Meet a Med Student: Alexander Polski

Alexander Polski

Age: 25

Class: 2024

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Undergraduate education: B.S. in biomedical sciences, Auburn University 

What do you enjoy most about being a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
The thing I enjoy most about the Whiddon College of Medicine is the small class size coupled with pre-clinical and clinical educators who truly care about our education and our path to becoming physicians and future leaders in the field of medicine. You get plenty of hands-on experience and one-on-one learning opportunities, and I feel well prepared to care for my patients next summer when I start my intern year in medicine.

Are you involved in any research, organizations or other initiatives at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I currently serve as vice president of the Habitat for Humanity Student Volunteer Organization and vice president of the Radiology Interest Group. I also do annual outreach to the Alpha Epsilon Delta pre-med organizations at USA and Auburn University to promote volunteering opportunities at United Cerebral Palsy's Camp SMILE summer camp.

What are your interests and hobbies?
I enjoy being in the outdoors whenever I can, whether it's at the beach here on the Gulf Coast or discovering a cool hiking trail in a new location. Lately, I've been enjoying working on my gardening skills.

What is something unique about you?
In 2020 and 2022, my fiancée and I completed two long-distance road trips from coast-to-coast, camping, hiking and biking at national parks, and visiting significant historic sites across the country. I have visited 18 of the 51 national parks in the contiguous United States so far!

Simpkins selected as AAFP Emerging Leader Institute Scholar

Natalie Simpkins, bottom row, far left, attended the American Academy of Family Physicians National Conference along with fellow representatives from the Whiddon College of Medicine. 

Natalie Simpkins, a third-year medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine, was selected as an American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Emerging Leader Institute (ELI) Scholar. The yearlong program focuses on ensuring the future of family medicine by increasing the number of leaders in the specialty and provides training for this important role.

Natalie Simpkins

A native of Opelika, Alabama, Simpkins said she is honored to be selected as one of 30 scholars out of all the medical students and family medicine residents who applied from across the United States. “The AAFP really saw the value of the ideas that I put forth to improve healthcare and the lives of our patients,” she said. “In essence, they said, ‘You've got all the qualities that make a leader in healthcare and in family medicine. Now let's make you one by developing a project that really means something.’” 

Simpkins is in the institute’s Personal and Practice Leadership track. Her project focuses on improving health literacy in the most underserved populations in Mobile with the hope of integrating assessment and education tools into the software of our clinics at USA Health. 

“This will hopefully make the process of determining a patient’s unique health literacy needs and educating the patient on those needs more seamless,” she said. “As I work through the process throughout the year, I'll be working with some amazing people from not only in USA Health system, but across the country as well, so it means a great deal to me that we can all come together to address something so vital.” 

Along with several representatives from the Whiddon College of Medicine and USA Health, Simpkins attended the AAFP National Conference in July. As an ELI Scholar, she had an additional two days of intensive training to develop her skills in project management and leadership at the start of the program. To complete her experience, she will present her project at the AAFP National Conference next summer in Kansas City, Missouri. 

“Throughout this process, the AAFP provides individualized leadership development and mentorship, which already has made me a more competent leader,” she said. “I'm extremely grateful for the privilege it has been so far, and I'm so excited to see where this not only takes me in my leadership, but also where it takes us in terms of health literacy for our patients.”  

Simpkins said she is grateful to everyone at USA who believed in her and helped her to apply for the institute. She is part of the Primary Care Pathway at the Whiddon College of Medicine, which enhances a student’s medical school experience to prepare them to practice primary care in rural and underserved areas. She is also a vice president of the Family Medicine Interest Group and a PEER (Peer Emotional and Educational Resilience) Supporter. 

Family medicine is a perfect fit for Simpkins. As she has progressed through medical school, she has realized she likes caring for every patient population, from newborn to geriatric, and she has enjoyed broad-scope training. 

“Practicing medicine to me has never only been about medicine; it has been about the relationships and the ‘whole’ patient: their relationships, home life, what they love to do and their struggles, along with their health,” she said. “In family medicine, I can have profound continuity of care, talk about the ‘whole’ patient, practice a true full scope, and make a difference in healthcare using what I've learned in the Primary Care Pathway and the Emerging Leaders Institute.” 

Bauer named assistant dean for admissions at Whiddon College of Medicine

Natalie Bauer, Ph.D.

Following a national search, Natalie Bauer, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology, has been appointed assistant dean for admissions at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. 

In her new role, Bauer will oversee the recruitment of a well-rounded student body, work with Whiddon College of Medicine faculty and staff to ensure the students are well prepared for the rigors of a medical career, and provide the strategic vision for admissions in the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree program.  

“Our admissions program has a history of success in seating exceptional M.D. classes,” Bauer said. “My primary goal is to continue this legacy and grow it as we strive to expand our class size moving into our new building. With the support of the excellent admissions office staff, we will be working on new recruiting initiatives over the next few years.”  

Bauer’s appointment follows the retirement of Jonathan Scammell, Ph.D., who had held the position since 2011. Over the past month, she worked closely with Scammell and the admissions staff to ensure a smooth transition in leadership. Additionally, Bauer is serving her second term on the college’s admissions committee and has been active in several admissions-focused subcommittees. 

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Bauer lead our admissions efforts, as she brings the perspective of a faculty member and researcher in the basic sciences as well as an alumna of the medical school to the role,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs. “Under her direction, the Whiddon College of Medicine will remain committed to growing and retaining an exceptional student body.”  

Bauer joined the faculty in 2007 as an assistant professor of pharmacology. Alongside her administrative role, Bauer will continue her teaching and research in the Department of Pharmacology and the USA Center for Lung Biology.  

Her research is focused on understanding the role of circulating extracellular vesicles in pulmonary vascular diseases such as pulmonary hypertension and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. She has been a primary or contributing author of more than 50 scientific publications.   

Bauer earned a Ph.D. in basic medical sciences with an emphasis on pulmonary vascular disease from the Whiddon College of Medicine. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular pulmonary research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Prior to joining the faculty at USA, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.