representative for Finance and Administration at the university, and is treasurer and a board member of Beckwith. She serves St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as a member of the vestry, Sunday school teacher, acolyte adviser, confirmation mentor, lay Eucharist minister and lector.

Russell Goode, M.D., is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic traumatologist at Gulf Orthopaedics. He received his medical degree from the USA College of Medicine in 2010. He recently was voted to the Infirmary Physician Alliance executive board and serves as a board member of the Frederick N. Meyer Residents Fund, a nonprofit organization providing resources and scholarships to orthopaedic residents.

William Pitts, M.D., is a board-certified pulmonologist and intensivist at Pulmonary Associates of Mobile. He graduated from the USA College of Medicine in 2010 and serves as an adjunct faculty member. At his current practice, he played an important role in the practice’s relocation to west Mobile while keeping patient flow, comfort and safety at the top of the priority list.

See the full list of 40 Under 40.

Meet a Med Student: Renee Ivy

Renee Ivy

Age: 23

Class of: 2024

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Ga.

Undergrad/grad institution: University of Alabama

Degrees earned: Bachelor of Science in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry

Interests, hobbies: Spending quality time with my boyfriend and puppies, hiking, being involved in church and cooking new recipes.

Something unique about me: I have had nine surgeries. I am a former ballerina. I'm pretty terrified of turtles.

Three of my favorite things: Coffee, puppy snuggles and porch swings

What I enjoy most about being a student at the USA College of Medicine: My classmates! I sound like a broken record from all of the other "Meet a Med Student" features, but it's the truth. The Class of 2024 is something special. Each person has their own unique skills and talents, and everyone is so kind, encouraging, supportive and loving that I would trust any of them to be my doctor in the future. It's a pretty cool feeling finding your best friends in medical school. Now I feel like I couldn't do life without my core group of friends in my class!

USA scientists find novel mechanism underlying castration-resistant prostate cancer

Mohammad Aslam Khan, Ph.D., a senior research associate at the Mitchell Cancer Institute, is studying a protein that supports the growth of prostate cancer when subjected to androgen deprivation therapy, also known as castration therapy.

Researchers at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute and the USA College of Medicine uncovered a novel mechanism that underlies castration therapy resistance in metastatic prostate cancer. Their findings were published recently in the British Journal of Cancer.

Patients whose cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland receive a type of hormone therapy, known as androgen deprivation therapy or castration therapy, as a first line of treatment. However, most patients with metastatic prostate cancer undergo relapse, and the cancer comes back in a more aggressive castration-resistant form. This type of prostate cancer also does not respond favorably to alternative therapies, eventually leading to the patient’s death. 

“Our findings unfold a novel mechanism underlying the failure of castration therapy and identify MYB as a target protein of interest,” said Mohammad Aslam Khan, Ph.D., a senior research associate at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and one of the project’s lead investigators. “We show that MYB supports the growth of prostate cancer when subjected to castration therapy by interacting and sustaining the transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor.”

Khan said their findings would push for the development of novel therapeutic approaches that either directly target MYB or block its interaction with the androgen receptor. “MYB may also be used as a biomarker to predict the response of patients to castration therapy beforehand, thus saving patients from unnecessary treatment and financial burden,” he said.  

Sanjeev Srivastava, Ph.D., formerly a researcher at the MCI and currently an analytical scientist at Johnson & Johnson, co-led the project. Contributing authors include Seema Singh, Ph.D., a member of the Cancer Biology Program at the MCI and professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine; Elliot Carter, M.D., professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine; and Ajay Singh, Ph.D., head of the Cancer Biology and Cancer Health Disparities Programs at the MCI and professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine. This research was funded through a grant awarded to Ajay Singh, Ph.D., by the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health.

Khan expressed his gratitude to the research team for their collaboration, guidance and support. “I also would like to thank the Mitchell Cancer Institute and Department of Pathology for outstanding facilities and a scientific environment that nurtures young scientists like me,” he added. 

Read the full article in the British Journal of Cancer.