Thursday, January 30, 2025

Spencer named business manager of Whiddon COM

Mona Spencer
Mona Spencer, who has been with the University of South Alabama since 2001, has been promoted to business manager of the Whiddon College of Medicine. 

“Over the past several years, Mona has taken on comprehensive responsibilities associated with the South Alabama Medical Science Foundation and has excelled in every aspect of her role,” said Maya Mirzoeva, MBA, associate dean of finance and administration at the Whiddon College of Medicine. “Her deep understanding of her position and her effective management of her duties have significantly enhanced our operations. Her hard work and commitment have not gone unnoticed, and I firmly believe this promotion is well-deserved.”

Spencer started her career in the Whiddon College of Medicine Business Office as an accountant and worked her way up to her previous position of associate business manager. In her 23 years of service thus far, she has enjoyed her pleasant work environment and the beauty of the university’s campus. 

“The most rewarding aspect of my job and working for the College of Medicine is that I enjoy executing my daily responsibilities, and I take pride in knowing the work that I perform facilitates the education and work of medical professionals, the USA Health system and the University of South Alabama.”

Pediatrics residents match at their top choices for fellowships

Pediatrics residents share their fellowship matches.
The latest class of pediatrics residents from USA Health recently matched into their top choices for subspecialty fellowships at prestigious hospitals and health systems across the United States. 

“We could not be prouder of our residents. They've worked so hard and truly earned their top choices,” said Haidee Custodio, M.D., pediatrics residency program director at USA Health and professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama. “I would also like to extend our thanks to our amazing attendings for their unwavering support and encouragement along the way.” 

Here are the pediatrics residents, their specialties, and where they matched for fellowships:  

  • Maya Augustine, M.D., pediatric gastroenterology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine  
  • Liliana Arriola Montenegro, M.D., pediatric infectious diseases, Children’s Hospital of Colorado, University of Colorado 
  • Shaira Bedi, M.D., pediatric nephrology, Stanford Children’s Health  
  • Ana Flores, M.D., pediatric endocrinology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine   
  • Audrey Gunn, D.O., pediatric rheumatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital 
  • Zoha Nizami, M.D., pediatric emergency medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan 
  • Tyler Tolleson, M.D., pediatric cardiology, Johns Hopkins 
  • Reham Yehia, M.D., pediatric endocrinology, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles 

Residents in the Med-Peds residency program also recently matched for subspecialty fellowships. They are: 

  • Shilpa Joseph, M.D., adult hematology-oncology, Hackensack University Medical Center 
  • Gannon Ray, M.D., adult hematology-oncology, USA Health 

Additionally, Deena Wafadari, M.D., a graduate of the program from the Class of 2017, also matched this year to Boston Children's Hospital (at Harvard) in allergy-immunology. 

The three-year pediatrics residency program at USA Health is a university-based initiative designed to prepare residents to enter practice as general pediatricians or for subspecialty training. The goal of the program is to prepare the pediatricians-in-training to practice effective primary care pediatrics in the community, while simultaneously providing flexibility, allowing those interested in subspecialty training, academic pediatrics, and research the necessary background to pursue those professional goals. 

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

SciComm bootcamp to focus on transformative communication

Whether a physician, scientist, or both, communicating difficult scientific concepts is more than a skill — it's an art.

The Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development will host “SciComm Bootcamp: Your Gateway to Transformative Communication” on Tuesday, April 1, in the Strada Patient Care Center first-floor conference room (1101). A morning session is set for 8 to 11 a.m., and an afternoon session is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m.

“Communicating the difficult concepts of science is essential to easing the fears of patients, presenting your work, and promoting scientific education.,” said Natalie Bauer, Ph.D., assistant dean for admissions at the Whiddon College of Medicine.

Past participant Peyton McElroy, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical education, described the bootcamp as “a great way to learn crucial skills regarding how to communicate the value of my work with people outside of my field.” She added that the experience was “eye-opening, humbling, and helpful all at once.”

Program highlights:

  • Transform scientific communication through improvisation
  • Learn to engage diverse audiences
  • Build confidence in presenting complex ideas
  • Fun, interactive skill-building activities
  • 3 CME credits

To register for the bootcamp, fill out the Google Form.

Whiddon COM researchers and high school students land publication in biology journal

Students from the Alabama School of Mathematics and 
Science, from left, are Kingston Barnes, Kahyeon Jeon, 
Alayla Roussell and Kimberly Gregson.
Four Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS) student interns recently received co-author credits on a paper before they graduated from high school, thanks to their work with Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine researchers. 

During the summer of 2024, four high schoolers assisted in the investigation of small-RNA production in colon cancer, along with Glen Borchert, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, second-year medical student Noel Godang, and biomedical sciences major Anita Nguyen. 

Findings from the project, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, were recently published in microPublication Biology, a peer-reviewed journal that presents high-quality data and original research relevant to members of the science community interested in biological sciences.    

The ASMS students who received co-author credits are Kingston Barnes, Kahyeon Jeon, Alayla Roussell, and Kimberly Gregson. 

Borchert, whose daughter attends ASMS but was not involved in this project, speaks often at the state's only public residential high school for upper-level students seeking advanced studies in mathematics and science. School leaders also help to identify students interested in taking part in research projects, often much earlier in their educational journeys than if they attended a typical high school. 

“Pure science is the real driver of technological innovation,” Borchert said. “That said, most kids that excel at math and science are directed toward careers in medicine and/or engineering from a very early age and very few are exposed to actual scientific research until late in their undergraduate experiences, if ever at all.” 

From left, Anita Nguyen, Kahyeon Jeon, medical student 
Noel Godang and Kimberly Gregson. Team members 
not pictured: Alayla Roussell and Kingston Barnes.
While in high school, Nguyen said she didn’t have access to research projects like this, but now that is changing as they are expanding growth and learning opportunities for students. She found it rewarding to inspire curiosity among younger students.  

“It's very gratifying to have worked with very brilliant young minds,” she said. “It makes me wish I were as smart as they were in high school, and these students from ASMS made a great decision by starting their research journey early on. I believe it is especially important to engage younger minds in science and research because they can also bring new perspectives to the project.” 

Godang, an ASMS graduate, considers himself very fortunate to be a part of the tradition of providing learning opportunities like this.  

“ASMS has always been great at providing opportunities to branch out of the traditional high school education to internships and partnership opportunities within the community,” he said. “During my time at ASMS, the faculty were incredibly supportive of students who wanted to partake in these internships.” 

Before he graduated high school, Godang participated in a summer research internship at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. He then joined Borchert’s lab during his freshman year at the University of South Alabama and started doing research on topics related to non-coding RNAs. Along the way, he has worked with undergraduate and graduate students, so he enjoyed the opportunity to share what he has learned. 

“Seeing the enthusiasm and curiosity in these ASMS students reminded me of my own early days in research. It was exciting to potentially spark a lifelong interest in science in these young, brilliant minds,” he said. “As a mentor, I had also learned so much from them as their fresh perspectives and questions often led to new ways of thinking about our research.” 

In addition to mentoring students on the project, Godang, who said he could relate to them as a former ASMS student himself, was able to provide insights about the transition from high school to college and beyond.  

“I believe involving younger students in research experiences can help increase overall scientific literacy, which would help create a more informed and scientifically aware society,” Godang said. “My experiences at ASMS had undoubtedly influenced my decision in wanting to pursue medicine, and I hope the experience that these ASMS students gained this summer makes them more curious about future careers as well.”