Congratulations go out to third year medical student Lauren Petit for winning best clinical research poster at LSU-Health Baton Rouge Regional Research day! Lauren is presently performing third year clinical rotations in Baton Rouge.
Her poster is entitled “Clinical Impact of Shave Biopsy on Surgical Management of Cutaneous Melanoma” and was performed with John Lyons, M.D. in Surgical Oncology.
Congratulations to out to Jennifer Avegno, M.D., of the section of Emergency Medicine for securing at $10,000 grant from the Junior League to support the UMC Forensics program! 
Dr. Cathy J. Lazarus, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Records, received The Edithe J. Levit Distinguished Service Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners on March 23, 2018 at the 2018 NBME Annual meeting. The award recognizes “individuals who have devoted countless hours to the work and the vision of the NBME”. Dr. Lazarus began her volunteer service to the NBME in 1998. She has served on 15 different committees and task forces over the last 20 years including the Behavioral Sciences test writing committee (chair 2002-2006), the Evidence Based Medicine item writing committee, the video scenario task force, the Step 1 oversight committee, the NBME Board, the Stemmler Fund Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, the Diversity Task Force, the Budget Committee (which sets the fees for the USMLE exams), and the Search Committee for the Executive Director. She remains a member of the Communications Skills Item Writing Task Force.
Congratulations are in order for the following students who received their degrees from the School of Graduate Studies at the 144th Annual LSUHSC Graduation:
Master of Science
Bryant Nicholas Autin
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Jennifer Cameron (Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology)
Darryl Anthony Gaudet, Jr.
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Stefany Primeaux (Department of Physiology)
Charles Seth Lott
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Wayne Backes (Department of Pharmacology)
Shawn Jacob Marcell
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Ludmila Belayev (Neuroscience Center of Excellence)
Nouriath Gnon Ningbinnin*
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Ben Kelly (Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology)
Rod Ingraham Paulsen*
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Scott Edwards (Department of Physiology)
Jonquil Marie Poret
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Stefany Primeaux (Department of Physiology)
Alicia Nicole Ray-Botello*
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Nicholas Gilpin (Department of Physiology)
Domonique Patrice Smith
Department: Biomedical Sciences
Major Professor: Dr. Robert Siggins (Department of Physiology)
Doctor of Philosophy
Hannah Leslie Albritton
Department: Microbiology, Immunology, & Parasitology
Major Professor: Dr. Alison Quayle
Dissertation: The Importance of Local Mucosal Antibodies in Chlamydia Trachomatis Infections in Women
Sami Mohammed Alshehry
Department: Cell Biology & Anatomy
Major Professor: Dr. John Cork
Dissertation: The Effectiveness of Different Educational Resources for Teaching Neck Anatomy to First-Year Dental Students
Kayla Tye Beale Fuselier
Department: Human Genetics
Major Professor: Dr. Ed Grabczyk
Dissertation: MLH3 Isoforms: The Difference 72 Nucleotides Makes in GAA•TTC Repeat Expansion
Minmin Luo
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Major Professor: Dr. Sunyoung Kim
Dissertation: A Study of Kinesin-5 Mechanotransduction in Multi-Motor Systems
Mazvita Maziveyi
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Major Professor: Dr. Suresh Alahari
Dissertation: The Role of Nischarin in the Breast Tumor Microenvironment
Allyson Lea Schreiber
Department: Physiology
Major Professor: Dr. Nicholas Gilpin
Dissertation: Brain Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Signaling Mediates Traumatic Stress-Induced Behaviors
Dustin Roderick Todaro
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Major Professor: Dr. Arthur Haas
Dissertation: Mechanistic Conservation in Nedd4-2/NEDD4L-Catalyzed Polyubiquitin Chain Assembly
Rishi Kiran Trivedi*
Department: Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
Major Professor: Dr. David Lefer
Dissertation: Effects of LCZ696 on Myocardial and Vascular Function in the Setting of Heart Failure
Shannan Darice Washington
Department: Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
Major Professor: Dr. Donna Neumann
Dissertation: To Loop or to Insulate? How CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF) Regulates the Transcriptional Program of Herpes Simplex Virus Type I (HSV-1) Latency and the Transition to Reactivation
*In Absentia
Congratulations go out to the entire class of 2018 on their graduation from medical school! We wish you all the best in your future residencies and careers.
We’d also like to bring to your attention the following recipients of awards and honors presented at Pre-Commencement on May 16, 2018:
ALLEN A. COPPING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD
THE USPHS EXCELLENCE AWARD
THE GERALD R. GEHRINGER AWARD
THE NORMA C. RAGLAND MEMORIAL AWARD
THE ALASTAIR H. BURNS MEMORIAL AWARD
THE GEORGE D. LYONS AWARD IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY
THE BICK AWARD IN PSYCHIATRY
THE HERBERT ROTHSCHILD AWARD IN PEDIATRICS
THE STEPHEN OSOFSKY MEMORIAL AWARD IN PEDIATRICS
THE ALEC KING ORTHOPAEDIC AWARD
THE SAEM MEDICAL STUDENT EXCELLENCE AWARD
THE LSU EMERGENCY MEDICINE AWARD
THE KORNBERG AWARD IN BIOCHEMISTRY
THE PHARMACOLOGY AWARD
THE ABE MICKAL AWARD IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
THE HARRY DASCOMB AWARD IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES
THE HENRY JOLLY AWARD IN DERMATOLOGY
THE G. GORDON MCHARDY AWARD IN GASTROENTEROLOGY
THE ACP INTERNAL MEDICINE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
THE JOHN BOBEAR AWARD IN PULMONOLOGY
THE GARRET JOHN BUDDINGH MEMORIAL AWARD IN MICROBIOLOGY
THE HULL-AKENHEAD MEMORIAL AWARD IN CARDIOLOGY
THE LUIS PEREZ MEMORIAL AWARD IN OPHTHALMOLOGY
THE LSU ALUMNI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ANATOMY
THE RUSSELL L. HOLMAN MEMORIAL AWARD
THE URBAN MAES MEMORIAL AWARD
THE CLASS OF 1993 BOBBIE A. MILLET AWARD
THE CLASS OF 1991 ESPRIT DE CORPS AWARD
THE MOSES MAIMONIDES ETHICS AWARD
THE CLASS OF 1964 AWARD
THE RICHARD M. PADDISON MEDICAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARD
THE GEORGE H. KARAM ALPHA OMEGA ALPHA AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
THE DEAN’S AWARD
THE GEORGE SAM BEL MEMORIAL AWARD
THE CHANCELLOR’S AWARD
Congratulations go out to the following medical students who graduated with an “Honors in Research”, which is part of the LSU Medical Student Honors Program:
Laura Petrauskas
Christopher Anderson
The following eight juniors from the LSU SOM Class of 2019 have been selected for membership into the Louisiana Beta Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society:
The following residents, faculty members, and alumni have also been selected for membership into the Louisiana Beta Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society:
Residents:
Faculty:
Alumni:
Please join us in congratulating these students, residents, faculty, and alumni for achieving this well-deserved honor!
Adam Prevot (Class of 2021)
While still a relatively young tradition, the white coat ceremony has quickly become a mainstay in the medical training community as an opportunity to instill humanism in the hearts of future physicians from early on in their careers. On April 21st, 2018, the LSUHSC School of Medicine Class of 2021 donned the white coat for the first time in the company of their friends, family, and trusted faculty.
The white coat ceremony began in 1993 when Dr. Arnold Gold, a pediatric neurologist, realized that young medical students are often so engulfed in learning disease processes that they often forget that the face of a patient – an actual human, sits on the other side of a disease. Dr. Gold began to roll out white coat ceremonies at medical schools across the country with the idea of setting the expectation of “human centered medicine” as the gold standard of care for the physician from day one of training. With this ideal in mind, Dr. Gold started the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), which recognizes medical students who exhibit exceptional humanism in their approach to medical education and in every day life. The Class of 2021 reaffirmed Dr. Gold’s mission on that Saturday, highlighted by a promise to uphold ideals that echo Dr. Gold’s original mission with a “pledge to never forget that the practice of medicine is an earned privilege and that the well-being of the patient should always come first.”
The festivities of the Class of 2021’s white coat ceremony kicked off in the Superdome with a welcome from Dr. Steve Nelson, the Dean of the LSU School of Medicine. Following Dr. Nelson’s welcome, Brittany Foret, the Class of 2021 OSR Representative introduced the LSUHSC nominee for the AAMC Humanism in Medicine award – Dr. Randy Roig. Dr. Roig serves as assistant chief of the PM&R Service while also being extremely involved in the clinical education of LSU medical students, residents, and fellows. As a pain management specialist Dr. Roig regularly encounters patients when they are in debilitating pain – often the worst pain of their life. His speech during the ceremony highlighted his patient-centered care that purposefully approaches each patient as a human first – separate from his or her disease with an identity that is not defined by their pain.
Following Dr. Roig’s speech, GHHS President Victoria Serven presented the Class of 2019’s Lucie Calderon, the winner of GHHS Humanism in Medicine Essay contest. Lucie recounted a poignant story of her time at Children’s Hospital in the Oncology unit where she encountered the family of a young patient who had previously lost his battle to leukemia. The younger brother of the late patient spread joy and cheer to current patients on Valentine’s Day – the anniversary of his older brother’s death. Lucie’s essay highlights the call for physicians to approach medicine with the same purity and love for others that this child displays, even in the face of incredible challenges.
Dr. Fred Lopez served as the master of ceremonies during the event while Dr. Hamilton Farris and Dr. Cathy Lazarus assisted in conferring the coats with each student being “coated” by a distinguished faculty member selected by the Class of 2021. These faculty members were selected for their outstanding commitment to the education and development of the Class of 2021 and the conferring faculty included Dr. Robert Maupin, Dr. Andrew Hollenbach, Dr. Robin English, Dr. Cacky Hebert, Dr. David Worthylake, Dr. Patricia Molina, Dr. William Swartz, and Dr. Bud Landry. After all coats were conferred, several members of the Class of 2021 led the rest of the class in the Oath of Ideals which proudly proclaimed an ardent commitment to place the patient first and foremost in all aspects of the practice of medicine.
Dr. Arnold Gold died this year. There is no doubt that with the loss of this incredible human the world also lost a man rich in one of our scarcest resources today – compassion. Though he is gone, his legacy permeated throughout the Superdome on that afternoon as the Class of 2021 placed his mission firmly on our own shoulders. There is a new guard of doctors on the rise. A generation of healers educated in the shadow of a man who saw a “love problem” in medicine and took meaningful steps to fix it – and we should all be thankful for that.
The Class of 2021 would like to extend a special thanks to the Office of Student Affairs, whom without White Coat Ceremony would not have been possible. An extra–special–thanks goes out to Melanie Brown and Dr. Kourtnie Robin, whom without I surely would have had at least one meltdown trying to juggle planning the ceremony with the rigors of medical school.
Adam A. Prevot – President – Class of 2021
It is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce the newest members of the LSUHSC Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society who were recently chosen from the medical school class of 2019. GHHS nationally recognizes student-doctors who are viewed by peers as being the type of doctor one would send one’s own parent or child to for care - A ‘Doctor’s Doctor’. The following students were chosen by their classmates for being outstanding role models in the areas of empathy, altruism, respect, service, compassion, and integrity. Please join me in congratulating these incredible students:
Congratulations to Dr. Chelsey Sandlin (Department of Pediatrics) as the winner of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. This award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate both clinical excellence and outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and who show respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues.
Further congratulations go to the Class of 2019’s resident and faculty nominations for initiation into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. These physicians are considered exemplars of empathy, compassion, altruism, and integrity; their dedication to service in working with patients and others in the field of medicine inspired their students to nominate them for this honor. They were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society on May 29th at 5pm in the Medical Education Building Lecture Hall B.
