USA Sickle Cell Center Hosts Grand Opening of Learning Resource and Development Center

The University of South Alabama Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center held a grand opening for its Learning Resource and Development Center on Sept. 12, 2016.

At the event, pediatric patients had the opportunity to learn about the new center and its resources, as well as meet medical staff, including new adult nurse practitioner Jessica King.

The Learning Development and Resource Center (LRDC) is part of the Sickle Cell Center’s Pediatric to Adult Care Transition Program (PACT), which bridges the gap between pediatric and adult health care for patients with sickle cell disease. PACT currently serves 47 clients. Dr. Johnson Haynes, director of USA’s Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, said that patients in the program are “prepared when they transition from the pediatric world of nurturing to what the world expects them to be, independent and effective in their own right.”

“There has always been a very strong group of pediatric professionals, but there has been a shortage, not just locally, but nationally, in terms of doctors and allied health professionals who have been willing to care for sickle cell patients.” said Dr. Haynes, who is professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine. He wants clients in transition from pediatric to adult care to understand the complexities of adult health care and the insurance industry so that they have the best tools to create confidence as adult patients.

The LRDC will give PACT clients tools to empower them to succeed not just in their health, but also in the work force. “We will facilitate resources for their academic development and expose them to things such as college prep or vocational services that may provide support in their career paths,” Dr. Haynes said. “For many, it will be a matter of providing them something that we take for granted, and that’s access to computers to do schoolwork, apply to colleges, or submit job applications. We want to be a resource and facilitate individuals with sickle cell disease to become whole adults in terms of being prepared to deal with their adult lives.”

The resources available from PACT and the LRDC complement services provided by the community-based sickle cell organization, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America- Mobile Chapter.

Dr. Haynes is grateful for community support. “I’d just like to say thanks to the community, because the LRDC would not exist without their emotional and financial support.”

For more information about PACT, contact coordinator Tshemika Perryman at 251-470-5893. Click here to learn more about USA’s Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center.

View more photos from the grand opening here.

Reminder: USA Health to Host Welcome Reception for New Physicians

Row 1, from left: Dr. Phillip Henderson, Dr. Scott Patterson, Dr. Moh'd Khushman, Dr. Christopher Jones, Dr. Osama Abdul-Rahim. Row 2, from left: Dr. Preston Daugherty, Dr. Stephen Bowden, Dr. Hani Sabahi, Dr. Marirose Trimmier, Dr. Steve Cordina. Row 3, from left: Dr. Stephen Snypes, Dr. Weisi Yan, Dr. Curtis Turner, Dr. Charles Hartin Jr., Dr. Kane Schaphorst. Row 4, from left: Dr. Markus Lammle, Dr. Kevin Bradley, Dr. James West, Dr. Tracy Roth, Dr. Brian Gelpi. Row 5, from left: Dr. Clayton Smith, Dr. Kevin Everett, Dr. Elizabeth Park, Dr. John B. Howell, Dr. John Hunter.

The University of South Alabama is hosting a welcome reception for 24 new physicians who recently joined USA Health.

The event is open to the University community and will take place on Sept. 28, 2016, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital Cafeteria at 1700 Center Street in Mobile. Light refreshments will be served.

The following physicians will be recognized: 

Dr. Osama Abdul-Rahim
Interventional Radiology

Dr. Stephen Bowden
Emergency Medicine

Dr. Kevin Bradley
Radiology

Dr. Steve Cordina
Interventional Neurology

Dr. Preston Daugherty
Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Kevin Everett
Anesthesiology

Dr. Brian Gelpi
Anesthesiology

Dr. Charles Hartin Jr.
Pediatric Surgery

Dr. Phillip Henderson
Gastroenterology, Hepatology

Dr. John Hunter
Surgery

Dr. Christopher Jones
Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Moh’d Khushman
Medical Oncology

Dr. Markus Lammle
Neuroradiology

Dr. Elizabeth Park
Radiology

Dr. Scott Patterson
Burn/Trauma/Critical Care Surgery

Dr. Tracy Roth
Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Hani Sabahi
Gastroenterology

Dr. Kane Schaphorst
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Dr. Stephen Snypes
Anesthesiology

Dr. Clayton Smith
Radiation Oncology

Dr. Marirose Trimmier
Family Medicine

Dr. Curtis Turner
Pediatrics

Dr. James West
Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Weisi Yan
Radiation Oncology

To make an appointment with any USA Physician, call (251) 434-3711.

Sept. 22 DSS to Feature Dr. Michael Xi Zhu

The next Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will feature Dr. Michael Xi Zhu, professor of integrative biology and pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in Houston, Texas.

The lecture, titled “TRPC4 Channel Regulation and Function,” will take place Sept. 22, 2016, at 4 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building on USA's main campus.

Dr. Zhu earned both his master of science degree and Ph.D. from the University of Houston. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine. His interests include ion channels for calcium signaling.

The lecture series is comprised of distinguished scientists from other academic institutions who are invited by the USA College of Medicine basic science departments to present a seminar showcasing their latest research findings. Faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to attend.

Learn more about Dr. Zhu here.

Dr. Steve Lim Awarded AHA Grant

Dr. Steve Lim, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, recently was awarded a $154,000 two-year research grant from the American Heart Association to study treatment options for vessel-narrowing diseases.

Dr. Lim's research aims to gain insight into the role focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays in smooth muscle cell (SMC) plasticity via epigenetic gene expression. “Excessive growth of vascular SMC is a fundamental problem in occlusive cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis,” Dr. Lim explained. “In many cases, abnormal SMC growth following medical intervention, such as balloon angioplasty or bypass surgery, also results in re-narrowing of the vessel.”

According to Dr. Lim, there is a need to develop better and more efficient systemic treatment options that would work on smaller arteries and vessels, as current treatment options for vessel-narrowing diseases are limited to large-sized arteries and are only effective in a small area.

Through previous research, Dr. Lim found that FAK activity is critical in promoting SMC proliferation. “Targeting FAK activity with small molecule FAK inhibitors might prove beneficial in preventing abnormal SMC growth,” Dr. Lim said.

Dr. Lim said this research has the potential to greatly impact patient care. “Since there is currently a lack of therapeutics for the treatment of small vessel occlusions, which commonly occur in diabetic patients, this research could provide a new therapy for those patients,” Dr. Lim said. “Oral FAK inhibitors are currently being tested in human clinical trials as a cancer therapy; they might also prove helpful in treating these vascular complications.”

The research is a collaboration between several researchers at USA including Dr. David Weber, associate professor of physiology at the USA College of Medicine; Dr. Erin Ahn, associate professor of oncologic sciences; and Dr. Jung-Hyun Kim, a postdoctoral fellow working in Dr. Ahn’s lab at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute.

Dr. Susan Baker Appointed Interim Chair

Dr. Susan Baker, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, has been appointed interim chair of the USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Baker joined the USA College of Medicine faculty in 1993 and during the past 23 years has provided outstanding leadership for the department, particularly in the area of high-risk obstetrics. She is a maternal-fetal physician and director of the maternal fetal medicine division with USA Physicians Group.

Dr. Baker earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she also completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology and her fellowship training in maternal-fetal medicine.