University of South Alabama Named to Alabama’s Regional Autism Network

Amy Mitchell, a speech-language pathologist in developmental/behavioral pediatrics at USA Health, and Dr. Hanes Swingle, professor of pediatrics at the USA College of Medicine and a developmental/behavioral pediatrician with USA Physicians Group, pose for a photo Dec. 14, 2016. USA has been named one of three universities in the Alabama Regional Autism Network, which provides support for people with autism spectrum disorders.

The University of South Alabama has been named one of three universities in the Alabama Regional Autism Network, or ARAN, which launched in October.

The Alabama Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (AIACC) established the ARAN to facilitate a lifelong system of care and support for people with autism spectrum disorders. The Alabama legislature provided USA with initial funding of $75,000 to establish the network.

Amy Mitchell, a speech-language pathologist in developmental/behavioral pediatrics at USA Health, said the network was created to empower those who have autism spectrum disorders, as well as their families and care providers. “As part of this network, we are here to help people of all ages find resources and general information about autism spectrum disorders,” she said. “We’ll do everything we can to help everyone we can.”

The network connects families to services in-state, including local agencies and school districts. Although the network itself will not provide direct services to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder, it will provide individual and direct family assistance, technical support and consultation, professional training and public education programs to increase awareness about autism and autism-related disabilities.

“Ultimately, we are matching available resources with individuals’ needs,” Mitchell said. “The network is a virtual ‘one-stop shop’ for information, referrals and advising about what’s available in the community.”

The USA Regional Autism Network (RAN), which serves Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh and Escambia Counties, joins the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Auburn University to make up the Alabama Regional Autism Network. There is a plan for the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Huntsville to join the network in the near future.

According to Mitchell, USA has a long history of working with children with developmental disabilities, including autism. Dr. Hanes Swingle, professor of pediatrics at the USA College of Medicine and a developmental/behavioral pediatrician with USA Physicians Group, was one of the original appointed members of AIACC. “His leadership and involvement in AIACC has really put USA on the map state-wide for autism services,” Mitchell said.

USA also formed an Autism Interest Group in 2009, which meets every quarter to share information about activities relevant to autism that are being conducted in each of the colleges. This has resulted in opportunities for inter-departmental research, teaching and service collaboration.

When the Regional Autism Network became a reality, faculty members from each of the colleges represented in the USA Autism Interest Group (Education, Arts & Sciences, Allied Health, Nursing and Medicine) volunteered to form an advisory committee to help in the planning and implementation of the USA RAN.

The USA Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics operates an Autism Diagnostic Clinic on the campus of USA Children's & Women's Hospital at the Strada Patient Care Center. The mission of the clinic is to improve the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders in the greater Gulf Coast area through early identification and diagnosis, as well as to provide educational outreach to those who serve children in the community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 1 percent of the world's population has an autism diagnosis, with an estimated one in 68 children in the United States identified with autism spectrum disorder. The number of individuals diagnosed with the disorder in the United States has increased by nearly 120 percent since 2000, making it the fastest-growing developmental disability and an urgent public health care need.

To learn more about resources available in our community for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, call the USA RAN at (251) 410-4533.

Med School Café- Expert Advice for the Community

Dr. Edward Panacek, professor and chair of emergency medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, presented the November Med School Café lecture titled “I’m an Emergency Physician and I Play One on TV.”

Dr. Panacek discussed his role in the Discovery Life Channel show, Untold Stories of the ER, and his role in the department of emergency medicine at USA.

Med School Cafe is a free community lecture series sponsored by USA Physicians Group. Each month, faculty from the USA College of Medicine share their expertise on a specific medical condition, providing insight on the latest treatment available.

Watch the video below to view the lecture in its entirety.

Med School Cafe - “I’m an Emergency Physician and I Play One on TV” from USA Health on Vimeo.

USA Welcomes Dr. Wadad Mneimneh

Dr. Wadad Mneimneh recently was appointed assistant professor of pathology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

Dr. Mneimneh earned her medical degree from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2004, she completed her residency training in anatomic pathology at Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. She then completed a fellowship in anatomic pathology focusing on gastrointestinal, liver, thoracic and hematopathology in France.

After moving to the United States, Dr. Mneimneh completed her second residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. She then completed a fellowship in surgical pathology with a focus on gastrointestinal and liver pathology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind., and a fellowship in pulmonary and surgical pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

She is a member of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and the Pulmonary Pathology Society.

Dr. Mneimneh is board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology by the American Board of Pathology.

USA Basic Medical Science Students Defend Doctoral Dissertations

Brandon D’Arcy and Tiffany Norton, two students from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Basic Medical Sciences at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, recently defended their doctoral dissertations.

Norton described a potentially fatal fungus in humans in her dissertation that was titled “Prenylation Pathways Mediate Growth, Development, Thermotolerance, and Virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus.” Her research showed that mislocalizing proteins by stopping the addition of hydrophobic molecules impairs the ability of the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus to develop and grow properly at human body temperature. Norton hopes that her work as a researcher will lead to the development of new antifungal drugs, as fungal infections can be difficult to diagnose and treat.

Brandon D’Arcy studied whether human cells could be engineered to degrade excess cholesterol in his dissertation, “Enabling Cholesterol Catabolism in Human Cells." His research identified unique, cellular forms of treatment for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disease characterized by high levels of cholesterol. D’Arcy hopes that his research will allow for more effective treatment for those who suffer from FH, as the disease can be difficult to treat due to the variations in genetic defects found in those with FH. “My dissertation impacts both USA and the medical community by demonstrating that an outside-the-box style of research still has a strong place in basic research,” D’Arcy said.

Both researchers look forward to their futures in using research to combat serious medical conditions.

“I am generally interested in studies that investigate disease processes in the human body (infectious or non-infectious) or development of treatments,” Norton said. She is currently pursuing a position as a postdoctoral research fellow in gynecological oncology at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, and she hopes to stay as close to lab work as possible throughout her career.

D’Arcy is joining Dr. Aishwarya Prakash at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute as a postdoctoral fellow. “Dr. Prakash is leading MCI’s new structural biology lab, where we will study key enzymes involved in cancer progression and their underlying molecular mechanisms,” D'Arcy said.

Both Norton and D’Arcy are grateful for the time they spent working and learning in the labs of the basic medical sciences Ph.D. program at USA.

“I am greatly indebted to the USA College of Medicine, Dr. Mark Taylor and the Basic Medical Sciences Ph.D. Program. I would also like to thank Dr. David Wood and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and my research advisor, Dr. Jarrod Fortwendel, for investing in me as a student and developing me as a researcher,” Norton said. “This phase of my training has been a very invigorating and enjoyable experience, and I would recommend the program to others who might be interested in medical research.”

“I would like to thank the University of South Alabama and the Basic Medical Sciences program for providing the environment and opportunity for students to reach their fullest potential,” D’Arcy said. “I would also like to thank my mentor, Dr. Richard Honkanen, who has instilled in me that one’s limitations are only defined by themselves.”

For more information about the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Basic Medical Sciences, click here. 

10th Annual COM Research Forum Winners Announced

Dr. Nathaniel Holton (left), and Ed Crockett recently were recognized with awards for the research they presented at the USA College of Medicine's 10th annual Research Forum.

The University of South Alabama College of Medicine hosted its 10th annual Research Forum on Nov. 4, 2016. Travel awards recently were presented to Ed Crockett and Dr. Nathaniel Holton for their extensive research.

Forum organizer Dr. Donna Cioffi, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at USA, said excitement filled the air at the forum. “This year, the number of presentations was just a few less than last year, but the overall turnout was our biggest yet,” she said. The forum consisted of two sessions - the morning session was comprised of nine oral presentations, and the afternoon session included 55 poster presentations.

Ed Crockett, a basic medical science graduate student, won a $1,000 travel award for best overall graduate student presentation. He was recognized for his poster presentation titled “Thermal Imaging: Advancing Burn-Wound Analysis by Infrared Imaging.” He chose to do his research in the department of pharmacology in the lab of Dr. Wiltz Wagner, with assistance from Dr. Jon Simmons, assistant professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine.

According to Crockett, it is important to use infrared thermal imaging as a method to assess the severity of burn depth because the information will help determine if the viable tissue will heal on its own or require grafting. The thermal imaging sensor used for his research is small, plugs into an Android cell phone and operates using a free app.

Crockett said using infrared thermal imaging to detect skin surface temperature provides physicians with information that is otherwise unavailable in visible light, allowing them to see heat that is undetectable to the naked eye. “Visible light is detectable with the naked eye between 400 and 700 nano-meters,” Crockett said. “Heat emission and light emission are closely linked, so the hotter the object, the shorter its wavelength of emitted light.”

Crockett believes this technique for assessing burn depth will remove the subjective assessment which is only 50 percent accurate on the first day. “Our technique can increase the first-day accuracy and reduce the pain and suffering days sooner if a graft is required,” he said.

Crockett said the forum provides a great opportunity for students. “Participating in this research forum is an excellent opportunity for young scientists to gain experience discussing their research with a broad audience,” he said. “Since it is a local event, we are able to practice our presentations with people we know in a relaxed atmosphere before taking them to national conferences.”

The post-doctorate award was presented to Dr. Nathanial Holton for his research project titled “Application of Laser Micro-Irradiation for Examination of Single and Double Strand Break Repair in Cells.” Dr. Holton performed his research at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute in the lab of Dr. Natalie Gassman, assistant professor of oncologic sciences.

According to Dr. Holton, although molecular biology techniques have helped clarify the structure, enzymatic functions and kinetics of a large number of DNA repair proteins, there is still a need to understand how repair proteins interact and coordinate repair within the constraints of the nucleus. He found laser micro-irradiation to be a powerful tool for studying DNA damage repair response.

Dr. Holton’s research demonstrates the power of laser micro-irradiation to examine repair of single and double strand breaks in cells. Using lasers, he created a very small spot of DNA damage within the nucleus of the cell and studied the recruitment of DNA repair proteins to that spot of laser damage. His research describes how to properly calibrate and control the applied laser power to induce specific damage mixtures, providing methods for performing laser micro-irradiation data acquisition and analysis.

Dr. Holton believes it is beneficial for students to participate in the Research Forum because it is a great place to introduce themselves to the research community, helping build a professional network.

“The connections that are made during some of these meetings can be critically important for future career development,” he said.

To learn more about participating in the annual College of Medicine Research Forum, contact Dr. Cioffi at dlcioffi@southalabama.edu.