Whiddon COM alumna returns to USA Health as hospitalist

Katherine Glosemeyer, M.D., a 2018 graduate of the Whiddon College of Medicine, recently returned to USA Health as a hospitalist. She will see patients at University Hospital with occasional consults at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. She also will serve as an assistant professor of internal medicine. 

“The diversity of clinical scenarios and pathology within internal medicine drew me to become a hospitalist,” she said. “Inpatient medicine challenges me in the art of history-taking, diagnosis and treatment. The ultimate reward is facilitating patient care with an interdisciplinary team as we help patients navigate through a complex healthcare system.” 

Glosemeyer, certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, has practiced private hospital medicine and served as a hospice medical director before transitioning to academic medicine at her alma mater. 

“I wanted the opportunity to teach clinical care to resident physicians and medical students at an established academic institution that is committed to the delivery of patient-centered, evidence-based medical care,” she said regarding her choice to return to USA Health. 

Glosemeyer served as chief resident at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine - Huntsville Regional Medical Campus, where she completed her internal medicine residency. She graduated from the Whiddon College of Medicine, where she was recognized with the Award for Excellence in Curriculum Development in Clinical Skills and the John A. Desak Award.  

A lifetime member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the USA Medical Alumni Association, Glosemeyer was given the 2018 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which honors a graduating medical student for exemplifying outstanding humanism in medicine along with scientific excellence.  

Throughout her medical education, Glosemeyer has held multiple leadership roles, served on various committees, and was regularly recognized for her scholarship. She was active in supporting the community, such as her involvement with the USA Student-Run Free Clinic, and she has multiple publications and poster presentations to her credit. 

Meet a Med Student: Ryan McIlwain

Ryan McIlwain

Age: 23

Class: 2026

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Undergraduate education: B.S. in biology, University of Alabama

What do you enjoy most about being a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I have really enjoyed getting to know my classmates. Not only are my peers extremely talented, but I believe the Whiddon COM has done an excellent job recruiting great people as well. That, along with having a faculty that is deeply invested in my success, makes South a great place to be. 

Are you involved in any research, organizations or other initiatives at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I am involved in research projects investigating different surgical techniques to correct congenital spinal deformity, the Wellness Council mentorship program, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and various student interest groups. 

What are your interests and hobbies?
I enjoy exercising, playing golf, and watching college football. 

What is something unique about you?
I was a practice player for the Alabama women's basketball team while in college. 

OB/GYN Student Interest Group hosts period product drive through Feb. 9

The OB/GYN Student Interest Group is hosting its annual period product drive from Jan. 22 to Feb. 9. 

The student group is collecting feminine hygiene products such as pads, tampons, panty liners, period cups, adult diapers, underwear and sanitary wipes. All donations will be given to local shelters supporting women in need.

Drop-off boxes are available at the following locations:

• Children’s & Women’s Hospital – back employee entrance and labor/delivery boardroom
• Strada Patient Care Center – third-floor break room
• Mastin Building – Office of Student Affairs
• Medical Sciences Building – Office of Student Affairs

Monetary donations may be made to Grace Dunbar, a second-year medical student who is organizing the drive, via Venmo @gracedunbar25. 

The OB/GYN Student Interest Group is a part of an international organization called PERIOD, which aims to eradicate period poverty and stigma through service, education and advocacy.

Grelet presents research at mitochondria conference in Berlin

Simon Grelet, Ph.D., presents at the World

Mitochondria Society's annual meeting.

Simon Grelet, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Whiddon College of Medicine, delivered a talk in the fall at an international conference on targeting mitochondria held in Berlin.  

His discussion focused on the recent development of a new technology that allows for the live reporting and lineage tracing of cell-to-cell transfers of mitochondria. Earlier in 2023, Grelet and his colleagues developed a provisional patent for the technology, which involves labeling cells that have received mitochondria from donor cells. 

Grelet’s lab – known as the Cancer Innervation & Neurobiology Laboratory – is based within USA Health’s Mitchell Cancer Institute.  

Recently, notes Grelet, the intercellular transfers of mitochondria have become an incredibly hot topic of research: “They consist of a cell-cell exchange of mitochondrial organelles and are observed in various physiological processes, including immune response, tissue regeneration, development, and neuronal activity.” These transfers also play crucial roles in pathological conditions such as infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory dysfunction, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer, he said. 

“Despite its significance, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, particularly in disease states, remains elusive,” Grelet said, “largely due to a lack of reliable methodologies for tracking the fate of the cells involved.” 

So, to date, technologies that specifically highlight this process don’t exist, he said. 

Because of that, Grelet’s lab developed a set of genetic reporters for the live illumination of the cells involved in these transfers and the permanent labeling of those cells. This method allows for the screening of the genetic mediators of mitochondria transfers but also to follow the fate of the involved cells in vitro and in vivo, he said. 

It remains a relevant topic as the field is emerging, and the exact consequences of this transfer in cell biology are still unclear. The current literature presents various impacts that are based on the biological context.  

“Our goal is to help to expand this field of research by enabling the screening of various biological conditions, genetic mediators, or drugs that could influence this process but also isolate the involved cells or follow their fate, in a goal of better understanding the physiological and pathological function of these transfers in health and disease and the clinical relevance of their targeting,” Grelet said. 

The World Mitochondria Society's conference in Berlin was dedicated to mitochondrial biology and how mitochondria could be used or targeted for therapeutic purposes. Gregory Hoover and Olivia Curley, described by Grelet as exceptional research technologists in his lab, “have been deeply involved in this project, and their hard work, dedication, and engagement have been instrumental in bringing the project to the level it is now.”