Meet a Med Student: Kara Nix

Kara Nix

Age: 23

Class of: 2025

Hometown: Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Undergraduate institution and degree earned: University of North Alabama, B.S. in industrial hygiene and chemistry

What do you enjoy most about being a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I enjoy the smaller class sizes and how it breeds more camaraderie and collaboration between students instead of competition. 

Are you involved in any research, organizations or other initiatives at the College of Medicine?
I am currently a Primary Care Pathway Scholar, one of our class Wellness Officers, fundraising chair for the Family Planning and Reproductive Health Interest Group, and part of the Culinary Medicine and Lifestyle Interest Group. The past two semesters, I've also volunteered at weekly English classes through Dwell Mobile. 

What are your interests and hobbies?
I love anything outdoors, especially running in new places and hiking cool trails. Also, scoping out the next best iced almond milk latte is a favorite (albeit expensive) pastime of mine. 

What is something unique about you?
I ran a full marathon while in college (spoiler alert: it hurt).

Prakash awarded 2022 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research

From left, Richard Honkanen, Ph.D., professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology; Ash Prakash, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Arlene Mitchell; and Martin Heslin, M.D., M.S.H.A., director of the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. Prakash is the 2022 recipient of the Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research.

Cancer researcher Aishwarya Prakash, Ph.D., has been named the recipient of the 2022 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research. 

Prakash is an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine and heads the structural biology facility at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. 

The $10,000 award is presented annually to a promising scientist at the Mitchell Cancer Institute upon the recommendation of a faculty committee. The award was established in 2009 by University of South Alabama Trustee Arlene Mitchell in memory of her late husband, Mayer Mitchell, a Mobile businessman, longtime USA trustee and formative figure in the establishment of the MCI. 

“Dr. Prakash is very deserving of this award. She is a diligent and innovative researcher who also is committed to mentoring and educating young scientists at the Whiddon College of Medicine,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs.

Since joining the MCI in 2016, Prakash has focused her lab on environmental agents that induce DNA damage and their impact on cancer formation and progression. 

Supported by grant funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Prakash conducts structural and functional studies of DNA repair complexes in the mitochondria. She also studies gene-environment interactions that drive cancer progression in individuals with Lynch syndrome, a DNA repair deficiency syndrome that puts people at a much higher risk for certain cancers. 

Prakash also collaborates with researchers at the University of Arizona to uncover the genetic and environmental causes of lupus, a project that is also supported by the NIEHS. 

“We are grateful to have Dr. Prakash at the MCI, where her bright and positive disposition as well as her many contributions to all aspects of academic success are felt on a daily basis,” said Martin J. Heslin, M.D., MSHA, executive director of the MCI.

Prakash earned her Ph.D. in cancer biology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2010. She then received training as a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Vermont in the fields of DNA repair and X-ray crystallography. She also received specialized training in X-ray crystallography at the Brookhaven National Labs in Long Island, New York. 

Prakash participates in many national and international organizations. She is a council member of the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS) and has been appointed to a one-year term on the EMGS Executive Board. She was awarded the EMGS Young Scientist Award in 2018 and was selected as the Young Investigator co-chair for the EMGS Annual Meeting in 2020. She also served as co-chair of the DNA repair special interest group and the Women in the EMGS, both three-year commitments. 

At the Whiddon College of Medicine, Prakash currently serves as vice president of the Faculty Assembly and is a member of the Graduate Council. 

Wattenbarger joins emergency medicine faculty

Sara Wattenbarger, D.O., was introduced to emergency medicine early in life.

When she was about 11 years old, she started portraying a standardized patient for her mother and stepfather who were both paramedics and involved in EMS education. Later, she became an EMT herself, working shifts for an ambulance company and as an emergency room tech throughout college.

Now, Wattenbarger is an emergency medicine physician at USA Health University Hospital, supporting patients and their family members on what may be the worst day of their lives. “It can be incredibly difficult at times, but it is also an honor to be entrusted in that way,” she said.

With a love for teaching, Wattenbarger said she enjoys working in an academic health system, where she is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama.

“I wanted to find a location that would not only allow me to use my clinical skills in caring for patients from diverse backgrounds and with complex medical problems, but also to work with residents and medical students,” she said. “I saw USA Health as an opportunity to build on my strengths in both areas, growing as a clinician as well as an educator.”

In addition to her clinical duties, she teaches and mentors residents and medical students, moderates a portion of the department’s weekly academic forums, gives lectures and serves on several committees, and assists with residency candidate interviews.

Wattenbarger earned her medical degree from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, part of Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. “I tried on many specialty ‘hats’ during medical school but always kept coming back to ER,” she said.

She went on to complete her residency training in emergency medicine at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, California. She is currently in the Master of Academic Medicine Program at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Prior to joining USA, Wattenbarger served on the core residency faculty and was an attending physician at Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia, California.

Wattenbarger is a Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is a member of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Medical Association.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, their 18-month-old son and three dogs.

Whiddon College of Medicine staff recognized at inaugural breakfast

Attending the Staff Recognition Awards breakfast were, from left, back row: Shannon Brown, John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., Jeanna Smith, Jennifer Collins and Frank Lucas; front row, Angela O'Neal and Marie Craft. 

Six staff members at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine were honored at a special breakfast on Wednesday, Nov. 9. This is the first year for the Staff Recognition Awards with intentions of it being an annual event. 

John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs, recognized the following staff for excellence in job performance, work ethic and willingness to be team players:

• Shannon Brown, assessment coordinator, Division of Medical Education – She was nominated for her “outstanding work performance, excellent software skills and great support to the medical students.” 
• Jennifer Collins, financial operations specialist, USA Center for Lung Biology, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology – “She is the first person thought of when it comes to going above and beyond to assist researchers with grants and any other processes.” 
• Marie Craft, secretary, Department of Microbiology and Immunology – “She is a model employee who demonstrates outstanding work ethic. She is very efficient, timely, and always willing to help anyone in the college.” 
• Frank Lucas, senior associate registrar, Office of Student Affairs – “He exudes professionalism and dedication every day. Frank is always willing to help students, faculty and staff.”
• Angela O’Neal, advisor, Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program; associate director, Office of Research Education and Training – “She is loved by most everyone she meets including faculty, staff and students. She is a gifted communicator and passionate advocate for her graduate students.” 
• Jeanna Smith, director of faculty affairs, Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development – “She goes out of her way to support and to properly train everyone in the department. Jeanna is a team player taking on multiple jobs to be sure the department runs smoothly. She goes above and beyond the call of duty.” 

At the breakfast, the honorees were entered into a drawing for two sets of Hargrove Club tickets to the Nov. 12 football game against Texas State University.

Mayer Mitchell Award to be presented to cancer researcher

Arlene Mitchell, center, presents the 2021 award to
Jennifer Scalici, M.D. 

The recipient of the 2022 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research will be announced on Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.

The $10,000 award is presented annually to a promising scientist at the Mitchell Cancer Institute upon the recommendation of a faculty committee. The award was established in 2009 by University of South Alabama trustee Arlene Mitchell in memory of her late husband, Mayer Mitchell, a Mobile businessman, longtime USA trustee and formative figure in the establishment of the MCI.

The 2021 recipient of the award was Jennifer Scalici, M.D., chief of gynecologic oncology service at the MCI and a professor of gynecologic oncology at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. Scalici directs the gynecologic oncology research lab at the MCI.