The medical students of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2021 officially became doctors in a socially distant ceremony at the Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg, Fla., May 7.

Graduation may have looked a little different this year.  But the end of the four-year medical school journey was just as gratifying for the Class of 2021 USF Health Morsani College of Medicine medical students.  As the world continues to recover from a pandemic, 173 of the country’s newest doctors graduated in a socially distanced ceremony at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg, Fla. May 7.

The ceremony wasn’t filled with the typical pomp and circumstance and VIPS that have become synonymous with MCOM ceremonies.  And friends, families and loved ones watched the ceremony outside of the theater or via live stream through MCOM and USF Health social media channels, rather than fill theater seats for in-person views .  COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed the way of the world and emphasized the more vital role innovative doctors will play in the effort to heal the world.

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, USF Health senior vice president and MCOM dean.

“COVID-19 has underscored that in the 21^st century, health is global not local; dynamic not static; and that medical knowledge is accelerating at an unimaginable rate. Health care will never be the same,” said USF Health senior vice president and MCOM dean, Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, during his remarks to the class. “While I do not want to dwell on the challenges presented by COVID-19, I do want to recognize your remarkable determination in overcoming those challenges. Your resilience has paid off, and I speak for all of USF Health when I say that we could not be prouder of you.”

Jasmina Ehab, MD, selected by her fellow class of 2021 graduates to deliver remarks, also acknowledged the resilience and compassion of her classmates.  She recalled when Hurricane Irma shut down the state of Florida when they were only a couple of months into their first year of medial school.  It was through those trying times the class of 2021 grew stronger together.

Jasmina Ehab, MD, was chosen by her fellow graduates to deliver a speech to her fellow classmates.

“Although we didn’t know each other well, all of us opened our homes to one another. We shared our food; we shared our resources. Many of us stayed with each other’s families in other states. Not only did we exhibit this sense of family early on, but this experience was the landscape for our relationships, moving forward. We became each other’s keepers, we relied on one another and from that point on we knew that we were always going to be there to help each other,” she said.  “I have never been prouder of us as a class than when we held each other, supported one another and cried with each other. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. That’s what makes us unique, that’s why we have this unbreakable bond, this is what makes us family.”

Steven Currall, PhD, University of South Florida System President.

The most important, and most welcomed remarks came from University of South Florida System President, Steven Currall, PhD. His words were few, but impactful ending with “I confer upon each of you the doctor of medicine degree,” officially marking the transition from student to doctor.

The impact of graduating from medical school in the wake of uncertain and trying circumstances was not lost on the class.  One graduate described his fellow graduates and their journey with one word: resilient.   The Class of 2021 will use resilience as they move on to residency this summer.

More images from the ceremony:

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, USF Health senior Vice President and MCOM dean, presented the 2021 Dean’s Award to recently retired Tom Whalen, MD. Dr. Whalen served as executive Vice President and chief medical officer at the Lehigh Valley Health Network in Penn. He has played an instrumental role in strengthening the ties between USF Health and LVHN.

Mathia Nittmann, MD, Class of 2021 recipient of the Donn L. Smith Award.

Timothy Koo, MD, Class of 2021 recipient of the Morsani College of Medicine Dean’s Award.

Karim Hanna, MD, chosen by the class to deliver the charge to the class. Dr. Hannah is also a Class of 2014 MCOM alum.

Pre-ceremony celebration:

Post-ceremony excitement:

Photos and story by Fredrick J. Coleman.  Video by Allison Long. 

The Department of Defense grant may lead to better treatments, readjustment skills for veterans

Tampa, FL (Jan. 31, 2012) – The University of South Florida has received a $1.57 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to conduct translational research on traumatic brain injury and other battlefield related injuries and diseases. The studies, many in collaboration with James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, are intended to improve the quality of life for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is known as the signature injury of soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Blast forces sustained in combat often cause damage to parts of the brain critical to high-level functions influencing memory, attention, decision-making and motor skills. Many veterans developing symptoms after TBI also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

U.S. soldiers conduct combat patrol in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

“Working with the VA, the Department of Defense and private research entities, we will develop novel studies – everything from drug discovery and preclinical work to clinical, social and behavioral trials,” said principal investigator Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation and director of the USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. “Our multidisciplinary work will provide critical knowledge about TBI and its complications that could lead to more effective diagnosis and treatments for soldiers and veterans, as well as skills to improve their physical and psychological adjustment into civilian life.”

“This new federal award is a tremendous boost to USF’s efforts to build a research infrastructure to support our veterans reintegration strategy,” said Karen Holbrook, PhD, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and global affairs.

The two-year, DOD-funded grant joins faculty from across colleges and disciplines. Among USF faculty members leading studies are Cesar Borlongan, PhD; Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, and Michael Schoenberg, PhD; all from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Theresa Chisolm, PhD, William Kearns, PhD, and Larry Schonfeld, PhD, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences; David Diamond, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences; William S. Quillen, PT, DPT, PhD, and Larry Mengelkoch, PhD; School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and Larry Braue, USF Office of Veterans Services.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation, is overseeing the DOD-funded projects.

The grant involves four major projects:

• Researchers will assess in animal models how granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), a growth factor that mobilizes the body’s own stem cells, may help treat traumatic brain injury.

• A clinical trial will test whether GCSF reduces neurological damage and improves recovery of memory, decision-making and other cognitive functions in soldiers and veterans with TBI, even when administered a month or two after the initial injury. Patients will be recruited from the polytrauma rehabilitation and blast injury programs at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

• In an attempt to identify better diagnostic measures for mild TBI, a frequently underdiagnosed condition, a study will compare the balance, gait, hearing and vestibular functions of otherwise healthy USF student veterans with and without self-reported TBI to those of non-veteran students. Evaluations will be conducted at the USF School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences Human Functional Performance Laboratory.

• Using advanced technology researchers will monitor changes in patterns of everyday movement and the cognitive function of TBI patients undergoing smart house-based rehabilitation at the Tampa VA hospital’s Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program. The study will evaluate whether scientific analysis of movements, tracked by devices like radiofrequency identification and global positioning systems, can help assess therapeutic improvement. A second arm of the study will investigate whether variability in walking patterns is greater for USF student veterans reporting mild TBI than for those without this diagnosis.

The new DOD award adds momentum to USF’s plans to work with the VA and DOD to build a first-of-its kind Center for Rehabilitation, Science, Engineering and Medicine, an interdisciplinary research, education and treatment facility. Over the last three years, the university’s Veterans Reintegration Strategy program has joined researchers across colleges and disciplines to work on studies in areas including TBI, PTSD, robotics and prosthetics, gait and balance, and aging-related disorders.

“This award reflects USF’s collaborative efforts to leverage our research and academic expertise to enhance the quality of life of our men and women in uniform, and their families, who have so selflessly served this country,” said Lt. Gen. Martin Steele (USMC retired), executive director of USF Military Partnerships. “It builds, not only upon interdisciplinary research within the university, but also strengthens our longstanding ties with Tampa Bay’s military community through two major VA hospitals, MacDill Air Force Base, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.”

Earlier this month at a news conference announcing an initiative of the country’s top medical schools, including the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, to ensure care for veterans and their families, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized USF as an example of universities stepping up to meet veterans’ unique health care needs.

– USF –

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities, a distinction attained by only 2.2 percent of all universities. It is ranked 44th in total research expenditures and 34th in federal research expenditures for public universities by the National Science Foundation. The USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion, an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion, and serves 47,000 students in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland.