USA Student-Run Free Clinic open again on Fridays in Mobile

After the COVID-19 pandemic prompted its closure to the general public two years ago, the University of South Alabama Student-Run Free Clinic (USA SRFC) has reopened to serve the area’s homeless residents.

The USA SRFC opened in 2014 as a student-led initiative to provide free healthcare to Mobile’s homeless and underserved population. This allows USA College of Medicine students to gain hands-on experience in a clinic setting, performing tasks such as physical exams, patient behavioral counseling and blood pressure screenings while helping to meet the healthcare needs of those who otherwise might not receive care.

 

During the pandemic, the clinic partnered with the Salvation Army’s residential rehab program in 2021 to provide counseling sessions for patients. These lessons focused on learning healthy coping mechanisms and mental health practices that patients could utilize after leaving the program.

Despite only being open to Salvation Army residents throughout 2021, the clinic saw 122 volunteers treat 291 patients, and received $1,000 in donations. 

  

The USA SRFC is open each Friday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. and is now seeing patients from the Salvation Army Dauphin Way Lodge and members of the general public. 

Still operating with a student-led team, the clinic offers free HIV testing, blood pressure and blood glucose screenings, general medical services, and basic hygiene products to those in need. The clinic accepts donations for patients, including deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and general medical supplies such as gloves, masks and glucometers. Monetary donations help to fund future research projects, clinic renovations and new medical supplies.

On Sunday, May 1, the SRFC is partnering with Chipotle, located at 3871 Airport Blvd., for a fundraising event from 5 to 9 p.m. During that time, a percentage of customer purchases will be donated to USA SRFC by entering the promo code “79ETV43” at check-out. 

Members of the Class of 2022 receive awards at honors ceremony

Brittany Jackson, second from right, winner of the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Scholarship, poses with Johnson Haynes, M.D., assistant dean of diversity and inclusion and professor of internal medicine. Runners-up, from left, are Elizabeth Hernandez, Yelitza Rodriguez and Gisella Ward.  

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine presented awards to select members of the Class of 2022 at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 27, in the USA Student Center Ballroom. The following is a listing of award recipients:

Dean’s Award: Devon Amelia Askins
Awarded to the graduating senior who has accumulated the highest scholastic grade point average for the full four years of medical school.

Merck Award: Christopher Edward Roberts Jr., Thomas M. Snead III
Awarded to senior students who have demonstrated superior academic achievement.

Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citations: Devon Amelia Askins, Regan Elizabeth Goocher, Hannah Granger, Katherine Bonner Kaak, Laurel Cassidy Sharp, Anna Robinson Wright
Presented to those women students who graduate in the top 10% of their class.

Dr. Robert A. Kreisberg Endowed Award of Excellence: Anna Robinson Wright
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: Brittany Shavon Jackson, Elizabeth Minto, 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: C. Zachary Aggen
Awarded to the senior student by vote of classmates, in recognition of outstanding leadership of the graduating class.

Excellence in Public Health Award: Gisella Addolorata Mancarella Ward
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.

Gregory Overbeek and Melody Zeidan received the

Community Service Award.

Community Service Award: Gregory J. Overbeek, Melody Marie Zeidan
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: Gisella Addolorata Mancarella Ward
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: John Powell Scarbrough
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: Elizabeth Del Carmen Hernandez
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: Katherine Bonner Kaak
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: Bradley H. Schuler
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: Aaron J. Chinners
Awarded to a graduating senior student who is interested in pursuing a career in internal medicine.

National Medical Fellowships Henrietta Lacks Memorial Scholarship: Brittany Shavon Jackson; Runners-up: Gisella Addolorata Mancarella Ward, Elizabeth Del Carmen Hernandez, Yelitza Rodriguez
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. The scholarship is given to an underrepresented minority student who has exemplified outstanding academic achievement, leadership, research and community service.

John A. Desak Award: Hannah Granger
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: Brandon Scott Rivers
Awarded to a graduating senior student specializing in radiology and committed to lifelong learning as exemplified by Dr. Steven Teplick.

Cooke-Scott Scholarship: Kevin Aria, Arslan Arshad, Devon Amelia Askins, Sarah Elizabeth Bignault, Evan Austin Chavers, Miranda K. Crowell, Kristen Benton Dzeda, Shyla R. Hossain, Zachary Thomas Lazzari, Tyeler Rayburn
Awarded to fourth-year medical students wishing to pursue a career in the neuroscience field (neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, ophthalmology) and who have demonstrated exemplary qualities and commitment to their field.

Outstanding Student in the Pre-Clerkship Curriculum: Devon Amelia Askins
Awarded to a graduating senior student for outstanding performance in the pre-clerkship curriculum.

Award for Excellence in Teaching Clinical Skills: Shyla R. Hossain
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 & Therapeutics Excellence Award: Katherine Bonner Kaak
Presented to a graduating senior student for demonstrating outstanding knowledge in basic and clinical pharmacology.

Hollis J. Wiseman Award for Excellence in Pediatrics: Elizabeth Del Carmen Hernandez
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: Madeline Marie Lear Tucker
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: Christian Tyler Hunter
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: Megan Kathleen Hood
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: Thomas Allen Boyd
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. This student has shown excellence above all peers during the orthopaedic rotations.

John W. Donald Memorial Award in Surgery: Ryan Thomas Heslin
Awarded to the senior student who best demonstrated clinical and academic excellence in the surgery clerkship.

H. C. Mullins, M.D. Award: Gisella Addolorata Mancarella Ward
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: Katherine Bonner Kaak
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: Alicia Carole Hereford
This award is presented by the Department of Emergency Medicine to the graduating medical student who best exemplifies outstanding performance in emergency medical care.

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

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

View more photos from the honors ceremony on Flickr.

Talking Ticks: New CDC podcast features USA scientist

Wilson R. Raney, a research technologist in microbiology and immunology, and Meghan Hermance, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, study the Asian Longhorned tick.

In a quest to better understand the interactions between ticks, viruses and mammals, scientist Meghan Hermance, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the USA College of Medicine, recently conducted research to determine if they could successfully infect a specific species of tick with a pathogen known as Heartland virus.

Turns out, with the use of tiny glass needles, tape and a microscope – and a very steady hand – they could. Exactly how they were able to infect live Asian Longhorned ticks and their offspring with the virus is the topic of a new research paper published in the March 2022 issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

While USA researchers demonstrated that Asian Longhorned ticks could be infected in a lab with Heartland virus, and then pass it to their offspring, further studies should be conducted, notes Hermance, to demonstrate whether this invasive tick native to Asia can transmit Heartland virus during co-feeding with other species of ticks found in North America. This form of co-feeding transmission between ticks on the same vertebrate host would be a major step in promoting the environmental spread of the virus.

Hermance, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the College of Medicine, was interviewed about tick infection and transmission of Heartland virus in a lab setting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s podcast Emerging Infectious Diseases. The interview was distributed April 14 on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.

During the discussion, Hermance explains the public health threat from ticks and why it’s critical to better understand the contributing factors related to emerging tick-borne virus transmission in the United States and beyond.

Discovered on a New Jersey farm in 2017, the invasive Asian Longhorned tick is unlike other parasites found in wooded areas. A single female tick can produce up to 2,000 fertile eggs at a time and doesn’t require a mate to reproduce. The pest represents a new and emerging disease threat because it appears to be capable of maintaining and transmitting North American tick-borne viruses, such as Heartland virus and Deer tick virus, which are closely related to the viruses this tick is known to transmit in Asia, Hermance said.

The new research, largely conducted by Wilson R. Raney, a research technologist in the Hermance lab, was funded by a two-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Listen to the interview in the Emerging Infectious Diseases podcast.

Read the research paper in Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

Faculty Spotlight: Debanjan Chakroborty, Ph.D.

Debanjan Chakroborty, Ph.D.

Title: Assistant professor of pathology

Joined the USA College of Medicine faculty: July 2021

What does your position in the USA COM/USA Health entail?
As an assistant professor in the pathology department and a faculty member at the Mitchell Cancer Institute, my position entails conceiving, performing and supervising basic/translational cancer research; obtaining extramural research funding for my research projects; and engaging in teaching and training graduate students, residents and postdoctoral fellows. 

What is your favorite or most rewarding part of your position?
The most rewarding part of my job is that I have the freedom to think independently and pursue my own research program. As a researcher as well as an educator, I get many opportunities to interact with people from diverse scientific and academic backgrounds. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had great mentors throughout my research career who were instrumental in shaping up my academic career. I would also like to pass on the same experience to my students. 

What research are you involved in?
The research focus of my lab is to understand the regulatory role of endogenous growth factors in cancer progression. We are studying how dysregulation of these growth factors regulates different aspects of tumor progression. The ultimate goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies targeting these factors.    

What is your advice for medical and graduate students?
The medical field is ever evolving, and practicing medicine has now become more evidence-based, where critical appraisal of new evidence and engagement with new ideas have become essential. I advise students to be actively engaged in research, as the experience will help them with critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. 

What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?
I am a sports and music enthusiast. I love playing soccer and cricket. I am a trained percussionist. I am fascinated by the different kinds of percussion instruments played in different parts of world, and I wish to play each one of them in my lifetime. I also love traveling to new places, meeting people and learning about the diverse cultures and different lifestyles.

One slide, three minutes: Graduate students compete in Elevator Pitch Symposium

Alexander Coley explains the role of genes in cancer
research. He won first place at the symposium.

Imagine that you’ve boarded an elevator with a research scientist. Before you reach your destination, the scientist gives a spiel about recent research – a CliffsNotes version of the many hours and days spent in the lab. You leave the interaction with raised eyebrows and an increased awareness of the work and its importance.

Such is the concept behind the 2022 Elevator Pitch Symposium, held Thursday, April 14, at the Medical Sciences Building at the USA College of Medicine. Ten students in the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program gave short presentations and competed for first, second and third place as chosen by five judges.

Graduate student Griffin Wright suggested the idea for the Elevator Pitch Symposium after having struggled to communicate his research and its importance to family members back home in Trussville, Alabama. “This made me realize that this is a critical skill for a scientist to have both in a professional and non-professional setting,” Wright said. “I thought this symposium would be a great opportunity for BMS graduate students to improve and refine this critical skill.”

In the competition, Alexander Coley, a graduate student in molecular and cell biology, won first place for his explanation of genes in cancer research that conjured images of mice, music and mechanics.

Saying that humans share most of their protein coding genes with mice, Coley said scientists are beginning to learn the true complexity of DNA lies in turning on and off large combinations of genes. “Just like the keys on a piano, different notes played at different times can produce wildly different compositions,” he said. “’Moonlight Sonata’ and ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ come from the same piano. The difference is which keys you push and when you push them.”

Similarly, human genes can tell the body to stop dividing and stop growing, he said. “When we have cancer, those ‘grow’ genes get turned on, and they stay on, much like a car whose gas pedal is stuck to the floor. Those ‘stop dividing and stop growing’ genes turn off like a car’s brakes being cut.”

Coley’s research looks at a new regulator of human genes known as long G4 regions. “Our data shows that these long G4 regions reach out and grab nearby genes telling them when to turn on and when to turn off,” he said. “What we’ve also found is that in cancer, these long G4 interactions are usually broken down. The result of this is we get deregulation of these long G4 associated genes.”

Coley’s work in the lab of Glen Borchert, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology, aims to search for and characterize the long G4 interactions to understand how the genome is regulated and how cancer works. Ultimately, the goal is to provide “a new targetable pathway to improve the lives of cancer patients,” he said.

Santina Johnson won second place for her explanation of how
smooth muscle cells in the lung regulate how humans breathe.

Santina Johnson, a graduate student in the vascular biology track, won second place for her talk explaining how smooth muscle cells in the lung work as part of a “mechanochemical” system to regulate how humans breathe.

“Smooth muscle cells surround your airway and actually control the diameter, the actual size, of the airway,” said Johnson, who works in the lab of Thomas Rich, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology. “How air goes in and out is controlled by how these cells either contract or relax (in response to certain triggers).”

Johnson said she seeks to understand how the cells react when they are exposed to continuous chemical and mechanical stresses and how they convert such signals into cellular responses.

“We’re studying the chemical calcium as well as the mechanical natural movements – contracting or relaxing – how those things are affected by different treatments,” she said. “We use fancy microscopes and different approaches to investigate how cells talk to each other.”

Smooth muscle tone largely is determined by the amount of calcium within the cell and is associated with changes in lung architecture and function in lung diseases, such as asthma.

Johnson said scientists in the lab ask questions such as: “What happens when we treat them with this drug?” and “How do they react with another? What about different combinations?” Ultimately, understanding how chemical and mechanical signals are regulated in the cells – and how cells communicate with each other – may aid in the development of therapies for pulmonary diseases, she said.

Sirin Saranyutanon won third place for her

talk about smoking and prostate cancer.

Sirin Saranyutanon, a doctoral student in the cancer biology track, won third place for her talk about smoking and prostate cancer.

“I know you know that smoking is bad for your health. It can cause lung cancer. We all know that, right?” she said. “But how much do we know about smoking and prostate cancer?”

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of death among men in the U.S.

Saranyutanon said that her project, in the lab of Ajay Singh, Ph.D., professor of pathology, aims to investigate the effects of nicotine in prostate cancer pathogenesis by assessing whether nicotine worsens prostate cancer, plays a role in metastasis, aids in drug resistance or suppresses the immune system.

“We will dig into the molecular level to find out what pathways, signaling mechanisms, proteins and mediators have been involved in these alterations,” she said. “We hope that our work can be useful for further clinical management and to caution the public more effectively about this risk lifestyle and stress-coping behavior, and raise more concerns about smoking policy issues.”

Meet a Ph.D. Student: Sunita Subedi Paudel

Sunita Subedi Paudel

Age: 32

Hometown: Pokhara, Nepal

Undergraduate/graduate institutions and degrees earned: University of Southern Mississippi, Master of Computational Physics

BMS Program track and year of study: Physiology and Cell Biology, Biomedical Engineering; fifth year

What research are you involved in? I work on the mechanical signaling components of the pulmonary endothelium involved in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

What do you enjoy most about being a doctoral student at the USA College of Medicine? Friendly community and my working space

What are your interests and hobbies outside of school and work? Playing with my kids, Denish and Delisha