Calling all alumni couples: Send us your stories

Did you and your significant other meet as medical or graduate students at the USA College of Medicine? The USA Medical Alumni Association would like to hear your story.

“Many doctors and scientists have launched their careers at USA, but some also have met their spouses here,” said Anna Claire Parks, associate director of medical alumni relations at the University of South Alabama. “We think Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to highlight a few of these stories of romance.”

The stories will be highlighted in a special Valentine’s Day feature in the Med School Watercooler blog and on social media. Email your brief story along with photos (then and now) to medalum@southalabama.edu. 

Follow the USA Medical Alumni Association on Facebook at @usacollegeofmedalumni.

Meet a Med Student: Zach Aggen

Zach Aggen

Age: 36 1/2 (almost)

Class of: 2022 

Hometown: Athens, Ala.

Undergrad/grad institution: University of Alabama at Birmingham (Go Blazers!) 

Degrees earned: Bachelor of Science in molecular biology, minor in chemistry 

Interests/hobbies: Aquaponics, brewing beer, Call of Duty, shooting guns, volunteering with veterans and special needs children 

Something unique about me: Nothing. I’m as basic as they come, unfortunately. 😃

Three of my favorite things: Charlie, Atom, Adenine (current kiddos)

What I enjoy most about being a student at the USA College of Medicine: I have enjoyed the leadership opportunities afforded to me, the positive learning environments (clinical and pre-clinical), and I appreciate how responsive the administration has been to the needs of the student body.

Last call for bands to register for Doc Rock

Are you or someone you know in a band? This is the last chance to register for our inaugural "battle of the bands" event, Doc Rock! The registration deadline has been extended to Friday, Jan. 7, at 11:59 p.m. 

All music styles are welcome. Tickets for admission to the show will go on sale later this month. The performance will be March 31 at the Soul Kitchen in downtown Mobile. 

Learn more at www.usahealthsystem.com/doc-rock.

USA researcher receives grant to study racial disparities in cervical cancer prevention

Santanu Dasgupta, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, recently received a $126,000 grant from the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation to identify certain stress-related factors that aid in initiation and progression of cervical cancer.

“In the United States, cervical cancer causes significant mortality in racially disparate women living under constant socioeconomic stress. In fact, the mortality rate for cervical cancer is the highest in Alabama and continues to rise every year,” Dasgupta said. “Our goal is to identify the early epigenetic changes in cervical cancer to help in risk assessment and develop improved prevention strategies in these women.”

Dasgupta, an assistant professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine, is the principal investigator of the project. “My long-term goals are to identify specific factors relating to high mortality due to cervical cancer in our region and work in collaboration to reduce the existing disparity gaps,” he said.

The study will be conducted in collaboration with Ajay Singh, Ph.D., head of the Cancer Biology and Cancer Health Disparities Programs at the MCI and professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine; and Jennifer Young Pierce, M.D., M.P.H., a gynecologic oncologist, head of the Cancer Control and Prevention Program at the MCI, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USA College of Medicine. 

The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation awards one-year grants for research projects devoted to the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. Since 1944, the foundation has given $110.5 million to more than 300 nonprofit institutions across the United States.

USA College of Medicine alumna recognized as Tampa Bay Community Hero

Olivia C. Means, M.D., a 2018 graduate of the USA College of Medicine, has been honored as a Diamond Scholar with the Brain Expansions Scholastic Training program, or B.E.S.T program.

Means was recognized as a Tampa Bay Community Hero by the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and awarded a $50,000 grant to continue her work in the medical field. B.E.S.T is a nonprofit organization based in Tampa, Fla., that prepares underrepresented and underserved youth for future careers in medicine.

Means is a fourth-year plastic surgery resident at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has been working with the B.E.S.T program for years, teaching math and science to middle school and high school students before she started her career in medicine. 

Means has been invited as a panelist at the Western Michigan University WMU Homer Stryker MD College of Medicine and at the Student National Medical Association. She has numerous leadership roles, including a position with the Spectrum Health Academy of Professional Educators, and as the house staff council representative for GME Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee with Spectrum Health.