Thursday, December 4, 2025

USA Health residents and fellows present multiple posters at annual GI meeting

Omsai Meka, M.D.; Lauren Healey, D.O.; Adriana Reyes, M.D.; Shausha Farooq, M.D.; Will Basegoda, M.D.; and Will Gannaway.
USA Health internal medicine residents and gastroenterology fellows made a strong impact at the 2025 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting, held last month in Phoenix, Arizona, where they showcased diverse, high-level clinical research. 

Eleven residents and fellows presented 15 posters over the three-day event. Fellows Hunter Dickson, D.O, and William Dungan, M.D., and internal medicine resident Rida Ahmad, MBBS, won ACG Presidential Poster Awards. 

“Representing USA Health at ACG along with my colleagues was an incredible experience,” said Omsai Meka, M.D., a second-year internal medicine resident. “I presented on a potential adverse effect of a biologic medication that we use regularly for IBD treatment as it is important to bring awareness of these effects. It was wonderful to see and learn about new advances in GI while connecting with new colleagues.” 

The residents and fellows who presented posters included:  

  • Dickson, who presented posters titled “New Onset Crohn’s Disease Following Secukinumab Therapy for Hidradenitis Suppurativa” (ACG Presidential Poster Award) and “A Rare Case of Gastric Myeloid Sarcoma in Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia” 
  • Dungan, who presented a poster titled “Coilodocholithiasis: ERCP Management of Biliary Obstruction from Gastroduodenal Artery Coil Migration” (ACG Presidential Poster Award) 
  • Cesar Moreno, M.D., a gastroenterology fellow, who presented a poster titled “Crohn’s Disease Unmasked by Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome” 
  • Robert Ousley, M.D., a gastroenterology fellow, who presented a poster titled “Complications of Vertical Banded Gastroplasty: A Case Highlighting Late Sequelae”  
  • Jessica Woodham, D.O., a gastroenterology fellow, who presented a poster titled “Immune-Mediated Colitis with Visible Endoscopic Changes and Lymphocytic Histologic Changes: A Diagnostic Conundrum”  
  • Ahmad, a second-year internal medicine resident, who was not able to attend, but her poster “Diabetic Ketoacidosis Complicated by Esophageal Perforation: A Case Report of Black Esophagus” was presented by a GI fellow in attendance 
  • Shausha Farooq, M.D., a third-year internal medicine resident, who presented “Aseptic Abscess Syndrome Causing Repeat Liver Abscess in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis” 
  • Lauren Healey, D.O, a third-year internal medicine resident, who presented posters titled “A Rare Case of CMV Presenting as an Ampullary Mass and Cholangitis in an Immunocompetent Patient” and “When Pancreatic Cyst Rupture Leads to Cytokine Storm: A Case of Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis”   
  • Adriana Reyes, M.D., a third-year internal medicine resident, who presented a poster titled “When the Right Side Goes Wrong: An Atypical Presentation of Isolated Right-Sided Colonic Ischemia in an Elderly Patient” 
  • Will Basegoda, M.D., a second-year internal medicine resident, who presented posters titled “Annular Pancreas Unveiled: An Incidental Finding in Alcoholic Pancreatitis” and “An Unusual Presentation of Obstructive Jaundice Due to Primary Hepatic Lymphoma” 
  • Comfort Jack, M.D., a second-year internal medicine resident, who presented a poster titled “IgG4-Related Hepatobiliary Disease Presenting as Biliary Stricture and Hepatic Mass: A Delayed Diagnosis”  
  • Meka, who presented a poster titled “Metastatic Primary Ovarian Melanoma Following TNF-α Inhibitor Use for Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease” 

These residents and fellows were joined at the national meeting by Preston Sonnier, M.D., a gastroenterologist at USA Health, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Whiddon College of Medicine, and director of the Section of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.  

“It was an honor to represent South Alabama at ACG, where I had the opportunity to present my posters, connect with people from across the country, and even reconnect with familiar faces,” Basegoda said. “The experience was unique and inspiring.”