Meet a Med Student: Caroline Kinchler

Caroline Kinchler

Age: 25

Class: 2025

Hometown: Scottsboro, Alabama

Undergraduate education: B.S. in biochemistry, Auburn University

What do you enjoy most about being a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
The Whiddon College of Medicine's administration, professors and students go out of their way to make sure we are taken care of as we learn and grow. They all invest so much of their time and energy into us to make sure we are prepared for taking care of patients, while also giving us amazing support and encouragement to make sure we are also taking care of our own mental and physical health. The professors look out for us, and my classmates look out for one another, and that has been so important in helping me grow as a person and as a future doctor.

Are you involved in any research, organizations or other initiatives at the Whiddon College of Medicine?
I've been involved with research through the Summer Research Program, specifically with Dr. Caleb Butts and the other trauma surgeons at University Hospital. They looked at it as a way to get us involved with their projects, but it was also a way to shadow them and see what they do every day and explore a field of medicine that I was interested in. It was an awesome experience!

What are your interests and hobbies?
Crocheting, video games, coffee drinking

What is something unique about you?
One of my goals in life is to have a miniature Highland cow. They're so fluffy and cute!

USA to break ground on new Whiddon COM building

The University of South Alabama will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Dec. 8, at 11 a.m. to kick off construction of the new Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine building. 

The ceremony will be held in parking lot 801, south of the Health Sciences Building. A section of the parking area at lot 801 will be blocked off. Alternate parking includes lots 802, 803 and 901. The red route JagTran shuttle will run from lot 901. 

The campus community is invited to attend. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be relocated to the lobby of the Health Sciences Building.

The ceremony will be livestreamed on the University's Facebook page at facebook.com/theuniversityofsouthalabama. 

Alumnus and board-certified pediatrician joins pediatrics faculty

USA Health Pediatrics is expanding its medical practices in Mobile and Baldwin counties with the addition of Michael Strickland, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician with more than two decades of experience caring for children.

“Dr. Strickland’s skills and compassionate bedside manner make him an excellent addition to our talented healthcare team,” said David A. Gremse, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist who is professor and chair of pediatrics at USA Health. “He has a real heart for taking care of children with medically complex health issues, helping to ensure parents and caregivers feel supported as they navigate that journey.”

After working in private practice in Mobile, Strickland said he made the move to USA Health to be part of an academic health system. “I love teaching – always have, even since residency, where you could pass on some knowledge to medical students,” said Strickland, who will hold the academic title of associate professor of pediatrics at the Whiddon College of Medicine. “And teaching is a two-way street, so you can help mold and fashion new physicians who will ultimately be your colleagues.”

Strickland received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, then earned his medical degree from the Whiddon College of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency at USA Health, where he served as pediatric chief resident. Beginning in 2016, he became an adjunct clinical faculty member for the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan, serving as a third-year pediatric clerkship preceptor. His medical interests include wellness and preventive medicine.

“I think, day in and day out, the most important things I do are vaccinating children and preventing deadly illnesses,” he said. “I also strive to carefully follow each child’s development so that any delays are noticed as early as possible to get the best therapies available early on, so a child has the best outcome possible.”

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Strickland has served as president of the Mobile Pediatric Society. In 2014, he was named Best Pediatrician in Lagniappe’s Nappie Awards.

“I love building relationships with families, and seeing families and children grow over the years,” he said. “It is an absolute honor that people entrust me with the care of their children. And I take that privilege very seriously.”

Pediatric interventional radiologist joins radiology faculty

Kevin Wong, D.O., a fellowship-trained pediatric interventional radiologist, recently joined the Department of Radiology at USA Health. A subspecialty of radiology, there are only 300 or so such specialists now practicing in the United States. He is the only pediatric interventionalist on the Alabama Gulf Coast. 

“We are delighted to have Dr. Wong join the USA Health team as we seek to continuously improve the services we provide to our patients,” said Suzy Figarola, M.D., professor and chair of radiology at the Whiddon College of Medicine. “He has a passion for helping children and their families find answers to medical questions using less-invasive diagnostic procedures.”

Pediatric interventional radiologists use various imaging modalities – including X-rays, ultrasounds, and CT scans – to perform minimally invasive procedures such as the placement of central venous lines, conducting biopsies and joint injections, Wong said.

“I was taught to focus on the whole patient, mind, body and spirit – and I remember that as I go through my day, meeting and talking with families who want to find out as quickly as possible what issues their child may be facing,” said Wong, who is an associate professor of radiology at the Whiddon College of Medicine.

Most recently, Wong served as an assistant professor of radiology and pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was also vice chief of the Division of Pediatric Radiology. He is double board certified in diagnostic radiology and pediatric radiology. 

Wong received his medical degree from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York. He completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at Michigan State University and continued his training at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona, completing fellowships in diagnostic pediatric radiology and pediatric interventional radiology.

“I'm excited to be part of a growing academic health system that's focused on patient- and family-centered care,” he said.

USA researchers identify potential biomarkers for detection and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer

Researchers leading the study, from left, are Kunwar Somesh Vikramdeo, Ph.D., Ajay Singh, Ph.D., Santanu Dasgupta, Ph.D., and Shashi Anand, Ph.D.

Early detection and effective treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are the ultimate goals of a study by researchers at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute and the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine.  

The research is a collaborative endeavor from the laboratory of Ajay Singh, Ph.D., leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and a professor of pathology at the Whiddon College of Medicine, and Santanu Dasgupta, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and an assistant professor of pathology at the Whiddon College of Medicine. 

Upon diagnosis, breast cancer is divided into different molecular subtypes based on the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2, a growth factor receptor that is known to fuel breast cancer growth. If the cancer cells test negative for these three receptor proteins, it is categorized as triple-negative breast cancer that relies on yet uncharacterized growth pathways. 

TNBC accounts for 10% to 15% of all breast cancers. This aggressive type of cancer grows and spreads more rapidly and is more likely to return after treatment than other types of breast cancer. These cancers tend to be more common in women younger than age 40 or who have a BRCA1 gene mutation. Black women also have a higher risk of developing TNBC. 

Treatment options for TNBC are limited compared to other molecular subtypes for which receptor-targeted therapies are available. Researchers at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and the Whiddon College of Medicine aim to find novel therapeutic vulnerabilities for this aggressive subtype as well as develop tools for earlier diagnosis at a localized stage. In their recent efforts, they measured changes in mitochondrial DNA in tumors and circulating extracellular vesicles from women with a primary diagnosis of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Mitochondria plays a role in fulfilling the energy demand of the cells, and cancer cells often exhibit mutations in their mitochondrial DNA. 

Postdoctoral researchers Kunwar Somesh Vikramdeo, Ph.D.,

left, and Shashi Anand, Ph.D., are lead authors of the study.

“The broader vision and mission of our study is to develop a minimally invasive blood test kit for early diagnostics, monitoring, and guiding therapeutic planning of triple-negative breast cancer patients,” Dasgupta said.

Published in FASEB BioAdvances, a journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, this is the first study to catalog metastatic tumor-signature mitochondrial DNA mutations in TNBC patients and then trace the tumor-signature mutations in the circulating extracellular vesicles of the same patients with high sensitivity and specificity. Notably, the majority of the hotspot mitochondrial DNA mutations detected in the TNBC patients were also detected in the circulating extracellular vesicles of highly aggressive pancreatic cancer patients, as found in a 2022 study conducted by the Singh and Dasgupta team.

“These findings are very encouraging and implicate the role of these mutations in driving human tumorigenesis,” said Kunwar Somesh Vikramdeo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher and one of the lead authors of the study.

In addition to the mutational events, the team found unique abundances of mitochondrial DNA and cardiolipin contents (an inner mitochondrial membrane lipid) in the extracellular vesicles of these TNBC patients. 

“Thus, measuring tumor-signature mitochondrial DNA alterations in concert with cardiolipin contents in the circulating extracellular vesicles could be useful to formulate a minimally invasive method for early cancer detection and monitoring using a small amount of blood samples,” said Shashi Anand, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher and one of the lead authors of the study. 

Based on these findings from the Singh and Dasgupta laboratories, the University of South Alabama has submitted a non-provisional patent application for the development of a novel mitochondrial DNA detection platform using blood samples from patients. The researchers are currently seeking funding support and collecting blood samples from a larger number of cancer patients to test the panel of mitochondrial markers that were developed in their laboratories.

“Mitochondrial DNA mutations are detectable in the circulation and are frequent in human cancers, likely promoting aggressive tumor growth,” Singh said. “We want to exploit these observations to develop ways to detect cancer early and even predict its nature for improved therapeutic management and enhance patients’ survival.”

The work is supported by funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, and the University of South Alabama. Additional authors from the Mitchell Cancer Institute and the Whiddon College of Medicine are Sarabjeet Kour Sudan, Ph.D.; Paramahansa Pramanik, Ph.D.; and Seema Singh, Ph.D. Andrew K. Godwin, Ph.D., a professor of cancer biology, laboratory medicine, pathology, microbiology, molecular genetics, and immunology, is a co-author and collaborator from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Read the full article in FASEB BioAdvances.