Scholarship fund established in honor of Samantha Thomas

In honor of our beloved classmate, Samantha Thomas, a memorial scholarship fund is being created. While the specifics of the scholarship fund are still under consideration, donations are being accepted.

If you would like to make a memorial gift to the future Samantha Alison Thomas Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund, please make a secure, online donation at https://giving.usahealthsystem.com/sthomas, or mail a check to the Office of Medical Affairs Development, 650 Clinic Drive, TRP III, Ste. 150, Mobile, AL 36688.

USA College of Medicine names Emily Wilson, Ph.D., associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development

Emily Wilson, Ph.D., will be joining the University of South Alabama College of Medicine as associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development. She also will serve as a professor in the department of physiology and cell biology.

Plans call for Wilson to join the USA College of Medicine October 1, 2020.

“The continued development of our faculty, including implementing a sustainable faculty mentoring program, enriches the educational environment for students, residents and fellows in our academic healthcare system,” said John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “In this newly created role, Dr. Wilson will have the responsibility of organizing and growing faculty development initiatives across our college, ensuring an optimal experience for faculty members and those we educate.”

Wilson currently serves as associate vice president of faculty development at Texas A&M Health Science Center. She also serves as the associate dean for faculty development in the Texas A&M University College of Medicine in College Station, Texas, where she is also a professor in the department of medical physiology.

Wilson has held many leadership roles within the Texas A&M Health Science Center and College of Medicine, where she began working in 1997 as an assistant professor. She is a charter member of the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Cardiovascular Research and served as director of the office of graduate studies. She was also appointed assistant vice president for graduate studies and served as the executive associate dean for the school of graduate studies. In 2014, Wilson was appointed associate vice president for academic affairs. She also serves as the director of the Education for Healthcare Professionals MS/Certificate Program.

She earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, a doctor of philosophy in biochemistry from Emory University, in Atlanta, and performed postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Orientation welcomes students entering doctorate program in Basic Medical Sciences

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine held orientation this week for students entering the doctorate program in basic medical sciences at USA. This year, seven students are entering the program.

A unique aspect of the program at USA, during their first year, students complete the core curriculum while they explore and ultimately decide which research area they wish to focus on for their dissertation.

“We have students from various backgrounds – some have master’s degrees while others have their bachelor’s,” said Angie O’Neal, an academic advisor in the USA College of Medicine’s Office of Research Education and Training. “The variation in degrees and experience is part of what makes our program special. We appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and what they add to our program.”

Because of COVID-19, Mark Taylor, Ph.D., director of the graduate program and associate professor of physiology and cell biology at the USA College of Medicine, said this year will be exceptionally unique.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or redirected almost every aspect of our education mission, including how we train the next generation of biomedical researchers,” he said. “Nevertheless, the current situation has also been a true source of motivation for our current and incoming Ph.D. students. Having experienced the devastating impact of widespread disease, they understand why their contributions will be so important in addressing existing and future threats worldwide.”

Taylor said the training will continue to focus on application of knowledge and cutting-edge approaches to address real problems in human health and disease. “We emphasize adaptability as a crucial tenet of our Ph.D. program and this year’s incoming students will certainly need to adapt to blended instructional and mentoring strategies like no other class before them,” he said. “In the end, new challenges inspire novel problem-solving strategies and I look forward to watching this new generation of scientists take on the challenges to come.”

Virtual Med School Café set for Aug. 21

The first-ever virtual Med School Café planned for noon, Friday, Aug. 21, will feature Hanna Alemayehu, M.D., pediatric surgeon and assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. She will discuss chest wall reconstruction service and treatments provided by the USA Health pediatric surgery department.

Prior to joining USA, Alemayehu served as a clinical instructor in surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. She received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and completed her residency at New York Medical College. Following residency, she completed a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Alemayehu has performed extensive pediatric surgical outcomes research and has authored dozens of manuscripts.

Med School Café will be held Friday, Aug. 21, at noon via the Zoom digital platform. Register for the virtual event here. For more information, contact Kim Partridge at (251) 460-7770 or kepartridge@health.southalabama.edu.

Med School Café is a free community lecture series sponsored by USA Health. Each month, faculty and physicians share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatments available.

Implicit bias in healthcare the topic of Pediatric Grand Rounds on Aug. 21

A primer on implicit bias in healthcare will be presented by Franklin Trimm, M.D., during pediatric grand rounds at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, via the digital platform Zoom.

A pediatric developmental and behavioral physician, Trimm serves as associate dean of diversity and inclusion and assistant vice president for medical affairs at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

Objectives of the presentation are:

• Understanding the science of unconscious bias
• Identifying how bias and the processes of the unconscious mind can impact critical decisions and results
• Applying strategies for practicing more conscious awareness

Also known as implicit social cognition, implicit bias (or unconscious bias) refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner, according to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without someone’s awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, implicit biases are different from known biases that people may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness.

Research shows that implicit biases are not accessible through one’s own introspection. The implicit associations humans harbor in the subconscious cause them to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age and appearance. These associations, according to research, develop during the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages.

Participants are asked to pre-register using this link: https://southalabama.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvdO-urTguEtzVhEtTdKn8vXy80tR_emTO

Pediatric grand rounds is held the third Friday of each month from 8 until 9 a.m. for the physicians, advanced practice providers, residents, nurses, social workers, medical students and other members of the healthcare team who are interested in increasing their knowledge, addressing competence, performance, and improving patient outcomes in healthcare.

For more information, contact Jessica Petro at 251-415-8688 or jpetro@health.southalabbama.edu.