COM Employees Show School Spirit

College of Medicine employees in the Medical Sciences Building on USA's main campus recently decorated the halls for USA's Homecoming events this week. Pictured on the 2nd floor of the Medical Sciences Building are (from left to right) Kelly Wood, Susan Sansing, Sue Reinhardt, and Amy Clay.

The USA Jaguars will play Florida Atlantic University on Saturday, Oct. 20th, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. To view a complete list of Homecoming activities, click here.

 

Department of Pediatrics Hosts Residents Day

Dr. Mhd Wael Alrifai presents his work
at Residents Day

The University of South Alabama Department of Pediatrics hosted its annual Residents Day on Oct. 12th, 2012. At the event, 13 senior residents in the pediatrics residency program presented their required scholarly work to fellow residents, faculty and students.

Dr. Rosina Connelly, associate director of the pediatrics and residency program and assistant professor of pediatrics at USA, said the program requires scholarly activity in one of three options: research, quality improvement or community advocacy projects.

Residents choose a topic and faculty advisor, and then work on their scholarly activity for the first two years of their training.

“It is a great opportunity to foster scholarly work and collaboration between residents and faculty within the department,” Dr. Connelly said. “Participation in scholarly activities furthers the medical career for residents who are pursuing fellowship training by helping them become familiar with scientific methodology and research procedures.”

Dr. Connelly said many of the projects presented will also be submitted to the Southern Societies Meeting in New Orleans.

In addition, the pediatrics department bestows the Charles Hoff Award for excellence in scholarly activity to the resident and his/her faculty advisor with the best project, as chosen by evaluations from faculty members in the department. The recipient of this award is made known at the end of the academic year, during the graduation banquet in June.

Dr. Connelly said this year marked the 10th anniversary for the residents’ presentations.

The residents’ abstracts can be viewed here.

This Week's DSS - Dr. Ivor Benjamin

The next Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will feature Dr. Ivor J. Benjamin, director of the University of Utah's Laboratory of Cardiac Disease, Redox Signaling and Cell Regeneration.

The lecture, titled "Models of Inheritable Protein Misfolding Cardiac Diseases Reveal New Insights on Redox Metabolism," will take place Oct. 18, 2012, at 4 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building auditorium on USA's main campus.

Dr. Benjamin’s clinical interests are inheritable cardiomyopathies, skeletal and cardiac myofibrillar diseases, heart failure, and regenerative medicine. He splits his time between laboratory work and clinical work at both the University of Utah Hospital and the Salt Lake City VA Hospital.

From 2003 to 2009, he was the division chief of cardiology and held the Christi T. Smith Endowed Chair in Cardiology Research at the University of Utah. As the Christi T. Smith Endowed Chair and division chief, Dr. Benjamin prioritized building and enhancing the civision of cardiology and fostering the translation of basic cardiovascular research into the clinic at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Benjamin received his B.A. from Hunter College at the City University of New York in 1978 and his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1982. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine in 1985, and a cardiology fellowship at the Cardiovascular Institute, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, University of Chicago in 1988. Dr. Benjamin completed an AHA-Bugher Fellowship in molecular cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (1990-1992).

In 1999, Dr. Benjamin was elected into the American Society of Clinical Investigation and, in 2005, into the Association of American Physicians.

Dr. Benjamin has been active in several medical societies including service as president of the Dallas Division of Texas Affiliate, American Heart Association (2001-2002); a member of the Task Force on Council Resources, American Heart Association (1998-present); chair of the Scientific Publishing Committee (2005-2007); American Heart Association (2001-2005); and Vice President, Council for Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, American Heart Association (2003-2004).

He has served in a number of capacities in national organizations including an appointment to the NHLBI Board of Scientific Counselors. Dr. Benjamin has a life-long commitment to mentorship and medical education. He has served on the Scientific Board and Board of the Stanley Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He is actively engaged in international research collaboration with Leducq Foundation Transatlantic Network of Excellence. As a distinguished medical educator, he currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Andreoli and Carpenter’s Essentials of Medicine (Elsevier Press).

For more information on Dr. Benjamin’s research, click here.

October Med School Café - 'What Every Woman Should Know about Breast Cancer'

The October Med School Café lecture will feature Dr. Lynn Dyess, professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine.

Her lecture, titled “What Every Woman Should Know about Breast Cancer,” will take place Oct. 24, 2012, at the USA Faculty Club on USA’s main campus. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation begins at noon.

Dr. Dyess will lecture on breast cancer as part of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During the talk she will include information on the diagnosis and prevention of breast cancer, as well as current and emerging treatment options.

The Med School Café lecture and lunch are provided free of charge, but reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, please call Kim Partridge at (251) 460-7770 or e-mail kepartridge@usouthal.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by the USA Physicians Group. Each month, faculty from the USA College of Medicine share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available.

Dr. Joan Reede Presents Lecture at USA

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Cultural Competence hosted a Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Awareness lecture on Oct. 10, 2012.

Dr. Joan Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership and director of the minority faculty development program at Harvard University, was the guest speaker.

Dr. Reede was appointed as the first dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard University in January 2002.

Click here to view more photos from the event.

To learn more about Dr. Reede, click here and here.