Next Week's DSS - Dr. Kathyrn Haskins

The next Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will be presented by Dr. Kathyrn Haskins, professor in the integrated department of immunology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus.

The lecture, titled "Pathogenic CD4 T Cells in Type 1 Diabetes and Their Autoantigens," will take place April 5, 2012, at 4 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building auditorium on USA's main campus.

Dr. Haskins' research is focused on the mechanisms and regulation of pathogenesis in the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes (TID) and the role of CD4 T cells in the disease process.

Dr. Haskins received a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of Kansas and completed postdoctoral training in immunology at National Jewish Hospital in Denver.

For more information on Dr. Haskins' research, click here.

USA Center of Excellence to Host 2012 Symposium

The University of South Alabama Center of Excellence will be hosting its 2012 Symposium on April 13, 2012.

The symposium, titled “Community and Academia: Partners for Eliminating Health Disparities and Promoting Equity in Care,” will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Via! Health, Fitness & Enrichment Center at 1717 Dauphin St. in Mobile.

The purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum to foster a meaningful dialogue between community members, community agencies and organizations, and USA faculty, staff and students. The dialogue will center on issues of importance to health disparate groups of the Mobile community.

The symposium will feature four concurrent "Action Oriented Conversations" focusing on the topics of: Education & Youth, Family, Workforce & Employment, and Health. For each of the topics, groups of 15 to 30 symposium participants will gather to engage in a discussion led by a facilitator.





Tara Taylor will be the keynote speaker for the conference. Taylor has worked for the YMCA of Greater Cleveland for eight years, starting as the fitness coordinator at the Euclid YMCA and later transitioning to program director for the We Run This City Youth Marathon Program.

Taylor also served as program director for the Go Fit! program, a public health initiative between Cleveland Clinic, the YMCA, the City of Cleveland and Curves. She currently teaches at Cleveland Clinic Employee Wellness Center and Cleveland State University Recreation Center.

The event will also feature Dr. Michael O. Minor, a champion of faith-based health and wellness mobilization.

As a community organizer for nearly 20 years, Dr. Minor has worked on community empowerment, non-profit business development, and faith-based initiative issues. He currently serves as the undershepherd of the Oak Hill Baptist Church in Hernando, Miss., and is the national director for health and human services of the National Baptist Convention.

The University Of South Alabama Center Of Excellence for Health Disparities is a federally funded program to aid institutions which address the inequality of health care within their community and region.

The symposium is open to USA faculty and University Centers/Departments staff. Limited registration
slots for USA students are available.

Registration for the 2012 Symposium is free, but reservations are required.

To pre-register and to view the symposium brochure, visit www.usahealthsystem.com/2012-symposium. For more information call (251) 414-8001.

Surgeon-In-Chief at University Hospitals Case Medical Center to Present Frazer/Leigh Memorial Lecture

Dr. Jeffrey L. Ponsky, Oliver H. Payne Professor and chair of the surgery department at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, will present two CME accredited lectures in April.

Both talks are open to all medical professionals and are made possible through the Dr. Emmett B. Frazer and Dr. Milton M. Leigh Endowments at the University of South Alabama department of surgery.

Dr. Ponsky will present the first lecture, “Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery,” on April 19, 2012. There will be a reception starting at 6:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 7:30 p.m. at the USA Faculty Clubhouse on USA’s main campus.

His second lecture, titled “The Evolution of Surgical Endoscopy: Its Impact on Surgical Training,” will take place April 20, 2012, at 7 a.m. at the conference room located on the second floor of the USA Medical Center at 2451 Fillingim St.

Throughout his career, Dr. Ponsky has received numerous awards including the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's Rudolf Schindler Award, the highest recognition award for excellence in endoscopic research, teaching and service. He is the originator of the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, which provided a minimally invasive substitute for operative placement of feeding tubes.

Dr. Ponsky is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of numerous surgical societies. He has published more than 200 original articles and book chapters, authored or edited five textbooks and serves on the editorial board of eight journals.

This annual memorial lecture, funded by community surgeons and the USA Department of Surgery, is given to honor the legacy of Dr. Emmett B. Frazer and Dr. Milton M. Leigh as leaders in clinical service and graduate surgical education in the Mobile community.

For more information on both lectures, contact the department of surgery at (251) 471-7993.

Students, Residents and Faculty Named to USA Chapter of Gold Humanism Honor Society

Every year, eight senior medical students, three residents and one faculty member are selected by their classmates to be named to the University of South Alabama Chapter of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society.

The rising senior class at USA selects those who have demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service.

Recently, the following USA students, residents and faculty were selected:

Christopher Eckstein MD - assistant professor of neurology
Christopher Swift MD - medicine resident
Ethan Gore MD - neurology resident
Christin Taylor MD - obstetrics/gynecology intern
Laura E. Jelf - student
William Kilgo - student
Emile Kleyn - student
William B. Moore - student
John C. Moultrie - student
Sonia I. Savani - student
Kaci D. Sims - student
Joseph S. Wehby Jr. - student

The honorees will be recognized at this year's White Coat Ceremony on June 23 at 10 a.m. at the USA Mitchell Center. During the ceremony, rising third-year medical students will be cloaked with their first white coats, the traditional dress of physicians for more than 100 years. Click here to read about last year's White Coat Ceremony.

2012 Gumbo Chili Showdown

The fourth annual Gumbo Chili Showdown was held March 24, 2012, preceding the University of South Alabama Jaguars Spring Game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The event supports a scholarship created in memory of Regan Robinson, a medical student at USA who was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer in 2003 at the age of 23. The scholarship provides assistance to a rising senior medical student who embodies Regan’s spirit and character.

Snapshots from this year's event are shown below.