Alumni and friends celebrate 50 years of the Whiddon College of Medicine

More than 250 alumni and friends of the Whiddon College of Medicine attended the USA Medical Alumni Association Reunion Weekend and 50th Anniversary Celebration. The event was held June 8-11 at the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama. 

Bill Richards, M.D., and Errol Crook, M.D., were among the

50 People of Influence honorees.

Alumni, faculty and staff who have made a significant impact on the College and the communities they serve were recognized during the presentation of the 50 People of Influence Awards. Honorees were nominated by peers and selected by a 50th Anniversary Committee. 

Speakers for the weekend included Steven P. Furr, M.D., ’81; Benjamin P. Schrubbe, M.D., ’88; Robert W. Israel, M.D.; Antwan Hogue M.D., ’08; Candice P. Holliday, M.D., ’17; Julia T. Hunter, M.D., ’82; and Steven H. Stokes, M.D., ’80. Presentation topics ranged from culinary medicine and Project Inspire to medical marijuana and controlled substances. 

Make plans to join us for next year's Medical Alumni Reunion Weekend, June 20-22, 2024, at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, where we will honor classes ending in 4 and 9.

Join the MAA and be part of the 50th Anniversary Keepsake Book.

View the 50 People of Influence honorees.

View more photos from the reunion on Flickr.

SRFC to offer free screenings June 16

The Student-Run Free Clinic and AIDS Alabama South are hosting an HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C screening on Friday, June 16, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the Student-Run Free Clinic. The clinic is located at the Salvation Army, 1009 Dauphin St. in downtown Mobile. 

Join us for a free patient education session from 1 to 2 p.m. before clinic and help raise awareness. Volunteers who are interested in helping with the patient education session or clinic can sign up on the Google spreadsheet.

For more information, visit www.usasrfc.org. 

Medical students present cases at annual symposium

Medical students present their case reports at the annual symposium.

Rising fourth-year medical students at the Whiddon College of Medicine presented interesting, rare and novel case studies from their third-year rotations at the annual M3 Case Report Symposium on June 9 at the Strada Patient Care Center. The Class of 2024 submitted 50 poster presentations for this year’s symposium. 

“I just want to say thank you to all the students and the judges who participated in the event,” said medical student Jordan Ingram, who organized the symposium. “It is such an incredible opportunity for third-year students to learn about how to write a case report and subsequently present one in a poster format. We had such an amazing breadth of cases, and everyone did a great job.”

Saad Awan won first place for his poster presentation, “Cardioembolic Stroke from Left Atrial Cardiac Sarcoma.” Cardioembolic stroke, or stroke due to a clot originating from the heart, is most often encountered in the setting of an arrhythmia. However, it can occur in association with heart tumors, most of which are typically benign. One of the most common cardiac tumors is a cardiac myxoma. 

In this case, a 53-year-old female presented with a right middle cerebral artery stroke caused by a left atrial cardiac tumor, which was presumed to be an atrial myxoma. Following a successful operation, the tumor pathology was most consistent with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue around the bones. 

“This is very interesting because 87% of Ewing's sarcoma occurs in the long bones of pediatric and adolescent patients. Less than 5% of Ewing's sarcoma cases occur above the age of 40. Primary cardiac Ewing's sarcoma is even more rare,” Awan said. “All in all, this is a rare and interesting case given the type and location of the tumor, the age of the patient, and the diagnosis of cardioembolic stroke.” 

Isabelle Hudson took second place for her presentation on an uncommon vascular anomaly of the placenta, “The Peculiar Placenta: A Case of Placental Mesenchymal Dysplasia.” 

Andrew Washington and Jelani Bender received third place for their case report on sarcoidosis, “Spotty Skin, Spotty Spleen: What Does It Mean?”

View more photos from the symposium on Flickr.

Graduate students awarded Dean’s Predoctoral Fellowships

Three students in the Whiddon College of Medicine’s Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program were awarded this year’s Dean’s Predoctoral Fellowships. The one-year fellowship program offers up to three $30,000 awards annually to Ph.D. students with Whiddon College of Medicine faculty as primary mentors.

Edward Fiedler

Faculty sponsor: Wito Richter, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology

Project description: “Obesity continues its pandemic spread and has become a main driver of poor population health. Chronic, systemic inflammation is characteristic of pathologic obesity and is thought to perpetuate the disease and promote associated metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes or atherosclerosis. 

“Our lab has observed that the expression and activity of Type 4 cAMP-phosphodiesterases (PDE4s), a group of enzymes that inactivate the second messenger cAMP, are upregulated in models of obesity and overconsumption, and that genetic or pharmacologic inactivation of these enzymes in cell and animal models of obesity reduce inflammation, fat accumulation, and metabolic abnormalities. 

“With this Dean’s Fellowship, I will test the overall idea that PDE4 inactivation can break the vicious cycle between overconsumption and inflammation and identify specific PDE4 enzymes as novel therapeutic targets in obesity and metabolic disorders.”

Rachel Rodenberg

Faculty sponsor: Robert Barrington, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology

Project description: “Herpes stromal keratitis (HSK), caused by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infecting the cornea, is the leading cause of infectious blindness in developed countries. Treatment for this disease is challenging due to antiviral resistance, necessitating novel therapeutics to treat HSK. Our goal is to uncover novel therapeutic targets to treat HSK by investigating how immune cells provide protection in the HSV-1 infected cornea. 

“This award allows me to continue this exciting research. I am currently preparing my first manuscript, and with this support I'll also be attending a national conference to present our work. Lastly, receiving this competitive intramural award will make me more competitive for postdoctoral positions for the next stage in my career.” 

Amanda Tuckey

Faculty sponsor: Jon Audia, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology

Project description: “Amyloid-β (Aβ), a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology, has recently emerged as an antimicrobial peptide and a key component of the innate immune response. To gain further insight into the role of Aβ in innate immune responses, we infected wild-type and App knockout (KO) mice with P. aeruginosa. In addition to increased mortality, our infection model showed that App KO mice had fewer neutrophils in the lung at 48 hours post-infection compared to wild-type mice. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that is an important part of the immune system and helps the body fight infection. Strikingly, even with reduced neutrophil infiltration, a greater percentage of the neutrophils were immature in the App KO mice. Based on this, we reasoned that Aβ might signal to help recruit neutrophils into the lung. 

“To test this, we treated human lung endothelial cells with Aβ and showed an increase in surface expression of ICAM-1, which plays a critical role in neutrophil extravasation into tissues. Therefore, we hypothesize that Aβ is required to sustain neutrophil infiltration to limit lung injury during P. aeruginosa-induced sepsis. 

“I am very thankful for this award so I can continue developing this project and highlight a new Aβ signaling role.”