USF College of Pharmacy instructional designer Kevin Sellers, EdD, was honored as the Hero of the Game at the USF Bulls Oct. 8 game against East Carolina.

Hero of the Game is a designation for current service men and women, retired military personnel, and veterans. Dr. Sellers retired in 2015 as lieutenant colonel after 21 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Sellers was nominated by Kathy Pendergrass, executive administrative specialist, for the College of Pharmacy.

At the Oct. 8 game, and to a standing ovation, Dr. Sellers was honored for his service to our country. In addition, he received four complimentary game tickets and a USF prize pack.

Dr. Kevin Sellers stands with his family, wife Kim and daughter Katelyn (his other daughter Kourtney was not able to attend due to Hurricane Matthew), as he is applauded and honored as the Hero of the Game Oct. 8.

Dr. Sellers’ career is extensive and impressive. He completed Air Force ROTC at the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.  In addition, he earned an MBA from Embry Riddle and a Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University. In the beginning of his career, he “sat for about 180, 24-hour alerts in a capsule underground ready to launch nuclear weapons at the order of the President of the United States.”

His career also included teaching ROTC at the University of Pittsburgh, working at Cape Canaveral supporting launch operations, including the Space Shuttle and the introduction of two brand new launch vehicles (Delta 4 and Atlas 5).  He also supported operations for protection of our nation’s launch capability immediately after the events of 9/11.

In the Air Force and through is activism with the American Red Cross, Dr. Sellers earned four Meritorious Service medals, a Humanitarian Service medal, and a Military Outstanding Service medal, among other honors.

Read more about his career here

Photo courtesy of USF Athletics.

The writings of four USF Health medical students were included in the inaugural printed copy of a journal offering reflections and firsthand experiences of students across the country on their medical education journey.

The students from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine are among the dozens of students who had their written work included in the print version of in-Training: Stories from Tomorrow’s Physicians (Pager Publications).

USF MCOM students include third-year medical student Damien Zreibe, fourth-year students Ajay Koti and Victoria Psomiadis, and MCOM graduate Sasha Yakhkind, MD (’15).

USF MCOM student Damien Zreibe.

USF MCOM SELECT students Victoria Psomiadis and Ajay Koti

The book, in partnership with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, is designed as a resource guide for medical students and educators interested in medical education and the medical humanities. The compilation of 102 manuscripts, culled from the online magazine in-Training, presents first-person accounts by medical students of their experiences while becoming physicians, including stories from the dissection lab, in the classroom, and on the wards, reflecting on the patient-physician relationship, burnout, systemic barriers to care, and discovering passion for the healing arts.

“All of the manuscripts were written and edited by medical students, and were chosen by the editors for their humanistic merit in authentically presenting the challenges of being a physician-in-training,” said Ajay Major, MD, MBA, Albany Medical College Class of 2016 and founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of in-Training, in his letter notifying USF MCOM of the students’ inclusion.

In addition, each manuscript is accompanied by discussion questions written by the medical student editors of in-Training, and the questions were reviewed by members of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting humanism in medicine and medical education. Proceeds from the book go to Pager Publications, Inc. and will be used to pay for the website costs of in-Training. All members of the in-Training and Pager Publications editorial boards are unpaid and volunteer.

Narasaiah Kolliputi, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology, recently received a new two-year, $392,437 R21 award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to explore the role of a messenger RNA-binding protein called tristetraprolin (TTP) in alcohol-induced liver fibrosis.

This is Dr. Kolliputi’s second active NIH grant. In 2016 he was also awarded a $373,750 R56 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute investigating the mechanisms that cause lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

The build-up of scar tissue in the liver over time (fibrosis) can lead to a more serious outcome: cirrhosis. Liver fibrosis/cirrhosis is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the world, and alcohol abuse is responsible for more than 50 percent of liver cirrhosis cases in Western countries.

Alcohol-induced proliferation of fibrous tissue in the liver evolves from an imbalance between cell signaling molecules known as cytokines and the activation of hepatic stellate cells. This disruption affects the differentiation of smooth muscle cells into myofibroblasts involved in inflammatory response to injury.

Narasaiah Kolliputi, PhD

Dr. Kolliputi’s laboratory will work to shed light on the regulatory mechanisms involved in liver fibrosis pathology, including determining whether TPP suppression is critical for alcohol-induced fibrosis. Reducing these profibrotic mechanisms will be an important step towards developing new therapies to reduce or reverse fibrosis, Dr. Kolliputi said.

In his NIH-supported ARDS research, Dr. Kolliputi focuses on mechanisms of cytokine imbalance, through the study of inflammasomes, and aims to find a way to check the abnormal immune response and inflammation that lead to a build-up of fluid in the lungs. In ARDS tiny air sacs in the lungs fill abnormally and can no longer move oxygen the way they should. That means even a patient on a ventilator may not get enough oxygen into their blood.

Dr. Kolliputi and colleagues have found that clearing a toxic molecule (such as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal) can preserve mitochondrial function and attenuate acute lung injury. Using mouse models, they are exploring this mitochondrial pathway for potential therapies that may improve survival and quality of life for people with acute lung injury.

Dr. Kolliputi also holds an appointment in the Department of Molecular Medicine, the Department of Pediatrics, and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Winners for the second quarter have been named based on their stellar work as noted in patient satisfaction surveys for the USF Physicians Group. The high marks earned them awards that are part of the USFPG’s Press Ganey Employee Recognition Program, an effort to recognize those with top scores in each quarterly report.

The ongoing award program recognizes those who excelled in providing USFPG patients with exceptional care and service. Named each quarter based on that quarter’s survey results, winners are from four categories: provider, nurse practitioner/physician assistant, nurse, and office staff.

Q2-2016 winners are:

• Provider: John Ramirez, MD, Cardiology at Florida Cardiovascular Institute in South Tampa, with a score of 99.2%.
• Nurse practitioner/physician assistant: Lise Casady, ARNP-BC, MSCN, CNE, in the Department of Neurology, with a score of 99.7%
• Nurse/MA: Jen Baker, Leigh Donharl, Crista Ellis, Tara McEntarffer, Claudia Rocha, and Kelly Tehan, in the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, with a score of 98.2%
• Office staff/front desk: Jennifer Brock, Alicia Hubbard, Pia Martin, and Karen Myers, at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Center Internal Medicine, with a score of 98.9%

Cardiology’s Dr. John Ramirez won the provider award with a score of 99.2%.

Neurology’s Lise Casady, who won the nurse practitioner award with a score of 99.7%

Nursing team from the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, with Dr. Robert Hauser, includes: Tara McEntarffer, Crista Ellis, Jen Baker, Kelly Tehan, Leigh Donharl and Claudia Rocha, with a score of 98.2%.

Byrd Center Internal Medicine Office staff/front desk winners include: Jennifer Brock, Alicia Hubbard, Pia Martin, and Karen Myers, with a score of 98.9%.

Awards include a crystal bull for winning providers, an award that rotates among future winners, similar to the Stanley Cup for the National Hockey League. Winners in the other categories choose from several award options, such as lunch with colleagues, ice cream party, a catered “Breakfast from the Boss,” a cake party, and a patient comment plaque.

Patient surveys are provided through Press Ganey and are designed to encompass the entire patient experience, from the moment they walk in the door until the moment they leave. For USFPG providers, the survey helps them understand what patients expect. Feedback, both complimentary and critical, helps USFPG providers know where they stand, giving them a baseline for implementing improvements. The information collected is used to define and design strategies that improve patient care and build stronger patient safety initiatives, as well as provide benchmarking opportunities with other large academic physician practices.

Photos by Ryan Noone, USF Health Office of Communications.

USF Health spine expert John Mayer, DC, PhD, has been named a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, with more than 50,000 members and certified professionals worldwide.

Dr. Mayer is professor in the USF Health School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Lincoln Endowed Chair in Biomechanical and Chiropractic Research, as well as coordinator of research for USF Health physical therapy program. His research focuses on investigating the link between poor back muscular fitness and low back pain, earning him federal research dollars to study back pain preventative options for firefighters and veterans. He was also tapped by NASA to join their experts at a national meeting that discussed the full effects of spaceflight on injury risk.

Dr. Mayer will be recognized for the award at the group’s annual meeting held next May in Colorado.

USF Health’s leader Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, has been elected president-elect of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS).

Dr. Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, is an obstetrician and is recognized internationally as a health care and research leader who is active in the professional organizations for his specialty, including being an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, serving on national boards, such as the March of Dimes, and serving as editor-in-chief of Contemporary Ob/Gyn. He is also the recipient of multiple research grant awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the March of Dimes and other foundations.

Dr. Lockwood’s clinical interests include prevention of recurrent pregnancy loss, preterm delivery and maternal thrombosis. He maintains an active laboratory at USF Health dedicated to research in these areas and oversees the USF Physicians Group, the faculty group practice of the Morsani College of Medicine.

Dr. Lockwood’s term as AGOS president-elect is for the 2016-2017 academic year, after which he will be installed as president of AGOS.

USF Health’s Senior Vice President Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, was recently named in the Power 100 list produced by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Dr. Lockwood was among this region’s top leaders to watch in 2017 and was one of only nine leaders in health care to make the list. In this second annual list, the TBBJ noted it “set out to identify 100 people in the Tampa Bay business community we believe are the influencers of money, thought and opportunity — people you all want to know.”

Dr. Lockwood, who is also dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, is an obstetrician and is recognized internationally as a health care and research leader who is active in the professional organizations for his specialty, including being an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, serving on national boards, such as the March of Dimes, and serving as editor-in-chief of Contemporary Ob/Gyn. He is also the recipient of multiple research grant awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the March of Dimes and other foundations.

In addition to leading USF Health and the Morsani College of Medicine, he also oversees the USF Physicians Group, the faculty group practice of the Morsani College of Medicine and the largest multispecialty group practice on the west coast of Florida.

Three senior faculty members — Paula Bickford, PhD; Jorge Lockhart, MD; and Michael White, PhD — were recently selected as Distinguished USF Health Professors for 2015-16.

The designation recognizes outstanding faculty who have clearly distinguished themselves in their fields and are known nationally and internationally for their research and scholarly activity.

Dr. Paula Bickford is a professor of neurosurgery in the USF Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and in the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, as well as a senior research career scientist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.  She has conducted pioneering research in several areas related to aging, including brain catecholamine aging and antioxidants, and is recognized as a leader in the field of nutritional neuroscience.  Her work with rodents demonstrated the role of the cerebellum in age-related memory decline, and was among the first to show that a variety of common fruits and vegetable with high antioxidant activity may reverse and potentially prevent certain aspects of brain aging.

Dr. Bickford has been continuously funded by the Veterans Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) throughout her research career.  She received the Walter Nicolai Prize from the American Aging Association and a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging.  A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Bickford is a past president of the American Aging Association and the American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair.

Dr. Jorge Lockhart is professor and founding chair of the Department of Urology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. He also serves as a faculty member in the Genitourinary Program at Moffitt Cancer Center. He directs and has developed the USF Urology Residency Program, which under his guidance has achieved accreditation, steadily grown, and gained recognition as a top program.

An international pioneer in the surgical and medical management of bladder cancer, Dr. Lockhart has contributed significantly to the knowledge of bladder function and conditions impacting the bladder. His research interests include reconstruction of the urinary tract following ablative surgery and urinary incontinence following radical surgery.  In 1999, he collaborated on the development of a colonic-based bladder alternative, which he named the “Florida Pouch,” a transformational advance offering patients the possibility of living fully without an ostomy appliance and external urine bag.

Dr. Lockhart is fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a past president of the American Confederation of Urology, representing more than 5,000 urologists from South and Central America, Spain and Portugal.  He is a member of the Society of Urologic Surgeons, an honor bestowed to the top 5 percent of urologists in the United States in recognition of exemplary contributions to education, research and innovation in the field of urology.

Dr. Michael White is professor of global health in the USF College of Public Health and member of the USF Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation. He is internationally recognized in the field of microbial genomics and cell biology with a strong track record of publication and NIH funding. Dr. White’s research focuses on the human pathogen Toxoplasma gondii, which has emerged as the leading genetic model organism for studying the biology of apicomplexan parasites causing malaria, toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidiosis as well as several veterinary diseases. Dr. White and colleagues were the first to uncover part of the mysterious process by which T. gondii spreads at explosive and potentially deadly rates inside humans and other animals.

Since coming to USF in 2009, Dr. White has emerged as a leader in several areas of parasitology research, including development and application of genomic-scale technologies and use of large-scale screening approaches to dissect transcriptional mechanisms, signaling pathways and cell cycle regulation.

Dr. White just concluded serving as chair of the NIH Eukaryotic Pathogens Study Section, which covers research on all parasitic and fungal infections. He is a member of the Genome Consortium for T. gondii.

The Distinguished USF Health Professor award recognizes senior faculty across all USF Health colleges and programs for their substantial achievements in the areas of research, teaching and service. Faculty members are nominated by their deans, recommended by their peers and selected through a rigorous process of internal and external review of each nominee’s credentials.

In addition to receiving a $5,000 base salary adjustment, Drs. Bickford, Lockhart and White are invited to give a USF Health address during the academic year, and are granted the State University System title of Distinguished USF Health Professor.  A commemorative medallion will be awarded to each at the Annual Research Day Lectureship in February.

USF Health’s Catherine Lynch, MD, was among six recently named Women of Distinction and Women of Promise for 2017 by the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

Awardees are deemed to have “achieved success in their chosen fields and serve as inspiring role models for girls in local communities, each exemplifying ethical leadership and a commitment to making a difference in the lives of their fellow citizens through community service.”

Dr. Lynch, who is professor of obstetrics and gynecology, associate vice president for Women’s Health and Faculty Development for USF Health, and associate dean for Faculty Development for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was chosen for her efforts of the past two decades supporting research and awareness of women’s health issues.

The group cited Dr. Lynch’s work in menopause, HPV infection (particularly protecting girls and young women from cervical cancer), PAP smear guidelines, Cesarean section, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse.

Dr. Lynch will be among the six women honored in March at the annual Women of Distinction luncheon, which benefits nearly 20,000 girls served by Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. The keynote speaker for this year’s luncheon will be America’s best-known Olympian, Mary Lou Retton, who became a household name after becoming the first American to earn the Olympic Gold Medal in gymnastics in 1984.

gswcf.org

Girl Scouts Honor Women of Distinction, Promise

USF Health’s Dean of Pharmacy Kevin Sneed, PharmD, was recently elected Distinguished Fellowship by the National Academies of Practice in Pharmacy.

Dr. Sneed, who is dean of the USF College of Pharmacy and senior associate vice president for USF Health, will be inducted and receive his fellowship medallion at the group’s annual meeting in March.

In the letter notifying Dr. Sneed of the appointment, it was noted that he is “recognized as a leader in your profession and your colleagues in other academies of NAP recognize your ability to help establish and lead your new academy in days to come.”

The NAP was founded in 1981 to advise governmental bodies on the health care system and includes practitioners, scholars and public policy advocates from 14 health care professions, which allows public policy makers the ability to hear health care policy advice from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Dr. Sneed was elected to the Distinguished Fellowship by peers from NAP’s 14 health professions.

Two faculty members supporting student affairs for the USF-Lehigh Valley campus were awarded a Service Star for their support and compassion to three USF Health Morsani College of Medicine students who lost their homes in an apartment complex fire in Allentown, PA.

Michael LaRock, MD, assistant dean of Student Affairs for the USF-Lehigh Valley campus, and Kelliann Herman, MBA, senior specialist for Student Affairs at the campus, were instrumental for the students’ recovery from the damage and ensuring their basic needs were met by raising funds. They also worked on behalf of the students by maintaining communication to the main USF campus in Tampa. The three students are part of the SELECT MD program in the Morsani College of Medicine and spend their first two years of medical school on the USF Campus in Tampa and the third and fourth years in Lehigh Valley Health Network, in Allentown.

“The response from Dr. La Rock and Ms. Herman made me feel like I had people I could count on,” said Ariel Penaranda, a fourth-­­­year SELECT student who was affected by the fire. “They are so committed to their students. I will always be grateful for their compassion and generosity. Someday, I hope I can take care of someone in need the same way they’ve taken care of me,”

Service Star is a program to recognize employees who consistently exceed the Lehigh Valley PRIDE service standards. The Reward and Recognition Committee members select the monthly Service Star recipients from the nominations received.

“It was such an honor to be nominated, let alone receive this award for doing what I consider is what we sign up for when working with our SELECT medical students,” Herman said. “It’s gratifying to provide assistance to our students whenever and however needed.”

The designation makes USF one of 10 premier centers worldwide, and the first U.S. center

Tampa, FL (Feb. 22, 2017) — The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida was recently chosen as a World Allergy Organization (WAO) Center of Excellence for the 2016-19 term – a recognition held by only 10 institutions worldwide.

The designation, held by the college’s Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology, makes USF the first WAO Center of Excellence in the United States and one of three in North America, joining Centro Regional de Alergia Immunologia in Monterrey, Mexico, and Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez in Mexico City.  Over the last 30 years, the division has been led by Richard Lockey, MD, a Distinguished USF Health Professor with appointments in medicine, pediatrics and public health and the Joy McCann Culverhouse Endowed Chair of Allergy and Immunology.

Dr. Richard Lockey directs the USF Health Division of Allergy and Immunology.

“We are honored to receive this distinction as one of the select Centers of Excellence of the World Allergy Organization,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “It is a testament to the hard work of an amazing group of highly talented USF faculty members dedicated to the prevention and treatment of pediatric and adult allergy, immunology and immune diseases. They have distinguished themselves with countless awards and accolades and by serving in national and international leadership roles.”

The WAO is an international umbrella organization consisting of 97 regional and national allergy and clinical immunology societies, representing approximately 35,000 allergists and immunologists worldwide.  The purpose of the WAO Centers of Excellence is to intensify and accelerate multidisciplinary scientific and clinical innovation, education, and advocacy worldwide providing excellence in education, research and training to various stakeholders in allergy, asthma and clinical immunology.

USF Health Division of Allergy and Immunology accomplishments contributing to its status as a WAO Center of Excellence include:

• Home to the only two allergy and immunology residency training programs in Florida accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education – one in internal medicine and the other in pediatrics.
• The division’s Clinical Research Unit is one of 17 select centers in the American Lung Association Clinical Research Centers network, studying patients with airway diseases and generating several studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.
• Holds four National Institutes of Health grants and maintains a $15 million endowment for research. Working with faculty in public health and infectious diseases, the division also leads a recently awarded $1.1-million state Department of Health grant to establish an integrated Zika clinical trial network in Florida.     

In addition to Dr. Lockey, core faculty members of the USF Health Division of Allergy and Immunology are Thomas B. Casale, MD; Roger W. Fox, MD; Dennis K. Ledford, MD, Seong H. Cho, MD; Mark C. Glaum, MD, PhD; Narasaiah Kolliputi, PhD; Michael N. Teng, PhD; Blanca Camoretti-Mercado, PhD; Lakshmi Galam, PhD; and Farnaz Tabatabaian, MD.      

– Story by Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications        

Cindy L. Munro, PhD, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, FAAAS, was recently selected to receive the 2017 Leadership in Research Award by the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS).

Dr. Munro, professor and associate dean for Research and Innovation for the USF College of Nursing, was chosen for her numerous outstanding contributions to leadership in the SNRS and promotion of nursing and health care research. The designation is not awarded annually, but only when the SNRS board of directors determines a qualified designee. Dr. Munro is the ninth recipient of the Leadership in Research Award in SNRS’s 31 year history.

Dr. Munro, who joined USF in 2011 and is also co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Critical Care, received the award at the group’s annual conference in Dallas in February.

The SNRS was founded in 1986 and includes 14 states in the Society region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. In 1991, the boundaries were expanded to include the Caribbean, Latin America and the Bahamas.

Winners for the third quarter for 2016 have been named based on their stellar work as noted in patient satisfaction surveys for the USF Physicians Group. The high marks earned them awards that are part of the USFPG’s Press Ganey Employee Recognition Program, an effort to recognize those with top scores in each quarterly report.

The ongoing award program recognizes those who excelled in providing USFPG patients with exceptional care and service. Named each quarter based on that quarter’s survey results, winners are from four categories: provider, nurse practitioner/physician assistant, nurse, and office staff.

Q3-2016 winners are:

• Provider: Michael Albrink, MD, associate professor in the Department of Surgery, with a score of 98.7%.
• Nurse practitioner/physician assistant: Lise Casady, ARNP-BC, MSCN, CNE, in the Department of Neurology, with a score of 98.0%
• Nurse/MA: Andrea Alvarez, Colleen Gillespie, Yanira Pirela-Talbott, Mylinh Trinh, and Monia Rivera-Agard, from the Wesley Chapel Vein Center, with a score of 97.5%
• Office staff/front desk: Sarah Mister and Cathy Rivera at the Department of Cardiology at the Florida Cardiology Institute in Sun City Center, with a score of 98.5%

Cardiology’s Dr. Michael Albrink won the provider award with a score of 98.7%, here with Phil Cox and Dr. Terri Ashmeade. Photo by Eric Younghans.

Neurology’s Lise Casady, who won the nurse practitioner award with a score of 98.0%, with Dr. Derrick Robertson. Photo by Vjollca Hysenlika.

Nursing team winners from the Wesley Chapel Vein Center are, from left, Andrea Alvarez, Mylinh Trinh, Aurelia Calero, MD, Yanira Pirela-Talbott, and Monia Rivera-Agard, with a score of 97.5%. Not pictured is Colleen Gillespie. Photo by Rania Ruth.

Department of Cardiology at the Florida Cardiology Institute in Sun City Center staff/front desk winners include, from left, Cathy Rivera and Sarah Mister, pictured with Dr. Fadi Matar, with a score of 98.5%. Photo by Maria Garces.

Awards include a crystal bull for winning providers, an award that rotates among future winners, similar to the Stanley Cup for the National Hockey League. Winners in the other categories choose from several award options, such as lunch with colleagues, ice cream party, a catered “Breakfast from the Boss,” a cake party, and a patient comment plaque.

Patient surveys are provided through Press Ganey and are designed to encompass the entire patient experience, from the moment they walk in the door until the moment they leave. For USFPG providers, the survey helps them understand what patients expect. Feedback, both complimentary and critical, helps USFPG providers know where they stand, giving them a baseline for implementing improvements. The information collected is used to define and design strategies that improve patient care and build stronger patient safety initiatives, as well as provide benchmarking opportunities with other large academic physician practices.

Jorge Lockhart, MD, distinguished professor and founding chair of the Department of Urology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Urological Society Board of Directors.

Dr. Lockhart received the award for his decades of dedication and commitment to the urological community, academic contributions to urology, and membership and mentorship to the Florida Urological Society. He will be recognized with the award this September at the 69^th Annual Meeting of the Florida Urological Society in Orlando.

Jorge Lockhart, MD

The Florida Urological Society, which was founded in 1948, provides an educational, political, social and economic forum and voice for all urologists in the state of Florida. Dr. Lockhart has been a member of the organization for decades.

This is just one of many recognitions for Dr. Lockhart. He was recently named a Distinguished USF Health Professor for his outstanding contributions to research and scholarly activity. He was also named an Honor Member of Confederation of America’s Urologists.

An international pioneer in the surgical and medical management of bladder cancer, Dr. Lockhart has contributed significantly to the knowledge of bladder function and conditions impacting the bladder. His research interests include reconstruction of the urinary tract following ablative surgery and urinary incontinence following radical surgery.

Dr. Lockhart joined USF in 1987 from the University of Miami and is an internationally recognized leader in the field of urinary diversion and pelvic reconstruction. He has also directed and developed the USF Urology residency program at USF Health, which under his leadership has steadily grown.

Dr. Lockhart is fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a past president of the American Confederation of Urology, representing more than 5,000 urologists from South and Central America, Spain and Portugal.  He is a member of the Society of Urologic Surgeons, an honor bestowed to the top 5 percent of urologists in the United States in recognition of exemplary contributions to education, research and innovation in the field of urology.

Story by Vjollca Hysenlika, USF Health  Communications and Marketing

USF Health pharmacy faculty member Angela Garcia, MPH, PharmD, was recently elected president elect for Florida Pharmacy Association.

Dr. Angela Garcia

Dr. Garcia, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the USF College of Pharmacy, will be installed at the group’s annual convention in Orlando in July.

Dr. Garcia earned her pharmacy degree, as well as her Master of Public Health degree, from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Garcia served as the co-coordinator for an international medical mission outreach program through Women of HOPE, working in an interprofessional capacity in Jamaica, West Indies, since 2008. In addition, she has worked in community pharmacy and spent her time building relationships that fostered initiatives resulting in improved outcomes for patients.

Currently, Dr. Garcia serves as the member-at-large for the Florida Public Health Association, and formerly served as a member of its Board of Directors.

She has supported the pharmacy profession through local unit leadership as a former member of the Board of Directors with Broward County Pharmacy Association and currently with the Pinellas County Pharmacy Association.

Within FPA, Dr. Garcia has served as chair for both the Public Affairs and the Educational Affairs councils, as well as the Ad Hoc Health Fair Committee. She has been active in advocacy and legislation to support the Florida Pharmacists’ Health Fair and Legislative Days, a program designed to support public health and awareness.

A select group of 28 USF Health Morsani College of Medicine students and nine alumni, faculty and residents were recently inducted into the Gamma Florida Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), the national medical honor society.

They were honored April 17 at the chapter’s annual induction banquet, hosted by chapter faculty councilor, Catherine M. Lynch, MD, at the University Club of Tampa.

The 28 newly inducted medical students included 14 each from the classes of 2017 and 2018.  In addition, the April 17 ceremony recognized 13 other Class of 2017 students who were elected to AOA last year when they were third-year medical students.

Membership in AOA is considered one of the highest academic honors a medical student can receive and is a distinction that accompanies a physician throughout his or her career.  One in every six students are eligible to be inducted.  The society’s motto is “Be worthy to serve the suffering.”

Twice a year, the AOA Gamma Chapter at USF MCOM elects new members, chosen from the top 25 percent of the class.  Of that 25 percent, up to 16 percent may be elected based on leadership, character, community service and professionalism, according to alphaomegaalpha.org

“We are gathered here to celebrate the contributions each of you have made to strengthen our medical school and the future of health care,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

The AOA, founded in 1902, is the national medical honor society.  Members join the ranks of more than 50 Nobel Prize winners in physiology, medicine and chemistry.  Additionally, 11 of the past 19 U.S. surgeons are AOA members.

Residents: Asha Balakrishnan, MD;  Ju Hee Kim, MD
Faculty: Robert Barraco, MD, MPH;  Javier Cuevas, PhD; Akhil Maheshwari, MD, FAAP
Sarah Y. Yuan, MD, PhD
Alumni: Sylvia Deal Campbell, MD – class of 1977; Peter J. Embi, MD, MS – class of 1997
M. Rony Francois, MD, MSPH, PhD –class of 1994 MD, 1998 MSPH, 2003 PhD

MCOM Class of 2017 inductees (alphabetical): Himanshu Ajrawat, Matthew Beattie, Jacob Benedict, Camila Cabrera Carly Crowder, Alexander Guillaume, Tiana Guillaume, Peter Hanna, Paloma Irizarry, Emma Jones, Thuy-Quynh Le, Kathleen McFadden, Myassan Muftah, Philip Palmon, Richelle Reinhart, George Richard, Samuel Slone, Thejal Srikumar, Cady Welch, Matthew Witzel.  Not pictured: Kyle Achors, Nigel Arruda, Steven Baltic, Rebecca Brown, Luis Gonzalez, Andrew Mehlman, Augustine Wilson. All students have graduated from MCOM.

MCOM Class of 2018 inductees (alphabetical): Katherine “Katie” Allen, Mark Bender, Nicholar Castner, Zachary Christopher, Amanda Copenhaver, Curtis Gravenmier, Damien Knudson, Robert Levy, Tyag Patel, Abby Pribish, Mark Schattschneider, Tyler Stutzman, Kristin Tessiatore, Chelsea Wilson.

USF Health neurologist Selim Benbadis, MD, has been named associate editor for a “Wikipedia Epilepsy initiative” of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Dr. Benbadis, professor and director of the Division of Epilepsy of the Department of Neurology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was one of two associate editors appointed to revise and edit existing epilepsy-related entries in Wikipedia, as well as provide and edit new entries in the future. The public-facing entries will offers all aspects of epilepsy that includes full-featured articles and commented video sequences of seizures.

Wikipedia is a commonly accessed source of health information by professionals and the lay public worldwide. Editing and monitoring the Wikepedia content on epilepsy by medical professionals will provide readers of the online database with the most authoritative and up-to-date information about epilepsy, with the widest possible penetration and range, and in many languages.

Dr. Benbadis was appointed by the International League Against Epilepsy as one of only two associate editors for its new “Wikipedia Epilepsy initiative.” The Editor in Chief is Dr. Günter Kraemer (Switzerland), and the other Associate Editor Dr. Emilio Perruca (Italy).

The Graduate Medical Education (GME) program for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine recently earned continued accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

USF’s GME program, which oversees the training for all physician residents in MCOM, earned the accreditation along with substantial commendation for no citations, said Charles Paidas MD, MBA, vice dean GME at USF Health.

GME Vice Dean Dr. Charles Paidas greets Lindsey Ryan, MD, otolaryngology resident, on her first day at Tampa General Hospital in 2015.

The ACGME review committee commended USF Health for its “demonstrated substantial compliance with the ACGME’s Institutional Requirements without any new citation.”

“This is a big deal in ACGME world and testimony to everyone, but especially the USF Health GME staff,” Dr. Paidas said. “The ACGME doesn’t treat commendations lightly.”

In total, 59 of MCOM’s residency/fellowship programs received continued accreditation and three newer programs received initial accreditation.

Neuroscientist Cesar Borlongan, a USF distinguished professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, was awarded the Everfront Award at the 10th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cell and Cancer Research held in April at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan.

The Everfront Award honors outstanding research contributions in stem cell and cancer research, including preclinical, clinical and translational work, and is presented to a researcher at the forefront of the field. Borlongan is recognized as a world leader for his research on the neuroprotective and neurorestorative effects of stem cell therapies in stroke. His translational bench to clinic research has led to five FDA-approved clinical trials of cell transplantation, including the world’s first cell therapy in stroke.

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