Since 2006, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Scholarly Concentrations Program has helped broaden the inquisitive minds of hundreds of medical students.

Supported through the MCOM Office of Research, Innovation and Scholarly Endeavors (RISE),  the program aims to support the educational development of the college’s core medical students through opportunities for scholarly and research endeavors in areas of special interest.   Today,  470 of 499 core medical students participate the program, according to RISE data.

Ingrid Bahner, PhD, program co-director, describes it as an opportunity for medical students to explore topics related to medicine that are not part of their curriculum.

“The goal isn’t necessarily to create academic physicians.  The goal is to create a life-long commitment to the scholarly approach to the practice of medicine,” Dr. Bahner said.

In the beginning only Research, Public Health and Health Disparities were offered, said Susan Pross, PhD, who co-founded the program and is currently program co-director with Dr. Bahner.  It wasn’t anticipated to be as successful as it is, according to Dr. Pross.  Passionate students and faculty offered ideas for other concentrations as the program grew more popular.  The program grew to eight concentrations in just three years.  Today, there are 11 mind-broadening concentrations available to students.  The concentrations currently reflect how the interests of practicing physicians continue to evolve, Dr. Pross said.

It takes an interprofessional approach for the concentrations to have their maximum desired effect.  Staff and faculty from other University of South Florida and USF Health colleges, including the College of Engineering, Muma College of Business, Taneja College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health, are all part of what makes the program a success.

“From the beginning, it created opportunities for students to collaborate with other like-minded students and professors throughout all four years of medical school,” Dr. Pross said.  “This is a great avenue for students to continue their passions, or discover new ones.”

Concentrations:

• Biomedical Research
• Health Disparities
• Health Systems Engineering
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Business in Medicine
• International Medicine
• Law and Medicine
• Education
• Medical Humanities
• Medicine and Gender
• Nutrition Research and Health
• Public Health

Medical students are required to complete their capstone project by February of their fourth year.  Graduating students are recognized with a certificate of completion, a capstone book, and the distinction of wearing an SCP honor cord at commencement.

I chose to join the health disparities scholarly concentration because I wanted to be part of a team with other motivated students and professionals who share my passion to learn more about disparities in healthcare and take action against them. My experience in this concentration has been so helpful, enlightening, and enjoyable over the past 2 years. Teamwork is a priority with this group. We recently had a group of students work with several faculty members from the concentration to run a women’s health night free clinic, which was a wonderful opportunity to help the community and a great learning experience for students who are unaware of all the moving parts and effort that goes into putting on a free clinic. Additionally, the faculty leaders are always encouraging us to work on projects that we are passionate about and always willing to provide help at any step of the way, whether it’s finding a project, working on the methods, or presenting the final results. Lastly, the students in this concentration are very respectful and compassionate. It is a great environment to have open discussions and learn from one another.

Michelle Savoldy, Class of 2024, Health Disparities Scholarly Concentration

The presenters and judges of the 8th Annual Student Symposium hosted by the Morsani College of Medicine RISE Office.

Medical students, staff and faculty gathered Nov. 3 at the USF Health auditorium for the 8^th Annual Student Symposium, hosted by the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Research, Innovation and Scholarly Endeavors (RISE) office.

The symposium offers medical students a chance to present their research concisely and practice their presentation skills, and illustrates the benefits of lifelong scholarship, said Roberta “Bobby” Collins, RISE director.

“This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the breadth and variety of research interests our medical students are involved with,” Collins said. “Every year this event continues to grow, and that growth is a direct reflection of how engaged our students are in research.”

Stephen Liggett, MD, associate vice president for the USF Health Research and vice dean for research at MCOM, was the symposium’s keynote speaker.

Each student had seven minutes to present their research to a panel of judges including returning judge Andreas Seyfang, PhD, an associate professor from MCOM’s Department of Molecular Medicine.  He says the event helps provide some valuable feedback to medical students that they can later use when they present other works they do.

“The biggest thing we look for is their ability to communicate their research, and what they expect to find, and their confidence while presenting,” Dr. Seyfang said. “It’s rewarding for me to get to see these students from the start of their medical school journey and to watch their confidence and passion in their research grow.”

Casey Liveringhouse, third-year medical student, takes questions from the audience following his presentation.

Students who participated said the greatest benefit was the opportunity to present their research and get some valuable feedback from student peers and faculty members.

Second-year medical student Andrew Sephien made his first-ever research presentation, focused on gender and interest in orthopedic surgery and how that relates to match rates.

“It was a little nerve-racking to start.  But once I got into explaining my research, my confidence grew quickly,” said Sephien. “The environment was very low-stress and informal, which was great considering a few of us were making presentations for the first time.”

Andrew Sephien, second-year medical student.

Stephen B. Liggett, MD, associate vice president for the USF Health Office of Research and vice dean for research at MCOM, served as the keynote speaker.   His speech titled “Night Science” centered on the concept of how night has often been the time when scientific creativity and innovation are sparked, without the distraction of so many tasks to focus on during the day.  He emphasized that students conducting research should be continually asking questions while searching for answers, looking for links as evidence is gathered, and open to new directions when unexpected findings happen.

“This attitude is very correlative to those who pursue research and those who want to be physicians,” Dr. Liggett said. “It’s important for them to seek out the very best place or person to work with, make the sacrifices, and the effort will pay off.”

This year’s top honors went to:

GROUP A

Pre-Clerkship Level:  Avi-Chai Robinson, MSII SELECT Program (Class of 2020), Preloading Corneas at the Eye Bank Improves Transplant Outcomes

Clerkship Level:  James Dustin Denham, MSIII RISE Scholar (Class of 2019), Two Cases of Disseminated Infection Following Live Organism Anti-Cancer Vaccine Administration in Cancer Patients.

GROUP B

Pre-clerkship Level:  Catherine Doyle, MSII SELECT Program (Class of 2020), Standardizing Patient Care at Lehigh Valley Health Network: Development and Implementation of a Clinical Pathway for Elective Spine Surgery.

Clerkship Level:  Casey Liveringhouse, MSIII Biomedical Research Scholarly Concentration (Class of 2019), Correlation of Molecular Features with Clinical Outcomes in Glioblastoma Treated with Chemoradiation.

-Photos by Freddie Coleman, USF Health Communications

Science will not move forward if today’s medical school graduates do not make research a significant part of their careers. This was the reality presented by Richard Lockey, MD, University Distinguished Health Professor, professor of medicine, pediatrics and public health, director of the USF Health Division of Allergy/Immunology, and the Joy McCann Culverhouse Chair in Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Lockey was the keynote speaker for this year’s MCOM Scholarly Concentrations Student Symposium.

Dr. Richard Lockey urges medical students to keep research in their futures.

“In order to keep the medical field moving forward, we need new researchers,” Dr. Lockey said. “We need people who are dedicated to research – clinical research, basic research, and integrated research. If you don’t do it, the country and science doesn’t move forward.”

Titled “My 50 Years of Fun Caring for Patients, Teaching and Research Continues,” Dr. Lockey’s talk provided lessons he has gleaned from five decades as a physician scientist – lessons that are parallels to the students’ current education.

“Medicine is about first for caring for patients, second is about continuing education, third is about being a leader in your community, and fourth is doing research,” he said. “And we who do research feel privileged because it’s fun. Yes, research is fun. It is difficult, but if you give up with the first negative experience you have you won’t move us forward.

“Research is the right thing to do, you’re going to enjoy it, and it makes you a much better physician. You are the future of the country. You are the future of medicine. Our future is with you.”

Dr. Richard Lockey.

Held Nov. 4, the Student Symposium is an opportunity for the mostly second- and third-year medical students to present the preliminary research data on projects they carry across their four years of medical school.

This 7th annual symposium featured 31 presentations by medical students participating in the faculty-mentored Scholarly Concentrations Program, a college wide program that provides medical students with an elective minor in one of 11 areas, providing them with opportunities for academic endeavors in areas of special interest. The concentrations are:  Biomedical Research; Health Disparities; Health Systems Engineering; Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Business in Medicine; International Medicine; Law and Medicine; Medical Education; Medical Humanities; Medicine and Gender; Nutritional Research and Health; and Public Health.

Each concentration includes elements of course work, practical application, and scholarly presentation and allows for self-directed learning, enhances interactions between students and fosters relationships between students and faculty.

Following Dr. Lockey’s address, the students presented their work. The presentations were judged, and this year’s winners are:

• Kevin Morgan, MSIII – Outstanding Clerkship Level Oral Presentation – Room B (Biomedical Research Scholarly Concentration)
• Tie: Anna Cheng, MSII, and Noah Hackney, MSII – Outstanding Pre-Clerkship Level Oral Presentation – Room B (Biomedical Research Scholarly Concentration).
• Matthew Applebaum, MSIV – Outstanding Clerkship Level Oral Presentation – Room A (Biomedical Research Scholarly Concentration)
• Kyle Kilinski, MSII – Outstanding Pre-Clerkship Level Oral Presentation – Room A (Public Health Scholarly Concentration)
• Gilbert Murimwa, MSII in the SELECT program also won Outstanding Pre-Clerkship Level Oral Presentation – Room A

All presenting students and their topics include:

Madison Collins: “Use of Axillary Lymph Node Dissection (ALND) in Patients with Micrometastatic Breast Cancer”

Paul Marcet: “The need for hormone replacement therapy after transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary apoplexy versus elective resection of pituitary adenoma”

Gilbert Murimwa: “Impact of sarcopenia on outcomes of locally advanced esophageal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery”

Sara Bijan: “Von Hippel-Lindau Disease: A Rare Cause of Retinal Hemiangioblastoma”

Michael Hachadorian and Danielle Grossman: “Entamoeba histolytica in Khon Kaen, Thailand”

Paige Crocus and Samantha Steinberg: “Generational Differences in Medical Specialty Choice Selection of Healthcare Providers”

Dylan Lahiff and Talha Rashid: “Gender and Race Differences in Deceased Donor Hypertension for Kidney Transplantation”

Hillary McMullin: “Who’s the Chief?”

Hannah Shin: “Progressions: A Transgender Photo-Story Exhibit”

Caroline Bresnan and Sonya Bhaskar: “Advertising and Other Factors Associated with Herpes Zoster Vaccine Uptake: A Cross-sectional Survey”

Kyle Kilinski: “The Impact of Pre-Treatment MRI on Genitourinary and Gastrointestinal Toxicity After Radiation Therapy in Patients with Localized Prostate Cancer”

Nicole Wood and Anaisy Pargas: “Cervical Cancer Prevention in Rural Nicaragua: An Ambassador Model”

Ammar Alsalahi: “Exploring the use of AAV9-ADI as a possible therapeutic for Lewy Body Dementia”

Matthew Applebaum: “Try it You’ll like it: An Approach to Postoperative Antibiotics”

Rupin Singh: “Cross-disciplinary Optimization of Nano-Drug Delivery to Ovarian Carcinoma and Glioma Cells”

Zyad Asi: “PERT enzymes and cystic fibrosis”

Anna Cheng: “Mechanisms behind chromosome bridge resolution in breakage-fusion-bridge cycle”

Wei Lue Tong: “Identification of immunoglobulin V(D)J recombinations in solid tumor specimen exome files: Evidence for high level B-cell infiltrates in breast cancer”

Nupur Godbole: “Effect of Paternal Involvement and Family Dynamics on Birth Outcomes Including Low birth weight, Stillbirth, and Gestational age and Complications”

Nicole Le: “Impact of peer support on virologic failure in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy – A cluster randomized controlled trial in Vietnam”

Megan Moberg: “The effect of maternal sleep quality during pregnancy on birth outcomes including still birth, low birth weight, and gestational complications”

Patrick Mullen: “Rates of enrollment in commercial MCAT preparation courses and the perceived effectiveness of such courses”

Parth Patel: “The Effect of Maternal Education on Birth Outcomes Including Still Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Gestational complications”

Keith Zimmerman: “Effect of feedback type on perceptual learning in a visual acuity test”

James Dustin Denham: “Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteremia in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies”

Noah Hackney: “Outcomes of Vancomycin-Resistant vs Vancomycin-Sensitive Enterococcal Infections in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients, a Retrospective Cohort Study”

Mark Bender: “Surgical Stabilization of an Intramuscular Pectoralis Major Tear Utilizing Semitendinosus Allograft”

Roger Gerard: “Tumor Size and Perioperative Outcomes after Robotic-Assisted Pulmonary Lobectomy”

Danny Nguyen: “Pulmonary Lobectomy is Not Inferior to Pneumonectomy for Stage-II (N1) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer”

Annie Hendryx: “Anti-hypertensive Treatment in Haiti”

Kevin Morgan: “Cardiovascular complications and mortality determinants in near drowning victims: A 5-year retrospective analysis”

Student presenters with Dr. Bryan Bognar, Dr. Richard Lockey, and SCP leaders.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications. 

Taking active roles in scholarly activities beyond the assigned curriculum will very likely give medical students a decided advantage when applying for residency programs and fellowships and even in the rest of their careers.

That was the central message for this year’s group of presenters in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Scholarly Concentrations Program Student Symposium, held Oct. 18. The 4^th annual symposium featured 21 presentations by medical students participating in the faculty-mentored Scholarly Concentration Program.

This year, 21 medical students presented their work at the Symposium.

The symposium is a trial run, of sorts, for the mostly second-year medical students to present their preliminary research data. Their projects will likely become their capstone project that culminates their work in their fourth year.

Called “The Real Next Steps:  The Importance of Scholarship, Community Service, Research and Intellectual Curiosity in the Practice of Medicine,” the symposium began with several speakers sharing their experiences and offering realistic advice for ways the students could improve their impact on the field of medicine, help propel themselves in their careers, and lead them to a more satisfying career.

This year’s physician panel included, from left. Drs. Theresa Zesiewicz, Steven Goldin, John Groundland, and Thure Caire.

“Scholarly work will help each of you build the foundation you will need for the rest of your years, with no short cuts,” said Steven Goldin, MD, PhD, professor of surgery in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

Dr. Goldin was one of four physicians who spoke before the student presentations. He stressed the need to stay diligent in their work and to not expect it to be easy, but that it will be satisfying.

John Groundland, MD, USF medical school alum and orthopaedic oncology surgeon at USF, advised students to look for mentors who will take an active part in your education.

M. Thure Caire, MD, USF medical school alum and a gastrointestinal fellow at USF, reminded students to be open to working with other people within their class and that it’s best to be collaborative in your work.

And Theresa Zesiewicz, MD, professor of neurology, director of the USF Ataxia Research Center, and director of Clinical Research for the USF Parkinson’s Research Foundation Center of Excellence, urged students to not be afraid of researching orphan diseases, that research will form the basis of the rest of their careers, and to surround themselves with great people.

First-year medical student Kiran Soni, asks the speaker panel a question at the Symposium.

After the panel speakers, students presented their work. Topics included the mechanics of disease, community involvement, politics and culture of Western medicine, health issues in poor communities, and medical education. Students and their topics included the following:

Katelyn Chitwood, MSIV: “Topical and Intralesional Treatment of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer: Efficacy and Cost Comparisons”

John DeNigris, MSII: “Altered Dermal Fibroblast Behavior in a Collagen V Haploinsufficient Model of Classic Type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome”

Nikki Freedman, MSII: “Cultural Awareness in Medicine: Exploring the Use of Art and Tradition in Healing Practices utilized by Native American Populations and Applying Concepts in Art Therapy to Care for the Ill”

Cheryl Godcharles, MSII, and Kathleen Pombier, MSII: “ESTEEM:  Empowering Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Through Educational Experiences in Medicine”

Chelsea Gorsline, MSII: “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Cedro Galán, Nicaragua”

Candace L. Haddox, MSIII, and Shreya Narayanan, MSII: “Nutrition Education:  A Curriculum to Increase Nutrition Competency Among Medical Students”

Mikaela Jayashekaramurthy, MSIV: “Improving Hand Hygiene: A Quality Initiative for Anesthesia Providers”

Michael Kongnyuy MSIII: “Penile Sparing Treatment Options For Select Primary Penile Tumors”

Second-year medical student John DeNigris kicked off the student presentations.

Jonathan Koscso, MSII, and Monique Konstantinovic, MSII: “Race 4 Her Life: Fighting Ovarian Cancer”

Danielle Kurant, MSIV: “From Diagnosis to Death – The Completed Capstone Project”

James Mauro, MSII: “Proteases in MHCII Epitope Processing: A Bioinformatics Approach”

Eric Monaco, MSII: “A Health Needs Assessment of the Resource-poor Community of Cedro Galán in Nicaragua”

Jacob Pierce, MSII: “Examination of the Factors Influencing Collaboration and Efficiency of Academic Research”

Kathryn L. Rodriguez, MSII: “Effect of Pulmonary Function Tests on Peri-Operative Outcomes after Robotic-Assisted Pulmonary Lobectomy:  Retrospective Analysis of 234 Consecutive Cases”

Elizabeth Rogers, MSII: “Impact of Lupus on Lipid Handling in THP-1 Human Macrophages”

Charles Schutt, MSII: “Anatomy and Physiology: A Curriculum to Increase Medical Competency of URM High School Students and Promote Medicine as a Possible Career Option”

Cindy Soto Shavor, MSII: “DNA Repair Capacity in Breast Cancer in a Puerto Rican Population”

Madeline Snyder MSIII: “Evaluating Handwriting as an Early Biomarker of Parkinson’s Disease”

Christian Thomas, MSII: “Gene Patents and the Future of Medicine”

Miqi Wang, MSII: “Effects of Local Anesthetics on Differentiation Potential of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells”

Bailee Williams-Olliff, MSII: “The Art of Community Engagement”

Started in 2007, the Scholarly Concentration Program provides medical students with an elective minor, of sorts, in one of 10 areas, providing them with opportunities for academic endeavors in areas of special interest. The concentrations are:  Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Business in Medicine; Health Disparities; Health Systems Engineering; International Medicine; Law and Medicine; Medical Education; Medical Humanities; Medicine and Gender; Public Health; and Research.

Each concentration includes elements of course work, practical application, and scholarly presentation and allows for self-directed learning, enhances interactions between students and fosters relationships between students and faculty.

Story by Sarah Worth, photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications. 

University of South Florida senior medical student Kenzo Koike’s capstone project was a reflection of the nine months he spent in Peru — learning about the healthcare system, conducting clinical rotations in resource-limited settings, and immersing himself in the foreign country’s culture. 

Koike, 29, was among the graduating medical students whose Scholarly Concentrations Program (SCP) capstone projects were showcased May 9 at the 2^nd Annual Gallery of Scholarship.   A record number of students — 65 – graduated from the Morsani College of Medicine last week with a scholarly concentration distinction. 

Kenzo Koike, graduating USF medical student, created an award-winning capstone project for his Scholarly Concentration program — a 9-month medical and cultural experience in Peru.

 Their capstone projects spanned a diversity of scholarly inquiry:  Research on the potential connection between quality of preconception health care and prevention of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality; a screenplay about a man diagnosed with schizophrenia and Capgras syndrome; the introduction of an interdisciplinary diabetes self-management education program at the BRIDGE Healthcare Clinic, to name just a few.

Since the SCP began six years ago, it has continued to grow – with nearly 80 percent of the college’s students participating in one of 10 faculty-mentored scholarly concentrations of special interest such as health disparities, innovation, entrepreneurship and business in medicine, health systems engineering, and public health.

“Some students have chosen the Morsani College of Medicine because of the opportunity to participate in scholarly and creative endeavors offered through our Scholarly Concentrations Program,” said SCP Director Susan Pross, PhD.  “Based upon their experiences in the program, some have even decided to pursue PhDs, or a master’s degree in public health, in addition to their medical education.”

Koike was the 2013 winner of program’s Thomas & Elizabeth Flannery/William & Mary Tibbetts Scholarly Award, a competitive $1,000 prize bestowed by Dr. Michael Flannery, professor of medicine, in honor of his maternal and paternal grandparents.

Dr. William Spellacy listens to a student describe her SCP capstone project.

Michelle Heck completed scholarly concentrations in both International Medicine and Medical Humanities.

He started planning and designing the curriculum for a long-term international medical experience in Cuzco, Peru shortly after selecting his scholarly concentration in international medicine as a first-year medical student.  His goal was to prepare for a career in medicine that includes working abroad and developing sustainable models of health care and health education.

Between his third and fourth year of medical school, Koike spent nine months in Cuzco, Peru, volunteering through an organization called Doctors for Global Health.  He encountered diagnoses and conditions not typically seen in the United States, from cutaneous tuberculosis and the rare parasitic disease leishmaniasis to an abdominal wound caused by a bull’s horn.  He went on rounds in public hospitals, helped deliver babies as an obstetrical intern in a labor and delivery clinic, and worked at a small American-operated women’s clinic offering pap smear screenings for cervical cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in Peruvian women.  With limited access to sophisticated imaging equipment and laboratory tests, particularly in rural areas, he also learned to rely on fundamental clinical skills and judgment.

Dr. Alicia Monroe, vice dean of Educational Affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, speaks with Kenzo Koike’s father.

Koike traveled to Cuzco with his wife Janie, a graduate student in USF’s Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program who worked at a domestic violence shelter while in Peru. They lived with a host family and interacted with the local community to immerse themselves in the local language and culture.

After finishing his residency in ophthalmology at Medical University of South Carolina and beginning his career as an MD in the United States, Koike said he hopes to return periodically to Peru. He envisions setting up an ophthalmology clinic that would provide much-needed cataract surgeries and other eye procedures.

“I want to help educate local physicians so they are empowered to take care of their own patients and their community,” he said.

In a blog, Koike chronicled his 9-month journey to explore global health in Cuzco, Peru, for other health professions students considering study abroad. To read more about his experiences and reflections, go to www.peru-zo.com.

Koike with staff from the Scholarly Concentrations Program, from left to right, Roberta Collins, academic service administrator for special projects; Susan Pross, PhD, director; and Ingrid Bahner, PhD, associate director.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communciations