Inside LSU Health Shreveport - Volume 1, 2023

LEFT: Members of the inaugural graduating class of the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine were recognized at the 50th graduation ceremony on May 19, 2023.

pictured: (Front Row) Michael D. Cox, MD, David Cooksey, MD, Timothy M. Hart, MD, J. Michael Geiger, MD (Back Row) Barry M. Rills, MD, Gregory M. Heroman, MD, Robert W. Little, MD, Willard F. Washburne, MD, Tandy W. McElwee, Jr., MD, G. Kenneth Harrison, MD, Thomas D. Carey, MD not pictured: McMurry Fitzsimmons, MD, Harold J. Gauthier, MD, Martha R. Gauthier, MD, William E. Haley, MD, Robert E. Harper, MD, Cary A. Hernandez, MD, Jackson R. Holland, MD, Jeffery L. Janies, MD, Daniel J. Moller, Jr., MD, P. Keith Nabours, MD, Carl J. Richard, MD, James V. Richardson, MD, Thomas Y. Soileau, MD, Mark S. Wicks, MD deceased: F. Peter Brinkman III, MD, Oliver M. Fletcher III, MD, Stephen G. Jenkinson, MD, Richard C. Kamm, MD, Leonard B. Kancher, MD, David W. Law, MD, Sherman E. Matthews, James C. McDonald, MD, John M. Réaux, MD

BELOW: Composite photo of the inaugural class of the medical school. Sadly, classmate Sherman Matthews lost his life in an automobile accident in October of 1972, just six months shy of graduation.

DEAN, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

David F. Lewis, MD, MBA

DEAN, SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, OCS

DEAN, SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Chris Kevil, PhD

Letter from the Chancellor

Greetings from LSU Health Shreveport as we are wrapping up fiscal year 2022-23. I am pleased to share that it has been a productive year with numerous faculty members, staff, students, residents and fellows demonstrating their ability to excel at the highest levels. Examples of those achievements include:

■ 25% increase in extramural research funding.

■ 55% increase in agreements to protect intellectual property.

■ LSU Health Shreveport named as one of only five sites for nationwide study on Parkinson’s disease in Black and African American individuals.

■ Three second-year medical students at LSU Health Shreveport were chosen to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Scholar Program with Tyler Tran winning 3rd place in the medical student category of the program and going on to win a People’s Choice Award at the national NIH All of Us Researchers Convention.

■ The School of Allied Health Professions received five-year approval by the Louisiana Board of Regents of their Center of Academic Excellence in Patient Centered Rehabilitation.

■ Dr. Lynn Harrison, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology was selected as a Space Biology Scientist for NASA.

■ Dr. Andrew Zhang, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, recently performed the first robotic spine surgery using the Mazor X™ Robotic Guidance System at the OLHS Academic Medical Center. This system allows for smaller incisions and faster recovery times for patients.

■ St. Mary Medical Center won the Guardian of Excellence Award for Clinical Patient Experience.

■ Louisiana Behavioral Health experienced a 20% year over year growth in inpatient care.

■ The Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport partnership has experienced a 78.1% growth in clinical volume since the inception of the partnership and dramatic improvements in quality-of-care metrics and patient satisfaction.

While I have only been serving as Chancellor since January, I am confident about the bright future that lies ahead for LSU Health Shreveport. There are numerous reasons for this confidence, but one that stands out is the broad and sincere interest of the community in supporting the institution. I have observed and experienced this personally and received reinforcement of this fact as I read the history of the School of Medicine, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first graduating class in May. I applaud the tenacity and longevity of the efforts to establish a medical school in Shreveport. In my opinion, we all owe those visionary individuals a debt of gratitude as their wisdom and tireless work has and will continue to impact our community, students and patients in a profound way.

As we strive to successfully build on our storied past with bold plans for the future, I hope you will take time to read about our history and the steps being taken to deliver the value our forefathers predicted over a half century ago.

David S. Guzick, MD, PhD Chancellor LSU Health Shreveport

Meet the CHANCELLOR

David

S. Guzick, MD, PhD

The Fourth Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport

David S. Guzick, MD, PhD, began as the fourth Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport on January 9, 2023, after a national search. Dr. Guzick immediately began efforts to get entrenched in the community, interviewing with all three local TV stations and multiple publications as well as accepting an invitation to speak to the Downtown Rotary Club on January 24 after being on the job for twelve days.

When asked why he was interested in the chancellor position at LSU Health Shreveport, Dr. Guzick responded, “I was inspired by the vision set forth by Dr. William Tate, President of LSU. I watched a video detailing his goals and how he planned to achieve them. The goals were audacious and inspiring resulting in my interest in working for such a visionary. I was also struck by the incredibly positive impact of LSU Health Shreveport on the economy and health of the community, making the position very appealing based on my background and interests. I am extremely honored to have been selected as the Chancellor for LSU Health Shreveport and have

become even more excited about the position after working with both LSU Health Shreveport and Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport leadership and in learning of the immense community support.”

As a second-generation Polish immigrant born in Brooklyn, pursuing a medical career had not occurred to Guzick until the summer after his freshman year of college when he visited his uncle, who was dying of leukemia, in the hospital. Impressed with the way everyone — caregivers and technicians — played their part to create a healing environment, the art and science of medicine left its stamp on Guzick, and he began his own personal journey of “aiming high.” The healing nature and grounding of scientific knowledge in medicine held inherent appeal for Guzick leading him to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr. Guzick earned his medical and doctoral degrees from NYU as part of the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program. His PhD is in

economics with specialty concentrations in health economics and econometrics. Following a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, he completed a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

During his fellowship, Guzick met his wife, Donna Giles, a clinical psychologist and noted sleep researcher. Recruited with his wife to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where they stayed for nine years, Guzick served as Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, where he became a national figure in this field, making contributions that changed clinical practice in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and infertility. “My decision to specialize in reproductive endocrinology came at a very interesting time for the field, the late 1970s, which marked the beginnings of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF,” Guzick shared. “I was lucky to be a part of a new field in reproductive medicine, as it transitioned from science fiction to an “experimental technique” to what has become a mature specialty that has helped millions of couples around the world start and grow their families.

It was his time in Pittsburgh that would prepare Guzick for his own rise in medical leadership and administration as he was recruited to the University of Rochester to serve as the Henry A. Thiede Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He served in this capacity for seven years before being appointed as the Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. He recollects moving into each of these leadership positions as a bigger jump than he imagined, stretching himself beyond the content areas in which he was expert and comfortable into broader responsibilities that came with a steep learning curve. His takeaway from his fourteen years at the University of Rochester was “the better the relationship between the schools and

hospitals, the better off were both organizations.” In addition to serving as Dean, Guzick was the principal investigator for Rochester’s NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award. Continuously funded by NIH for over 20 years at that point, and internationally recognized for his research in reproductive medicine, Dr. Guzick was elected the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2004 and to the National Academy of Medicine in 2008.

Dr. Guzick was next recruited to the University of Florida (UF) to serve as the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and President of UF Health. Under his leadership, the UF Health hospital system and six UF health science colleges were brought together as a functionally integrated academic health center, resulting in transformative improvements in patient care quality, NIH funding and educational innovation, as well as a dramatic expansion in education, research and clinical facilities. The Gainesville Sun characterized Dr. Guzick as a “Renaissance man of the healthcare world” based on being both a reproductive endocrinologist – who trained with the fathers of IVF - and an economist. Stepping down from his leadership responsibilities at UF in 2018, UF President Kent Fuchs stated that his “leadership over the past nine years has been transformative. He has created a culture of excellence and defined a vision for the future that has inspired our entire university. Rather than settling for regional excellence, he has led UF Health toward national leadership in research, education, and patient care.” Dr. Guzick then moved on to his next goal of authoring a book that combines his expertise in health economics with his hands-on experience in running a medical school and health system – The U.S. Health Care Industry: Balancing Care, Cost and Access, which was published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in 2020.

Dr. Guzick has begun to implement his mantra of Aiming High at LSU Health Shreveport by writing a monthly Aiming High newsletter and establishing two new intramural research grants made available to existing faculty, contributing to the overall goal of doubling external research funding in the next five years. Also contributing to this goal is the recruitment of a director and other faculty members to conduct research at the new Bio Safety Level 3 Lab (BSL3), a process with which Dr. Guzick is actively engaged. His course on the U.S. health care industry has begun in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, a degree offered jointly from LSU Health Shreveport and LSUS. He is also actively involved on a daily basis with the clinical enterprise, representing the LSU Health Shreveport side of the Ochsner LSU Health System partnership to foster a functionally integrated academic health center that will place the needs of our patients first, providing excellent care along with unsurpassed hospitality and service, a combination that will make LSU Health Shreveport the dominant academic health center in the Ark-La-Tx region.

The words of another individual (Coach Bear Bryant) known for “aiming high” seem fitting as Guzick undertakes the task at hand of shepherding LSU Health Shreveport to achieve its potential, “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”

Celebrating

50 YEARS of Medical Education

For 50 years, LSU Health Shreveport has provided medical education to students as the only allopathic medical school in North Louisiana. From a class of 32 students to an incoming class of 150, LSU Health Shreveport has risen to meet the needs of educating an increasing number of physicians with a goal that they will serve our state.

A Determined Fight Yields a Humble Beginning

Before there was education at LSU Health Shreveport, there was service to the community. Our partner hospital, holding many names throughout the years, was founded in 1876 as Shreveport Charity Hospital when there was a critical need for a state-funded hospital in our community to help and heal the medically underserved. Over the years, the hospital moved from the corners of Pierre Avenue and Ford Street to Texas Avenue and Murphy Street to Kings Highway and Linwood Avenue, where it remains today as Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - Academic Medical Center.

The medical school in Shreveport did not come without its challenges. In 1950, Dr. W.E. Reid proposed a medical school in Shreveport to the Shreveport Medical Society. Their efforts amounted to legislation passing in both the state senate and house of representatives, only to be ignored by the Governor. After years of discussion that a medical school was needed and would be successful in North Louisiana, the tides had finally turned and an official groundbreaking ceremony for the LSU School of Medicine was held on April 22, 1956. However, construction was immediately halted when the Governor passed legislation moving the $1.8 million of construction funds to the state’s general fund.

Champions of the idealized LSU School of Medicine did not give up. In 1963, a local doctor, Dr. Joe E. Holoubek, chaired a Medical School Study Committee and met with Dr. Edgar Hull, the Associate Dean of the School of Medicine in New Orleans and avid supporter of a new medical school in North Louisiana. Later, in July of 1964, Dr. Hull met with the newly elected Governor

and persuaded his support to finally build the medical school the Shreveport community had long been anticipating. In the 1965 spring legislative session, Dr. Hull and 150 Shreveport doctors, businessmen, educators and civic leaders flocked to Baton Rouge to advocate for the medical school. They were convincing, as the bill passed in both the house and senate.

On June 7, 1965, at 4:30 p.m., Governor John McKeithen signed the Act into law that established a branch of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport. However, there was no construction or operational funding to support it. It would be another year of intensive lobbying by local supporters before the state legislature passed a bill to provide a $10 million bond to fund the medical school’s construction costs, which was matched by the federal government by $20 million, bringing the total to $30 million.

In 1968, now Dean of the Shreveport School of Medicine, Dr. Edgar Hull announced the appointment of 138 parttime faculty members, whose unpaid dedication to the medical school would prove a worthy investment. The LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport held its groundbreaking ceremony on September 16, 1971, after a long road of advocating for funding. The school was built on the then Confederate Memorial Medical Center grounds and opened in 1975—four years, one month and eleven days after groundbreaking.

Linwood Housing

Opening Doors to Education

The LSU Board of Supervisors called the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport to admit its first class in the fall of 1969. There were over 500 applications submitted for the first school year, although only 32 students would be admitted to the inaugural class.

On September 12, 1969, the thirty-two men and women who would represent the first class of the School of Medicine arrived for registration and orientation and began their first day of class on the fifteenth of September at the Veterans Administration Hospital, the first and temporary home of the medical school while construction was ongoing. The class was made up of 31 men and 1 woman who represented 17 different communities in Louisiana.

The first School of Medicine graduation day, May 26, 1973, was a long-earned day for many to see their efforts come to fruition- not only for the students who had worked throughout the past four years to become physicians, but also for the community who had rallied behind the idea of a medical school in North Louisiana. There’s no doubt that this was a proud day for both the Shreveport-Bossier community and the state.

The first class of the LSU School of Medicine went on to have very successful and fulfilling careers. Over half of the class remained in Louisiana to practice medicine, while others served in Washington, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and other locations across the US. The Class of 1973 featured numerous primary care physicians practicing in family medicine, OB/GYN and internal medicine with a significant portion of the class specializing in areas such as ophthalmology, orthopaedics, pathology, dermatology, psychiatry, pulmonary and critical care, otolaryngology, allergy and immunology, nephrology, surgery and hematology/oncology. Several members of this distinguished class are still providing care today.

“I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to be in the first class of the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport,” stated Dr. Billy Washburne as he reflected on his experiences as a medical student. Dr. Ken Harrison shared his thoughts on the current state and future of the School of Medicine, “It was a great place to get that education, and it still is. I’m proud of the fact that there are new research projects going on. I’m proud of the role that the medical school played in the COVID-19 pandemic. And in the future, I think there’s so much that can be done here to reach the school’s full potential.”

In 1966, the Linwood Apartments were purchased for the housing of students, teaching and technical staff and residents. The Class of 1973 have fond memories of their housing and credit the near proximity to one another for their closeness that remains for many of them today. Before its closing in 1983, the Linwood Apartments served as a home for many students as well as their spouses and children.

From 1876 to 2013, the state of Louisiana maintained safety-net hospitals in multiple locations, serving as the primary training and teaching hospital for medical students and residents. In 2013, then Governor Bobby Jindal moved to privatize all public hospitals in Louisiana. In Shreveport & Monroe, the Biomedical Research Foundation (BRF) became the manager of former state hospitals and clinics under the name University Health. In 2018, Governor John Bel Edwards brokered a new agreement allowing LSU Health Shreveport to become a 50/50 partner with Ochsner Health resulting in the Ochsner LSU Health System of North Louisiana (OLHS). In its short history, the OLHS partnership has been transformational with the number of distinct patients growing from 30,000 to 160,000, recruitment of 127 faculty physicians and dramatic improvement in quality metrics for patient care, hospitality and service.

Today & the Future of the School of Medicine

Thanks to the support of the community and the institution’s capacity for growth, the School of Medicine opened the doors for LSU Health Shreveport to gain full autonomy for the Schools of Allied Health Professions and Graduate Studies in 2004.

Today, LSU Health Shreveport has 1,621 students between its three schools. The Schools of Allied Health Professions and Graduate Studies includes 342 and 81 students respectively. The School of Medicine currently enrolls 593 School of Medicine students and trains 605 residents and fellows as a part of the school’s GME program. The School of Medicine has a five-year Match Rate of 99% with the National Resident Matching Program of the Association of American Medical Colleges annual Match, with students most recently matching in prestigious programs such as Weill Cornell, University of Alabama at Birmingham, George Washington University, Baylor University and more. Twenty-nine percent of the students in the Class of 2023 matched with residency programs at LSU Health Shreveport, and forty-five percent matched with programs in Louisiana. Seventy percent of the practicing physicians in North Louisiana were educated or trained at LSU Health Shreveport.

In the fall of 2023, the institution’s new Center for Medical Education and Emerging Viral Threats will open its doors, providing a central space on campus for students in all three schools and a venue for community events. The $84 million, 155,000 square foot building is architecturally bold, sending a message to the community and region that this is an education center that will shape the future. The space will house a modern curriculum for students, emphasizing small-group and peer-to-peer learning. In addition to core instruction in scientific knowledge and clinical skills, the curriculum — and the space that houses it — will emphasize other important competencies of health

care professionals, including communication skills, interprofessional teamwork, evidence-based practice, the role of family, community and culture in health outcomes, and professional ethics. In addition, the Center will include facilities to promote wellness among students, faculty and staff, including a fitness center, areas to promote mindfulness and culinary offerings that promote good nutrition.

An important value of the new space is that it will allow LSU Health Shreveport and the School of Medicine to help improve Louisiana’s overall health by addressing the healthcare shortage the state is facing. The Center will permit the School of Medicine to increase its class size in years to come, which is critical to increasing the number of quality healthcare professionals in our state.

The future of the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine is bright. With support from the community and state, students graduate wellequipped and ready to emerge as the next generation of healthcare leaders.

Reunions Through the Years

The Class of 1973, shown at their 40th year reunion, has remained close throughout the years. According to some members of the class, this is due to having to band together as the first and “oldest” on campus in addition to having a unique housing environment throughout their years of medical school. No matter the cause, the group has an unbreakable bond and has enjoyed staying in touch and getting together over the last fifty years at their reunions.

LSU HEALTH SHREVEPORT SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS

It’s All About Access

In August of 2022, Dr. Peter Seidenberg, Chair and Professor of Family Medicine, and Dr. Teri O’Neal, Program Director and Associate Professor of Family Medicine-Monroe, were appointed along with fourteen others, to the multidisciplinary Health Inequities and Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force (HIDRATF). The task force was created as a part of the 2022 legislative session with the passing of House Concurrent Resolution 44. Initially a one-year appointment, the HIDRATF was granted an extension of one year during the 2023 Regular Legislative Session due to its overwhelming success and promise.

The over-arching goal of the Health Inequities and Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force is to address the healthcare disparities in Louisiana and specifically in our rural communities. “We have been number fifty for way too long. We have the capability to do better, and we are trying to figure out what all the pieces are and how to put them in the right places,” states Dr. O’Neal. Through monthly meetings and additional subcommittee meetings from August to March, the task force created a 24-page playbook, which was presented to the state legislature, that included recommendations for increased healthcare and telemedicine access, increased use of funds received from tobacco settlements to bolster campaigns for smoking prevention and much more, bringing attention

to areas where state funding and support could be directed towards addressing healthcare disparities.

The work that Drs. Seidenberg and O’Neal and their fellow members of the Rural Areas Task Force is impressive and imperative. With their efforts, solutions are being brought forward to help those in poverty where limited or no access to resources to healthcare remains a significant challenge. A central theme in healthcare disparities is where there is poverty, there is limited or no access to resources like healthcare. In Northeast Louisiana, LSU Health Shreveport residents and faculty serve the three poorest parishes in the entire nation. As a faculty member in Monroe, Dr. O’Neal reports stories of folks paying their neighbors to drive them to the doctor, and that payment being a necessity so the neighbor will have money for gas. “People have to decide if they’re going to pay for their medicine or a full tank of gas so they can go to their doctor’s appointment to get their screenings done,” remarks Dr. O’Neal. “Or even worse: do I go to the doctor, or do I feed my kids? Unfortunately, we hear these stories all too often.” Dr. Seidenberg adds. “People think that you’re just blowing it out of proportion, but it’s real. It’s absolutely real,” says Dr. O’Neal. Individuals and families literally cannot afford to access care. Due to impossible choices such as ones listed above, individuals often go without preventative health screenings such as colonoscopies and gynecology exams which are critical to catching diseases early, thus ultimately leading to poorer health outcomes for rural communities as a whole.

In many cases for those who live in rural communities, proximity to care and time becomes the ultimate barrier for their health. When it comes to specialized care for illnesses such as cancer and other long-term or serious health issues, that care is often far away. For many, the closest hospital is a rural, critical access hospital, unable to provide more specialized care for health concerns like heart or kidney disease, diabetes, neurological conditions, etc. When people need this care, they are then tasked with the choice of staying on the clock at work to maintain their income or taking time off to see a specialist, which requires money for gas and possibly copays and medication. What Drs. Seidenberg and O’Neal report seeing in these instances is that patients end up not receiving the care they need at all. For many, it all comes back to the critical need to not lose income.

Solutions to the issue of access are practical. For example, Dr. Seidenberg remarks that it is impossible to have every specialty in every rural area throughout the state, but he also knows the impact of meeting patients where they are. “A lot of these rural communities are internet/WiFi dead zones. So one of the suggestions we have in our

playbook is to eliminate those and to create telehealth centers.” He goes on to say that through this idea, a rural family physician who needs a nephrologist’s opinion, but doesn’t have a nephrologist who comes to their parish, can consult with that doctor through telemedicine while the patient is in their office. “Those abilities would go a long way.”

Another practical solution is regarding sickle-cell care. Louisiana’s rural communities have a very high sickle-cell rate, yet there is no universal screening for the disease. One of the suggestions of the task force is to implement universal newborn screening for sickle-cell disease, so that babies who do have the disease can get the care and referrals they need from the start of their lives.

There are initiatives in place already that could be expanded with state-level support or additional support as well. Programs such as LSU Health Shreveport’s Partners in Wellness Program brings health screenings to rural areas through a mobile clinic offering free services regardless of income or insurance status. (Read more on page 11).

“We have a lot of resources,” states Dr. O’Neal, “we just have to leverage where they are and what they’re doing to make them available on a wider basis- to broaden the access of what we have already.”

The work the Health Inequities and Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force is doing is personal to Drs. Seidenberg and O’Neal. They are passionate about the recommendations they’ve submitted and the potential to see a real change for those who remain critically underserved in our state. They are working on initiatives in addition to the HIFRATF, like helping to develop a cancer center in Northeast Louisiana and advocating for the creation of a health and education center for people with disabilities. Dr. Seidenberg remarks “It’s nice to see our government recognizing the need to look beyond the city center and look at the rest of the state’s population. A big reason I moved here in 2020 was to address healthcare disparities in the state. It was part of my mission for coming, and I’m honored to be a small part of it.”

LOUISIANA

Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA)

A Personal Cause Leads to Decades of Advocacy

For Dr. Lester Johnson, improving rural healthcare and health outcomes is a personal passion. Born and raised in Rayville, Louisiana, he saw the need first-hand for physicians in rural areas. After completing his medical education, he returned to Northeast Louisiana to serve rural populations as a surgeon in private practice. He went on to and currently serves as LSU Health Chief of Surgery and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Clinical Affairs in Monroe as well as the institution’s Assistant Dean of Rural Health Initiatives.

In addition to serving rural communities through his practice, Dr. Johnson has been a decades-long advocate for rural health initiatives impacting the entire state and Mississippi Delta region. One of his proudest accomplishments is being the founding chairman of the Louisiana Emergency Response Network (LERN). LERN was founded in 2005 to build and maintain Louisiana’s care coordination systems for trauma and timesensitive illnesses (stroke and heart attack) and facilitate the readiness of healthcare providers during all disaster responses. Its development was inspired by rural health communities who may have poorer health outcomes for these emergencies due to proximity to critical access hospitals.

Dr. Johnson has served on various committees through multiple gubernatorial administrations in Louisiana. Most recently, he chaired the Healthcare Subcommittee for the Governor’s Advisory Council on Rural Revitalization in 2020. This committee brought awareness to the lack or poor quality of broadband internet services in rural communities in addition to the benefits and needs of telehealth medicine for rural clinics and hospitals. Although he says some may duck and cover when

they see him coming due to his passionate nature, he credits each of the governors he has worked with for prioritizing healthcare in the state. “When you are an advocate for the medically underserved and socially disadvantaged, shrinking violets are not effective. You must have some force behind your purpose for being in the room,” states Dr. Johnson.

What connects Dr. Johnson’s decades of work for rural health is the belief that a rising tide raises all boats. As a medical designee for the Delta Regional Authority Healthy Delta Initiative Advisory Committee, Dr. Johnson and his peers brought awareness to the connections between healthcare, education and economics, and why they must have equal priority. “Without proper healthcare, education and economic development doesn’t work. The poor economics and poverty in these areas lead to underfunding of schools, which leads to less educational opportunities, which in turn leads to poorer health outcomes. You can’t improve the outcomes of one of those areas without investing in each of them,” states Dr. Johnson.

While there have been many gains throughout his decades of service and advocacy, Dr. Johnson presses on to help continue the upward trajectory for the healthcare and health outcomes of rural communities in North Louisiana and the delta region.

Mackenzie Gauthier–Rural Health Scholar

A new, highly competitive program, offered by Well-Ahead Louisiana, the chronic disease prevention and healthcare access arm of the Louisiana Department of Health, strives to build relationships between rural and underserved health care facilities and colleges and universities. The Rural Health Scholars Program allows health care professions students to complete rotations in Louisiana’s health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Each grant year, up to only 20 students will participate in short-term rotations to garner experience in a rural health care setting.

LSU Health Shreveport student, Mackenzie Gauthier, was selected as a participant this grant year. Mackenzie is a Physician Assistant student in the School of Allied Health Professions and is on track to graduate in August 2023. When asked about her

experience thus far, Mackenzie shared, “I was placed in Lafayette to help with the medically underserved population, and it has truly been a transformative experience. There are so many social and economic factors that providers must consider to properly care for patients while also ensuring adequate treatment. It’s taught me to have more patience and empathy because you truly never know what patients are experiencing outside of your clinic. Regardless of the patient population that I serve when I’m practicing in the future, these skills will be applicable and allow me to connect with patients in a way that I might not have been able to do without this experience.”

Students within one to two years of graduating from one of the qualified disciplines are eligible to participate in the program which requires a 180-hour minimum clinical rotation in addition to online trainings aimed at health disparities, health equity, and more. The Rural Health Scholars program not only allows students to learn from rural health care professionals, but to gain exposure that may help them with a future job placement in rural health care. There are 28 parishes in Louisiana that have participating facilities.

Partners in Wellness: Reaching Louisiana’s Most Vulnerable

In 1999, the LSU Health Shreveport Feist-Weiller Cancer Center saw a need for increased access to health screenings and education in medically underserved communities and thus founded Partners in Wellness. The goal of the program was, and remains, to reduce the burden of cancer in Louisiana through early detection and preventative education. Partners in Wellness is a mobile program with three buses equipped for health screenings in rural communities in 23 parishes throughout North and Central Louisiana. Since its implementation, Partners in Wellness (PIW) has screened over 25,000 patients.

The mobile clinic services are offered in rotating communities three to four times a week, and the clinics average 150 patients each month. All screenings offered are free of charge to any patient, regardless of insurance status. Currently, Partners in Wellness offers cancer screenings for breast (mammogram), cervical (HPV/Pap Test), prostate (Prostate-specific antigen test), and colorectal (Cologuard) cancers, as well as cardiovascular screenings and educational materials. In the last 10 years, Partners in Wellness has found 110 breast cancers through its screenings.

It is widely agreed that early detection and prevention are key in cancer survival. Unfortunately, there is limited access to healthcare for many across the state of Louisiana. Approximately fifteen percent of Louisiana residents live in rural areas, which are proven to be disproportionately impacted by income limitations and poor health outcomes, and nine percent of residents under

the age of 65 do not have health insurance. Income limitations, on top of geographic limitations, can often be the ultimate barrier to receiving healthcare. People with limited income often choose not to see a healthcare provider due to the cost of a deductible and/or the loss of wages resulting from travel time to access screenings or care. Partners in Wellness aims to overcome those barriers to care by bringing health screenings, education and care directly to underserved communities at no cost.

Partners in Wellness has partnerships with the Rapides Foundation, Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program, Louisiana Cancer Foundation and MLK Health Center and Pharmacy from which grant monies are received to cover screenings for uninsured and under insured populations. The Partners in Wellness mobile unit partners with rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers located in north and central Louisiana as another way to deliver services in underserved communities eliminating the need to travel to a brick and mortar clinic. Businesses and corporations may also have the Partners in Wellness van come directly to provide the offered health screenings to their employees on site.

For almost 25 years, Partners in Wellness has been determined to bring better health outcomes to the people of Louisiana, no matter where they live and no matter their income and insurance status.

AHEC Produces Critical Rural Healthcare Professionals

LSU Health Shreveport’s AHEC (Area Health Education Center) program provides opportunities for college and graduate students seeking a career in healthcare to train and prepare for careers in rural and medically underserved communities. The Louisiana Department of Health has designated 60 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes as majority Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary care based on geography (not enough practitioners) or low-income population (lack of access to existing care), which is why increasing the number of rural healthcare providers is critical for the state’s future.

The Rural Scholars program targets undergraduate students from rural areas who are pursuing medical school to provide workshops on boosting their applications. These students are likely to return to their home communities to practice. The AHEC Scholars program and Primary Care Rural Preceptorship Programs are designed for graduate and medical students, respectively, to have opportunities to train and receive a portion of their education in rural or medically underserved environments.

Through these AHEC offerings, students are better prepared for their future careers as physicians and healthcare professionals and to practice in rural or medically underserved areas, bringing quality and quantity of care to those communities in need.

2023 MATCH DAY

On Friday, March 17, at LSU Health Shreveport’s annual Match Day celebration, 140 fourth-year medical students learned which institutions they matched to and where they will complete the next three to seven years of their medical education. The day was filled with emotion as students reflected on their accomplishments leading up to this career-defining moment, surrounded by family and friends.

LSU Health Shreveport is proud to remain highly competitive in the 2023 Main Residency Match® with a match rate of 98.6%. Of the 2023 class, 29.3% will be staying at LSU Health Shreveport for their residency and 45.7% of the graduates will be staying in Louisiana, which is critical with Louisiana facing a shortfall in the number of physicians needed to meet the healthcare demands of the state. Of those remaining, LSU Health Shreveport medical students matched to highly competitive residencies outside of the state and will train at prestigious programs around the country including Weill Cornell, University of AlabamaBirmingham (UAB), Emory, George Washington University, Baylor, University of Michigan and several others.

Match Day also reveals the number of newly minted physicians coming into the Shreveport-Bossier area to begin their post graduate training. LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine successfully filled 193 residency and fellowship positions. The new group of trainees will be welcomed to Shreveport in July, where they will train at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center, St. Mary Medical Center and Monroe Medical Center along with other partner hospitals.

David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is a physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, Co-Founder & President of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), and national bestselling author of Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action. He went from being a beast-like college quarterback to receiving his last rites while in medical school and nearly dying four more times battling Castleman disease. To try to save his own life, Dr. Fajgenbaum spearheaded an innovative approach to research through the CDCN and discovered a treatment that is saving his life and others. Since then, he has also identified and advanced eleven other treatments for autoimmunity and cancer. He recently co-founded Every Cure, a non-profit on a mission to unlock the full potential of FDAapproved medicines to treat every disease possible. He has been profiled by The NY Times, TODAY, GMA, and others and received numerous awards including the 2016 Atlas Award along with then VP Joe Biden and Forbes 30 Under 30. Dr. Fajgenbaum earned a BS from Georgetown University, MSc from the University of Oxford, MD from the University of Pennsylvania, and MBA from The Wharton School.

50 th COMMENCEMENT CELEBRATION50 th

The Schools of Allied Health Professions, Graduate Studies, and Medicine gathered for a combined commencement celebration, the institution’s fiftieth, on Saturday, May 20. The 224 students receiving degrees celebrated the culmination of hundreds of hours of work alongside their peers, family and friends.

Dr. David Fajgenbaum gave the keynote address, with Valencia Sarpy Jones, Chairman, and Raymond R. Morris, Member, assisting in the conferring of degrees on behalf of the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Also in attendance were 11 members of the first School of Medicine Class. The 1973 graduates came to town for this special occasion and their fiftieth reunion. At the ceremony, the classmates were honored and also left a gift to each of the graduating medical students, a handwritten note of encouragement for their next chapters.

“It is an important and noteworthy milestone to have reached the 50th anniversary of the School of Medicine particularly due to the steadfast advocacy and support required to bring this institution to fruition all those years ago. We remain indebted and accountable to all those who paved the way for our growing and vibrant academic medical center which now includes three professional schools along with continually expanding degree programs,” stated Dr. David Guzick, Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport.

Campus & Community

Science Matters

Holds

Largest

IDEAS

Day

Yet Interactive Day of Education and Awareness of Science, or IDEAS

Day 2023 was attended by over 500 children, almost doubling the previous year’s attendance. IDEAS Day is designed to expose school-aged children to the excitement and wonders of science. With over 60 demonstrations, this year’s event had the highest attendance and largest number of activities thanks to the event host, Science Matters student organization, with additional support form LSU Health Shreveport student organizations and departments, and local community organizations such as SciPort Discovery Center, Shreve Memorial Library and others.

SHIP Hosts Pre-Med Days for College and High School Students

On Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, college and high school students, respectively, from across the state came to the LSU Health Shreveport campus to get a glimpse of life as a medical student. Participants received hands-on experience in the cadaver lab, participated in intubation, heart sounds and suturing workshops, and heard from current medical students faculty. The School of Medicine student organization, Support for Humanitarianism through Intercontinental Projects (SHIP), hosts this annual event to raise money to send their members on medical mission trips as well as award scholarships to select students who attend.

Sports Medicine Provides Services at Local Events

The LSU Health Shreveport Sports Medicine Fellowship Program has had excellent opportunities to serve our community by providing medical services for the 2023 LHSAA State Wrestling Championship and the Gulf Coast Athletic Track and Field Conference in recent months. Our fellows and faculty offered a wide variety of evaluations and treatments during the events, which additionally provided unique learning opportunities for our School of Medicine students who were also able to attend.

2nd Annual Cancer Survivorship Walkathon

LSU Health Shreveport was excited to host its Second Annual Cancer Survivorship Walkathon on Saturday, May 13, led by a group of LSU Health Shreveport students in partnership with Feist-Weiller Cancer Center and the LSU Health Shreveport Office of Institutional Wellness. The walkathon was founded after medical student Tanner Ward saw a need in the community for an event that gives survivors an opportunity to practice healthy lifestyle habits while enjoying camaraderie with their fellow survivors, medical support staff, family and friends. Over 220 survivors, LSU Health Shreveport students and faculty and community members participated in the walk this year, raising over $35,000 for the Wellness and Integrative Medicine Program at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, a program that includes extensive support for the center’s survivors such as resources on mind, menu and movement to improve patient outcomes as they transition from treatment to a healthy postcancer lifestyle.

LSU Health Shreveport Well Represented

at Barksdale Air Force Show STEM Zone

Students from the School of Allied Health Professions and the School of Medicine Science Matters and Geaux Bald Student Interest Groups represented LSU Health Shreveport at the annual Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show STARBASE STEM Zone in March with fun science demonstrations. The STEM Zone, an activity area for children that promoted science and learning, was visited by 5,000 people during the event.

School of Medicine Students Begin Free, Student-Run Clinic

The LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine

Student Interest Group, Medical Students Charity Community Outreach (MeSCO), led their first free clinic offering basic health services, such as a blood pressure screening, in downtown Shreveport on Saturday, April 29. MeSCO partners with Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport to make this community outreach possible.

Campus & Community

LSU Health Shreveport Hosts

First The Perry Initiative POP Event in North Louisiana

LSU Health Shreveport was the inaugural host and sponsor of the first The Perry Initiative POP Event in North Louisiana on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Perry Outreach Programs (POPs) are free, day-long events that allow high school girls to perform mock orthopaedic surgeries and conduct biomechanical engineering experiments, while also hearing from prominent women engineers and surgeons in the field. The goal is to promote early exposure to these exciting, hand-on careers as a key to boosting diversity and inspiring young women to become leaders in the fields of orthopaedic surgery and engineering. Forty students from thirteen local high schools attended the event. Participants performed surgical simulations to fix a broken femur, repaired knee ligaments and learned to suture.

The Legacy of Boomer the Therapy Dog

Boomer the dachshund joined the School of Allied Health Professions in April of 2010. After being abandoned near the Mollie E. Webb Speech and Hearing Center (Mollie Webb), he wandered into the arms of Dr. Sandra Hayes, Program Director and Associate Professor of Communication Disorders, and she invited him inside the clinic. While she made arrangements to get him to a vet, a student watched over him and named him Boomer. Boomer had walked into the right place at the right time, as Dr. Hayes brought him home as hers. The rest was history.

Soon after, he was trained and earned his pet therapy certification allowing him to provide Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) for clients of all ages at Mollie Webb. He also participated in a research study for the use of AAT during speech therapy, which found that children were more likely to vocalize and attempt to say words when he was in the room with them. For 13 years, he touched the lives of many as an honorary faculty member of Mollie E. Webb Speech and Hearing Center. Together, with his dog-mom Dr. Hayes, Boomer supported children and adults to improve their communication skills and was a true source of comfort and joy to patients, students and faculty members.

In addition to his service at the center, Boomer also volunteered at Burn Camp and Camp for the Blind, summer camps for children. In 2015, Boomer received the

School of Medicine Students Offer Boys Puberty Workshop for Local Children

Young men in the Shreveport-Bossier community were invited to the LSU Health Shreveport campus for a Boys Only Puberty Workshop on Saturday, April 15, put on by the School of Medicine American Medical Women’s Association student chapter. Participants attended sessions that focused on mental and physical health as bodies change and grow through puberty. In addition, fun was had by all with a dodgeball competition between attendees and medical students!

Though Boomer passed away in February 2023, his legacy lives on in the memories of those who knew him and through a scholarship fund established in his name in 2013. The Boomer Award is given annually to a graduate student who shows particular clinical promise and has a heart for serving others through the practice of Speech-Language Pathology. Additionally, because of his incredible impact on the Mollie E. Webb Speech and Hearing Center community, the center and faculty member, Megan Lerchie, are in the process of certifying another puppy, Flower. Flower is already a frequent clinic visitor and is expected to be certified soon, all thanks to a lost dog being at the right place at the right time who left big pawprints to fill.

Gold Medal Giver Award for his volunteer work from KTAL News Station.

2023 White Coat Ceremony

On Saturday, March 4, 145 LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine students participated in a traditional rite of passage known as the “White Coat Ceremony” which signifies their entrance into the medical profession. During the ceremony, students received a short white coat symbolizing their journey to the long white coat they will wear once they are a physician. In the coat pocket, was a note from an alumnus offering words of advice and encouragement as they enter the next chapter of their medical school journey. The 2023 LSU Health Shreveport White Coat Ceremony was held at a packed Strand Theatre with Dr. Christina Notarianni, Professor of Neurosurgery, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery Residency Program Director, serving as the keynote speaker.

Schools of Graduate Studies and Medicine Launch NEW Pathology and Translational Pathobiology PhD Program

LSU Health Shreveport has launched a Pathology and Translational Pathobiology PhD program, a joint program of the Schools of Graduate Studies and Medicine. The first students will begin the fall of 2023. Research in medical school pathology departments provides a unique opportunity for translating research findings from animal models to human patients due to the proximity of clinical collaborators and the availability of biological specimens for research.

Although pathology is generally viewed as a medical discipline, individuals with PhDs in pathology utilize a background in cell and molecular biology coupled with advanced training in disease processes to make critical advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Therefore, the increasing focus of biomedical research on translational research programs with implications in the treatment of human disease makes PhD training in pathology highly valuable to the research community.

The LSU Health Shreveport curriculum couples training in cell and molecular biology, animal models, histology, advanced pathology and student-specific electives to create a unique training environment centered upon the in-depth understanding of human disease. Enhanced interactions with clinicians (clinical lab rotation, seminars, grand rounds and journal clubs) will better prepare these students for the current research focus on translational research at the national level and within the biotech sector.

School of Allied Health Professions Patient Rehabilitation Center Receives Full 5-Year Center of Excellence Designation

“We are so pleased with the successes of our Center of Academic Excellence in Patient Centered Rehabilitation to earn the full 5-year status with the Louisiana Board of Regents. Dr. Sarah Murnane as Director and our board have demonstrated the profound impact of community and multi-disciplinary collaboration in pursing our goals for excellence in teaching, translational research, service, and improved diversity for these health professions. A few of the accomplishments include: the implementation of a wildly successful immersion experience (Allied Health Education and Discovery “AHEAD” program) for under-represented minority high school students to explore our health professions; our Children’s Center has added interventions for children with Autism and other spectrum-related disorders; and we are looking forward to our first Psychology PhD post-doctoral interns to begin with us this summer,” stated Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, Dean of the School of Allied Health Professions.

The LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) School of Allied Health Professions’ Center of Academic Excellence for Patient Centered Rehabilitation (CAE-PaCeR) received the outstanding news of a full five-year designation from the Louisiana Board of Regents in March. The Center is establishing an infrastructure to align relevant academic, research and clinical programs of the School of Allied Health Professions with the purpose of the center: patient-centered rehabilitation in an academic culture of excellence for clinical learning, innovation and collaboration.

The following goals of the Center of Excellence for Patient Centered Rehabilitation align with the mission of LSUHS to teach, heal and discover through 1) collaborating with the School of Medicine to increase inter-professional educational opportunities for students 2) creating new clinical opportunities through the establishment of residencies and internships, and 3) increasing the number of research projects.

Pediatric Resident Sisters Publish Children’s Book

Second-year resident Dr. Briana Hernandez and her sister, first-year resident Dr. Sophia Hernandez, have recently published a book together. The children’s book, Samson and Ivy, is based on and named for their two dogs.

Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD

Sarah Murnane, PT, DPT

LSU Health Shreveport Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Receives Inaugural Visiting Scholars Award

The LSU Health Shreveport Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine has received one of two of the inaugural Visiting Scholars Award from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. This award was developed to promote and improve educational programming in addiction psychiatry with assistance from prestigious scholars in the field. The outcomes of the program will be to develop teaching materials, forge relationships with addiction specialty providers in the community and develop local community partnerships for resident education.

Dr. Amy Yule, Vice Chair of Addiction Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center, Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and Co-Chair of the Substance Abuse Committee for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, known for her work with youth substance disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders, will be the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Fellowship Program’s visiting scholar.

Dr. Yule will work with the CAP fellows, residents and faculty to create a training curriculum for juvenile court and the Department of Children and Family Services staff on “The Impact of Substance Use on Child and Adolescent Development.”

Department of Medicine Faculty Members Complete Stanford Educators Course

Thirteen LSU Health Shreveport Department of Medicine faculty members have completed the Stanford Educators Course in Clinical Teaching. They completed five months of training via Zoom as well as three days of in-person training including seven modules. The thirteen faculty participants were selected as champions of their division and will now share their newly learned teaching skills and techniques with others in their divisions in an effort to enhance clinical teaching for our students and residents.

Sara Adams, MD

Kamal Bhusal, MD

John Jacob, MD

Phani Morisetti, MD

Nasim Motayar, MD

Kinza Muzaffar, MD

Bilal Nasir, MD

Sudha Pandit, MD

Ashritha Penagaluri, MD

Paulette Pinargote, MD

Evelyn Pryor, MD

Sarwan Shaikh, MD

Tamna Wangjam, MD

Michael Sewell, MD

Terry Davis, PhD

VISITING SCHOLAR Dr. Amy Yule

Pamela McPherson, MD, FAPA, LSU Health Shreveport Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program Director

Dr. Kevin Perry Performs First Motorized Maxframe Procedure in North Louisiana

Kevin Perry, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, performed the first procedure in Louisiana using the MAXFRAME AUTOSTRUT™ MultiAxial Correction System at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center. Made for fracture management and deformity correction, the MAXFRAME AUTOSTRUT™ Multi- Axial Correction System is an improved, automated hexapod circular external fixator system that will benefit patients in a multitude of ways.

The fully automated struts of this device eliminate the need for manual adjustment by patients and enable smaller, more frequent adjustments throughout the day. This helps to reduce pain and improve the quality of bone regeneration. The device also includes software that allows the system to operate only during selected hours, which enhances patient experience and allows the adjustments to remain in the surgeon’s control, increasing adherence to the treatment plan. Segmenting adjustments up to 16 times per day allows for less pain and more consistent rhythm producing better bone formation.

Dr. Perry uses this technology for management of acute fractures, segmental bone defects, malunions, nonunions, post traumatic deformity correction and limb lengthening. His training to use this equipment included a fellowship and surgeon training course where he learned differences in technique to use the auto strut device. Dr. Perry is now able to introduce medical students, residents and fellows to the latest surgical technologies, a critical component of medical education offered at LSU Health Shreveport.

Department of Radiology Now Offers MR-Guided Breast Biopsies

Magnetic resonance- or MR-guided breast biopsy uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to help locate a breast lump or abnormality and guide a needle to remove a tissue sample for examination under a microscope. This eliminates the need for a surgical biopsy in many cases, meaning less scarring, a shorter procedure time, and no exposure to radiation. The MR-Guided biopsy procedure can be done in as little as 45 minutes.

Nayanatara Swamy, MD, an Assistant Professor of Radiology at LSU Health Shreveport, performs the procedure. She is exposing students, residents and fellows to the latest technology in breast cancer imaging.

2023 Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award Recipients

The Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award is given each year to selected individuals who are “uniquely gifted in imparting knowledge, possess a lifelong quest for discovery, lead by example, foster a sense of caring and compassion and inspire the young men and women in whose capable hands will rest the health and well-being of the people of Louisiana.” Recipients are nominated by students and peers and are chosen by a committee of their leaders, colleagues and students based strictly on their academic teaching. The Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award is given at both LSU system health science center campuses in Shreveport and New Orleans and is the highest teaching award. The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Allen A. Copping, former Chancellor of LSU Medical Center and President of the LSU system.

School of Medicine Students Selected as NIH All of Us Research Scholars

Three LSU Health Shreveport second year medical students were chosen to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Scholar Program: Raegan Abadie, Nicholas Jones and Tyler Tran. The NIH All of Us Research Scholars program aims to address the critical need to reduce disparities in healthcare and the biomedical workforce by supporting young researchers.

Abadie, Jones and Tran each designed a research project of their choosing utilizing the diverse dataset from the All of Us Research Hub, a dataset with over 556,000 participants, 338,000 electronic health records and 410,000 biosamples available to researchers. Tyler Tran placed third in the medical student category of the program and was invited to present his work at the NIH All of Us Researchers Convention on March 29 where he won a People’s Choice Award for his presentation.

Raegan Abadie — Correlation between Female Infertility and Obesity in Different United States Regions

“My research project is currently focused on the prevalence of female infertility due to obesity in the United States region. Through this program, I will gain experience with research methods and techniques that will help me grow as a researcher, with the guidance of a mentor.”

Nicholas Jones — A Cohort Study on the Effects of Genetic Polymorphisms and Environmental Factors on the Development of Asthma

“My research project is on the correlation of an individual’s sexual orientation and the risk of cardiovascular disease. We met with our mentors the first week of the program and have been working closely with them to design suitable research to present. I’m thankful the program has given me the opportunity to network and focus on designing my own research question.”

Tyler Tran — Race and Gender Differences in High Density Lipoprotein in Myocardial Infarction

“My research topic is on the association of increased plasma HDL cholesterol and risk of myocardial infarction in minority populations. The number one factor that distinguishes this program from other research programs is the ability to work at our own pace. Thanks to this I’ve been able to develop a research topic emphasizing my interests in medicine all while maintaining strong academics.”

Benjamin Maxey Competes as 2022 AMA Research Challenge Finalist

LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine student, Benjamin Maxey, was named a finalist in the 2022 American Medical Association Research Challenge. This highly competitive research challenge is the largest national research event for medical students, residents, fellows, and international medical graduates that routinely has over 1,000 entrants. Maxey was selected as one of only five finalists who competed for a $10,000 prize in December 2022.

Maxey’s poster entitled, “Audio Feedback from a Handheld Monitoring Device Improves Manual Ventilation,” was supported by a LIFT2 grant to Dr. Steven Alexander and was co-authored by another School of Medicine student and School of Graduate Studies graduate, Dr. Luke White, as well as Dr. Giovanni Solitro and Dr. Steven Alexander, whose lab the research was conducted in.

LEFT Michael Sewell, MD Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award for Clinical Science RIGHT Arrigo De Benedetti, PhD Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award for Basic Science

LSU Health Shreveport Residents Excel in State and National Jeopardy Competitions

Internal Medicine residents Atlee Baker, MD, Dayna Ahmed, MD, and Anuj Thakre, MD, competed against over 400 teams in the Doctor’s Dilemma Jeopardy competition for the National American College of Physicians’ Internal Medicine Annual Meeting in April. The three impressive residents won first place and brought home the gold.

Anesthesiology residents Austin Howe, MD, Hirni Patel, MD, Denisa Pavlickova, MD, and Naina Singh, MD, (pictured) placed first in the annual Anesthesia Jeopardy Bowl at the Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting in April. This was the first year in ten years that LSU Health Shreveport has received first place.

2023 Gold Humanism Honor Society Honorees

Thirty-one new honorees were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) at the 2023 LSU Health Shreveport White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, March 4. This international honor society was established in 2002 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation with the purpose of recognizing medical students, residents and faculty who practice patient-centered care by displaying qualities of excellence, compassion, altruism, respect and empathy. Congratulations!

FACULTY

Richard “Shane” Barton

Kavitha Beedupalli

Jason Jordan

Gary Menefee

STUDENTS

John Campbell

Ross Dies

Jessica Elliot

Isabella Fabian

Farrah Flattman

Taylor Gatson

Deniz Gungor

David Heap

Madison Hoffman

Rebecca “Holly” Lacour

Amanda Langston

Alpha Omega Alpha –Gamma Chapter Louisiana Inductees

Congratulations to the following faculty, residents and students who were inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Society Gamma Chapter of Louisiana, a chapter of the national medical honor society founded in 1902.

STUDENTS

Madison Catalanotto

Brennan Gioe

Courtney Gregoire

Deniz Gungor

Amir Kaskas

Grace Kennedy

Sarah Lauve

Lauren Linquest

Ethyn Loreno

Benjamin Maxey

Laura Nussdorf

Collyn O’Quin

Shelby Patti

Sachin Prem

Brooke Williams

RESIDENTS

Lovekirat Dhaliwal, MD, PGY-3

Fatima Hassan, MD, PGY-2

Anuj Thakre, MD, PGY-2

Sahith Thotamgari, MD, PGY-3

Kavya Vadlamudi, MD, PGY-2

Aditya Vyas, MD, PGY-2

Fereshteh Yadzi, MD, PGY-2

HOUSE OFFICERS

Eunice Adu Dapaah

Lance “Tyler” Albin

William Ishee

Payam Entezami

Tyiesha Brown

Pooja Shah

Brianna LeBlanc

Benjamin Maxey

William Mullen

Brennen Murphy

Laura Nussdorf

Collyn O’Quin

Shelby Patti

Sarah Peytavin

Stephen “Tanner” Ward

Kathryn White

FELLOW

Iman Qaiser, MD, PGY-5

FACULTY

Hugo Cuellar, MD, PhD, MBA, DABR, FAHA

Poornima Ramadas, MD

Prathik Krishnan, MD

Sudha Pandit, MD

Rajini Yatavelli, MD

Jonathan Eaton, MD

Evelyn Pryor, MD

Alexander Gomelsky, MD

Wanda Thomas, MD, FAAP

Terry Davis, PhD

Ryan Jones, MD

David Lewis, MD, MBA

Mohammad A. N. Bhuiyan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, has been selected as one of two Statistical Editors for the Journal of the American Heart Association. Dr. Bhuiyan has developed expertise in statistical analysis and is a member of the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, the Center for Brain Health and the Louisiana Addiction Research Center. Dr. Bhuiyan’s laboratory research focuses on understanding the heterogeneous effects of social determinants on cardiovascular, psychiatric and neurobehavioral health outcomes.

Qiang Cai, MD, PhD, Division Chief and Professor of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, was given the prestigious designation of a Master of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). This award is presented to individuals with recognized stature and achievement in clinical gastroenterology and teaching and because of their contribution to the College in service, leadership and education and is the ACG’s highest honor. Dr. Cai was recognized at an ACG Leadership Dinner in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cory Coehoorn, PhD, joined the LSU Health Shreveport School of Allied Professions Faculty in May as Program Director for Rehabilitation Sciences and Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Family Medicine. Dr. Coehoorn joins the institution from LSU Shreveport where he was the director of the Human Performance Lab. His research interests include physiologic responses to rapid heat stress, cortisol levels, cognitive function and other biomarkers in firefighters and other occupational athletes.

Julia Esparza, MLIS, AHIP, Associate Director of the LSU Health Shreveport Library, was named a Fellow of the Medical Library Association for 2023. This highly competitive fellowship is only given to two to four fellows per year after a rigorous nomination and approval process. Julia is the only living Fellow from Louisiana. There have been three others in total, including the founder of the LSU Health Shreveport Library, Mayo Drake.

Samina Hayat, MD, Division Chief and Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the Center of Excellence for Arthritis and Rheumatology, was given the prestigious designation of a Master of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Recognition as an ACR Master is one of the highest honors that the College bestows and is given to members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through scholarly achievement and/or medical service.

Alan Kaye, MD, PhD, DABA, DABPM, DABIPP, FASA, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, Toxicology, & Neuroscience, was named a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP). He was recognized at the ASIPP 25th Anniversary Meeting in March in National Harbor, Maryland.

Landon Tujague, a fourth year School of Medicine student received a scholarship from the Shreveport Rotary Club. Scholarships are given to students who have a commitment to the Rotary International motto “Service Above Self” and are in the top 15% of their class. Landon received this award due to his continuous community service and his commitment to his family through a tragedy where he put his needs on the backburner to support his mother and grandmother.

Kelly Pagidas, MD, MA, FACOG, FRCSC, was named Associate Dean of Medical Education and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology for the School of Medicine. Dr. Pagidas comes from the Burnette School of Medicine, Texas Christian University (TCU), where she served as the Chair of Medical Education and Interim Associate Dean of Education Affairs. She possesses extensive knowledge and experience in medical education, especially in the areas of active learning and contemporary medical education curricula.

Viola M. Sprague, MBA, joined LSU Health Shreveport on June 5 as Chief Information Officer, bringing over 25 years of experience in the field of information technology and a background in both university and healthcare settings, with extensive experience in enterprise computing. Sprague comes to LSU Health Shreveport from Kettering University, where she served as the Vice President of Instructional, Administrative and Information Technology.

Michael Yim, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery and Neurosurgery, was awarded the CherieAnn Nathan, MD Endowed Professorship in Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. The Nathan Professorship’s purpose is to enhance the academic, research and clinical mission of the OHNS Department at LSU Health Shreveport. The professorship was initiated by grateful patients in recognition

of Dr. Nathan’s passion for curing devastating diseases that cause both cosmetic and functional impairment.

HONORS & APPOINTMENTS

SAHP Celebrates Alpha Eta Society Honorees

Congratulations to the 20 LSU Health Shreveport School of Allied Health Professions students, faculty and alumnus who were inducted into the Alpha Eta Society in March. The Alpha Eta Society is a national scholastic honor society that serves to promote and recognize significant scholarship, leadership and contributions to the allied health professions.

STUDENTS

Anthony Ray Blankenship, Jr.

Austin Clay Bradley

Bailey LeGrande

Peter Nguyen

Amalia Skalos

Hannah McNemar Perot, SLPA

Alicia June, MOTS

Brooklyn Mayon

Emily Savoy

Madeline Stine

Paige Mckenna White

Austin Dufrene

Emma Grace Goldman

Sarah Johnson Aucoin

Laken Kathleen Marionneaux

Brooke Petkovich

Maddie Pierce

Bailey Bree Weston

ALUMNUS

Evan H. Wall, MLS, MAT FACULTY LaWenica Evans, LOTR, C/NDT

RETIREMENTS

Two LSU Health Shreveport faculty members and Clinical Associate Professors of Radiology, Dr. Alberto Carbo and Dr. Thomas Gates, have retired. Dr. Carbo lived and practiced in Shreveport for 19 years, and also served on the Radiology Quality Committee at LSU Health Shreveport. Dr. Gates, an LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine and residency program alumni, practiced in Shreveport for 22 years. The Radiology Department honored the two beloved doctors at their holiday party in December, where they each received a plaque of appreciation for their combined over 40 years of service to our institution, students and residents.

Dr. Krishna Yanamandra

Dr. Krishna Yanamandra, an Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemical and Molecular Genetics for the Department of Pediatrics, retired from LSU Health Shreveport after 29 years of service. His research led to many publications, and he is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics. To recognize his dedication to pediatric research, a retirement luncheon was held in his honor where he was presented with a plaque of appreciation.

Dr. Terry Davis

Terry Davis, PhD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and Division Chief for Healthcare Disparities, was honored with a retirement reception in January. Dr. Davis, a nationally renowned health literacy and healthcare disparity expert, with over forty years of service at LSU Health Shreveport, was celebrated by colleagues and LSU Health Shreveport and community leadership along with numerous friends and family who traveled from around the U.S. to salute her remarkable contributions to decades of students and patients.

Dr. Alberto Carbo & Dr. Tom Gates Retirement

Dr. Yanamandra (right) with Dr. Sushil Jain

5th ANNUAL

Research Celebration

On February 23, LSU Health Shreveport held the 5th Annual Research Celebration. Members of the community and LSUHS employees and students were invited to hear about research accomplishments over the past year and honor the 2023 Research Excellence Award Winners.

2023 RESEARCH EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

EXCELLENCE IN EXTRAMURAL FUNDING

Martin Sapp, PhD

Department Chair of Microbiology and Immunology

Willis-Knighton Chair of Molecular Biology

EXCELLENCE IN TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Nobel Bhuiyan, PhD

Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

RESEARCH RISING STAR

Hui-Chao “Reggie” Lee, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurology

COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Kris Clements

Hicks SMART Program Coordinator and Louisiana Junior Science & Humanities Symposium Regional Director

SAVE THE DATE!

NOVEMBER 3, 2023 | 8 AM - 5:30 PM

LOCATION LSU Shreveport

ABSTRACT DEADLINE October 2, 2023

REGISTRATION DEADLINE October 25, 2023

Learn more at bit.ly/BRAID2023

PICTURED L TO R: Dr. Patrick Massey, Dr. Reggie Lee, Dr. Martin Sapp, Kris Clements, Dr. Nobel Bhuiyan, Dr. Kenneth McMartin

right Kevin Murnane, PhD

Professor

LSU Health Shreveport and Tiger Research Group

Find Promising Preliminary Research for

CBD as a Therapeutic For Elite Athletes

LSU Health Shreveport in collaboration with Tiger Research Group (TRG) shared promising new research published in the Journal of Cannabis Research. The research focuses on the use of topical cannabidiol (CBD) and individuals with a history of elite physical performance and chronic lower extremity pain.

Lead authors of the research include Bradie James, former professional athlete and Founder/President of Tiger Research Group whose mission is to change the stigma of cannabis through education and research, and Kevin Murnane, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology, & Neuroscience and Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine, and Director of Basic Science Research for the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport. Students that worked on this project included PhD student Nicole Hall and medical students Erin Crane and Carlie Falgout. Dr. Mohammad Alfrad Nobel Bhuiyan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, analyzed the data. Tiger Research Group’s collaborative research includes studying Cannabinoids and formulations in cellular models for addiction, inflammation, pain, and other endpoints. Data gathered including experiments are being analyzed by LSU Health Shreveport for safety and efficacy.

There are limited studies on CBD and its ability to be a therapeutic for pain management. Dr. Murnane and fellow researchers began to study how the special population of former elite athletes tolerated topical CBD. Given that former athletes are susceptible to chronic pain and trained to assess medication tolerability concerns, the population was idyllic to answer the question of “Is CBD a potential therapeutic for pain management due to being effective and tolerable?” To the research team’s knowledge, this is the first study to assess the CBD treatment in elite athletes.

“Achieving All Conference, All American, Young Alumnus of the Year, and being inducted in the Sports Hall of Fame has been special; however, working with LSU Health Shreveport to become an investigator/researcher is one of my proudest accomplishments at LSU,” stated Bradie James.

Their publication, titled “Topical Cannabidiol is Well Tolerated in Individuals with a History of Elite Physical Performance and Chronic Lower Extremity Pain,” found that topical CBD was tolerated with little adverse side effects by the study’s population. The six-week study was conducted with participating former professional athletes, all of whom had careers ranging from 4-10 years. The study found that 50 percent of participants experienced minor adverse effects such as dry skin, and 50 percent of participants experienced no side effects. Individuals reported a significant improvement in pain levels along with the enhanced ability to pursue home responsibilities and social, occupational, and recreational activities.

Murnane and James are hopeful that the positive pilot findings of this initial smaller study will warrant further study of a topical CBD study of elite athletes.

“It is estimated that more than 100,000 Americans will lose their lives to opioid addiction in 2023. Their loss will be felt in their families and our communities and throughout our society. It is critically important that we study options such as CBD to control pain in order to end the scourge of the opioid crisis,” stated Dr. Kevin Murnane, Principal Investigator (PI) for the study.

Associate

of Pharmacology, Toxicology, & Neuroscience and Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine below Bradie James Founder/President of Tiger Research Group

CEVT Continues To Expand Viral Sequencing Efforts

The Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats at LSU Health Shreveport recently sequenced the first instance in Louisiana of the XBB.1.16 variant, assigned the common name “Arcturus”, from a COVID-19 test sample from Willis-Knighton. CEVT Viral Genomics and Surveillance Lab team also sequenced the second instance in the state of the XBB.1.9.1 variant, assigned the common name “Hyperion”, from a school testing sample.

“These sequences were generated through our genomic surveillance program, which was designed to detect viruses circulating in our community. Detecting these very recently emerging variants demonstrates the robustness of our efforts,” said Krista Queen, PhD, Director of Viral Genomics and Surveillance for the Center for Emerging Viral Threats at LSU Health Shreveport.

XBB.1.5, a subvariant of the Omicron variant, remains the dominant strain in the U.S. The Arcturus and Hyperion subvariants, also both descendants of the Omicron variant, are becoming more prevalent in the United States. Both subvariants are closely monitored because they are quickly increasing in proportion to other SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating, but there is no indication currently that they are more likely to cause severe disease. The Arcturus variant has two distinct symptoms of producing more fever and more cases of conjunctivitis, or pink eye, compared with other strains of the virus.

Adding to the expertise and capabilities of the CEVT’s Viral Genomics and Surveillance Lab, the lab has also begun sequencing Flu and RSV strains circulating in the Shreveport-Bossier community. These data are shared with researchers across the world and help make up the large dataset used to decide the latest vaccine composition and design.

As of June 1, 2023, the Viral Genomics and Surveillance Lab has sequenced 18,898 SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

Dr. Lynn Harrison on Detail as NASA Space Biology Scientist

Lynn Harrison, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, has been selected as the Deputy Program Scientist on Detail for NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division of the Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Space Biology program identifies and develops concepts for transformative research relating to the changes experienced by living organisms in the unique environment of space. As the Deputy Program Scientist, Dr. Harrison will serve a two-year term in this role and will provide expert scientific leadership for the formulation and execution of the program, particularly in the area of rodent biology.

Dr. Harrison has worked with NASA in various capacities throughout her career. In 2011 she participated as a panel expert for Oxidative Damage at a NASA programmatic meeting. Dr. Harrison served as the Chair of the BLISS (Space Biology Beyond LEO Instrumentation and & Science Series) Scientist Working Group for Space Biology for two years. Over the past ten years, Dr. Harrison has received more than $1.4 million in grant funding as principal investigator or co-investigator from NASA and the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE). Her most recent grant award from NASA’s Space Biology Program was titled “Investigating Lunar Stress and Parkinson’s Disease Using an Alpha Synuclein Yeast Model.” Dr. Harrison is also one of the founders and organizers of the Space Biology Interest Group (SBIG) at LSU Health Shreveport, which was established in March 2022.

LSU Health Shreveport Named New Site for Nationwide Study on Parkinson’s Disease in Black and African American Individuals

LSU Health Shreveport has partnered with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to become one of five sites participating in the Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC-PD) study, a project of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) and the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative. MJFF serves as the implementation partner for GP2 and works with the ASAP initiative to coordinate a global program to conduct scientific research and analysis to identify genetic links to Parkinson’s disease.

It is estimated that nearly one million people in the United States are affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD), an age-related degenerative brain condition that impacts motor and cognitive function. It is the most common movement-related brain disease and the second-most common neurodegenerative disease.

The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC-PD) research study seeks to learn more about gene changes that may cause Parkinson’s in Black and African American people. To date, 90% of genetics studies performed relating to Parkinson’s disease have involved populations of European ancestry, meaning that Black and African American individuals are underrepresented in current research data and the genetic impact on PD susceptibility in these populations is largely unknown.

“While great strides have been made in Parkinson’s disease research, there is still more to learn, especially regarding the genetic impact on disease development. Information gathered through studies like BLACC PD could lead to major breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Our team at LSU Health Shreveport is excited to be working with GP2 and the Michael J. Fox Foundation to better understand PD and develop new therapies for all groups of people who are affected by this disease,” said Elizabeth Disbrow, PhD, Director of the Center for Brain Health and Professor of Neurology, who will lead the study at LSU Health Shreveport.

LSU Health Shreveport joins Rush University, University of Chicago, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States and University of Alabama at Birmingham as participating U.S. BLAAC-PD study sites. Since being activated as a site for this study in February, LSU Health Shreveport has been the leader in number of participants enrolled each month.

Lin, Zhang Awarded R01 Grant to Study Potential Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease

Kevin Lin, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Assistant Director of the Center of Brain Health, and Quanguang Zhang, PhD, Professor of Neurology, have been awarded a 5-year, $3.5M R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging for their project, “Using Photobiomodulation to Alleviate Brain Hypoperfusion in Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common and progressive genetic neurodegenerative disorders in the United States with more than 5 million people currently living with Alzheimer’s. A critical gap in knowledge is how vascular brain perfusion dynamics are involved in vascular dementia, which is a decline in thinking and problem-solving skills and the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. This emerging and difficult area of inquiry has limited investigations into the neurovascular system, brain emergent networks, with only indirect applications related to neurological diseases, where the functional role of protein arginine methyltransferases as they relate to brain metabolism, circulation, functional learning and memory are understudied. Dr. Lin and Dr. Zhang seek to investigate protein arginine methyltransferase 4 (PRMT4) as an important age and sex-related brain regulatory element to delay vascular cognitive impairment disorders. They recently discovered protein arginine methyltransferase 4 was enhanced in the AD brain in mice and humans. Their central hypothesis is the inhibition of protein arginine methyltransferase 4 via photobiomodulation — non-invasive laser treatment — can enhance neurovascular coupling, maintain blood-brain-barrier integrity, and reduce the effects learning/memory deficits in aged 3xTg-AD mice. Therefore, inhibition of PRMT4 in the AD brain can revive microvessel perfusion and hypoperfusion-mediated Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Lin and Dr. Zhang are Co-Principal Investigators on this grant, allowing them to combine their respective areas of expertise. Dr. Lin is a protein arginine methyltransferase expert in cerebral vascular brain perfusion via two-photon laser scanning microscopy in various disease states such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke/ ischemia. Dr. Zhang is an expert in functional behavior outcomes related to Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) with strengths in photobiomodulation as a clinically relevant therapy.

ALUMNI NOTES

Jeri Atkins, MPAS

School of Allied Health Professions, 1997

Jeri Atkins earned her Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from LSU Health Shreveport in 1997. She went on to receive her master’s degree and returned to LSU Health Shreveport for one year as the first PA hired by Dr. John McDonald in the Department of Surgery. Jeri then moved on to Surgical Oncology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) where she participated in research and joined institutional committees. During her time at MDACC, she was also voluntary faculty at Baylor College of Medicine PA Program and helped develop and establish the only Oncology Postgraduate Fellowship Program for PAs in the United States. In 2013, Jeri and her husband created a fund and program at MDACC in honor of their late son to help prevent employee suicide and to help with survivor recovery, named Friends of Dirk Fund. Jeri Atkins recently retired after 22 years in the Surgical Oncology department at MDACC.

Neelima Denduluri, MD

School of Medicine, 1999

Dr. Neelima Denduluri earned her MD from LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine in 1999. After completing her residency at Georgetown University, Dr. Denduluri was Chief Fellow and then a Medical Oncologist at the National Cancer Institute. She spent over 20 years in clinical care and clinical trials research for oncology before making a move to industry, with a goal of broadening access to care and helping to solve inequities in cancer care. In 2021, Dr. Denduluri joined AstraZeneca as a global clinical lead for late phase R&D, and was recently promoted to Global Head at the company.

G.E. Ghali, MD, DDS, FACS, FRCS(Ed)

School of Medicine, Class of 1994

Dr. Ghali received his MD from LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine in 1994. After completing his residency and fellowship, he returned to Shreveport and has practiced as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for over 25 years. Dr. Ghali was the 2022 recipient of the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India’s (AOMSI) Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented at the AOSMI 46th annual national conference in Infore, Madhya Pradesh, India, where he was also the keynote speaker. The AOSMI Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Dr. Ghali’s long-term leadership and contributions to the OMS field in India, where he has travelled annually for more than 20 years to operate on children with cleft lips and palates and adults with head and neck cancer.

Ishita Ghosh, PhD

School of Graduate Studies, Class of 2022

Dr. Ghosh graduated from the School of Graduate Studies in December of 2022. While a student, she was a member of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and mentored by Dr. Arrigo Benedetti. Ishita Ghosh is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Alan Ashworth at the University of California San Francisco.

William “Keith” Kellum, MD

School of Medicine, Class of 2010

Dr. Keith Kellum graduated from LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine in 2010. After graduation, Dr. Kellum completed his internal medicine residency at LSU Health New Orleans. In 2013 he began working as a hospitalist at Baton Rouge General Medical Center (BRG) and has taken on various leadership roles including Chief of Hospital Medicine and Chief Medical Information Officer. He also serves a faculty for BRG Internal Medicine Residency Program. In November 2022, Dr. Kellum was named Chief Medical Officer for Baton Rouge General Medical Center, overseeing two campuses and over 1,000 medical staff.

Imtiaz Khalil, PhD

School of Graduate Studies, Class of 2022

Dr. Khalil graduated from the School of Graduate Studies in 2022 after presenting his dissertation, “TLK1-MK5 Signaling: A Novel Kinase Cascade to Regulate Prostate Cancer Metastasis.” While a student, he was a member of Dr. Arrigo De Benedetti’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Imtiaz Khalil is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the MIT Whitehead Institute in Dr. Bob Weinberg’s lab.

Erika Knott, PhD

School of Graduate Studies, Class of 2021

Dr. Erika Knott graduated from the School of Graduate Studies in 2021. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Xiaohong Lu’s lab in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience. Dr. Knott was recently selected as NASA’s Spaceflight Technology, Applications, and Research (STAR) Fellow and Space Health Impacts for the NASA Experience (SHINE) Fellow. Her work was also selected as “Enabling Technology” at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Meeting in 2022.

Jessica Lawless, MLS

School of Allied Health Professions, Class of 2017

Jessica Lawless graduated from the School of Allied Health Professions in 2017 with a degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences. She currently works in Boise, Idaho, where she is also on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (ASCLS). On the Board, she serves as a liaison for the ASCLS Government Affairs Committee and P.A.C.E. Committee. Recently, she has been a speaker at the ASCLS Annual Meeting and served as the ASCLS Ascending Professionals Forum Director in 2022.

Benjamin Mizell, MD

School of Medicine, Class of 1996

Dr. Benjamin Mizell graduated from LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine in 1996. He went on to complete residencies in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Utah where he was a chief resident. Following his residencies, he joined the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City as a staff physician who led a hospitalist group that specialized in children with chronic diseases. In 2010, Dr. Mizell relocated to Massachusetts where he completed an anesthesia residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and then joined the faculty of Mass Eye and Ear in 2012. In January of 2023, Dr. Mizell was named Chief of Anesthesia at Mass Eye and Ear and now oversees a department of more than 30 anesthesiologists and 15 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).

Kelsey McClung Neville, DPT

School of Allied Health Professions, Class of 2018

Dr. Kelsey Neville graduated from the School of Allied Health Professions in 2018, despite a large obstacle thrown her way. While she was pursuing her Doctorate of Physical Therapy, she received a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. She took a year off from the program and then returned to graduate in 2018. Dr. Neville recently passed the exam to become a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist (MSCS).

Tyler Reeks, PhD

School of Graduate Studies, Class of 2022

Dr. Tyler Reekes graduated from the School of Graduate Studies in December 2022. He was a member of Dr. Elizabeth Disbrow’s lab in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience. He presented his dissertation defense, “Contributions to Cognitive Dysfunctions in Neurodegenerative Disease,” in November of 2022. Tyler is currently a post-doctoral fellow of anesthesiology at Duke University.

in memoriam

John Kern Cotter, MD, passed away peacefully in his home in 2022. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 1980 and went on to have lengthy career in emergency medicine. He was living in Shreveport at the time of his passing.

Chris Duggan, a research associate in the Department of Ophthalmology, passed away in October 2022. He was a beloved member of the Ophthalmology team who dedicated most of his career to LSU Health Shreveport. Just before his passing, Chris was recognized as a 35 Years of Service Honoree. He is survived by his only daughter, Rayna.

Donald Horton, a director emeritus and longtime board member of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation, passed away October 20, 2022 at the age of 88 with his family at his side. Upon his retirement from the board in 2015, his fellow directors unanimously designated him as a director emeritus. He and his wife, Ruby, were very generous to LSU Health Shreveport over the years. From supporting What’s Up Doc, An Evening for Healers, and various departments, Mr. Horton was always there to help. His legacy will continue through the endowment he and his wife created, the Don & Ruby Horton Generosity of Spirit Award. This honor is presented each year to a graduating medical student who exhibits leadership, generosity, and a philanthropic spirit through volunteer service.

Joe Miciotto passed away on December 3, 2022 at age 72 surrounded by loved ones. Joe gave over 40 years of dedicated and exemplary service to LSU Health Shreveport. He began his career in 1975, rising through the ranks and becoming the hospital CEO in 2001. During his tenure as CEO of then Confederate Memorial Hospital and LSU Medical Center, significant growth and improvements occurred to include being named the #1 public hospital in America. Joe finished his career as Director of Campus Operations for LSU Health Shreveport. He was beloved and widely known for his unwavering work ethic and dedication to patients, students, residents and colleagues. In March of 2021, the Joe Miciotto Graduate Medical Education (GME) Conference Room was dedicated in his honor.

Dr. Keith Payne, former Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine faculty, peacefully passed away in early January. Dr. Payne completed his residency and fellowship at LSU Health Shreveport after attending medical school at UT Houston. Following his training, he joined the faculty in 1981 and spent 35 years in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical

Care Medicine. He served as the division’s fellowship Program Director for a decade as well as Division Chief for the last 15 years of his career. Dr. Payne was known for his dedication to training the future generation of physicians and his empathy and ability to connect with students, colleagues and patients.

Kenneth Peterson, PhD, passed away on Monday, April 24. At the time of his passing, he was a current Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. He joined the LSU Health Shreveport faculty in August of 1988 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University School of Medicine. During his 35 years of service, Dr. Peterson earned a reputation of being an excellent teacher and scientist, and his research is currently being used to guide genetic engineering experiments aimed at constructing stable Vibrio cholerae mutants that may be useful for the development of a cholera vaccine.

Dr. Margaret Ann Springer, a School of Medicine alumnus, passed away on March 7 after a tenacious battle with dementia. Dr. Springer graduated from LSU Health Shreveport in 1987 and went on to become a pediatrician who specialized in neonatal intensive care and child abuse medicine. She worked for the CARA Center and with CASA and The Gingerbread House in Shreveport, serving the community’s most vulnerable children, while also advocating for them as an expert witness in the courts.

Dr. Daniel Strain passed away on May 3 after a lengthy illness. Dr. Strain worked in Shreveport as a prominent pulmonary physician, and was a third-generation Willis Knighton physician, where he spent most of his career. He also was a faculty member at LSU Health Shreveport and at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center.

Dr. John Wilson passed away peacefully in March of 2023. Dr. Wilson spent his career advocating for the medical betterment of children. His contributions to the health of children and clinical pharmacology, including his efforts to ensure that protections for drug safety and efficiency were the same for children as they were for adults, were recognized by peers and government officials including President Bill Clinton. At the time of his retirement in 2015, Dr. Wilson was a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine, Chief of Clinical Pharmacology and Director of the Children’s Clinical Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport.

Ending the Methamphetamine Crisis

Psychedelic Therapy Clinical Trials Set to Begin at Louisiana Addiction Research Center

When James Patterson, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine, began his career at LSU Health Shreveport in 2000, he saw about three to five patients daily for mental health-related issues in the emergency room. Today, Dr. Patterson sees between 20-25 patients. More than half of the patients share one problem — they are addicted to methamphetamine, commonly known as meth. Patterson provides patients with what he describes as a “Band-Aid” fix and sends them to a detox facility, knowing they will most likely relapse again, as there is currently no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment for methamphetamine addiction.

Nicholas Goeders, PhD, Professor and Chair of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, has specialized in addiction research for over 40 years and has seen an alarming growth rate in methamphetamine users in Shreveport. Dr. Goeders serves on the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse of Northwest Louisiana’s (CADA) board and has seen firsthand the devastation methamphetamine addiction has had on Shreveport’s population over the past several years.

Driven by their passion for solving this growing crisis in Shreveport and throughout Louisiana, Dr. Goeders and Dr. Patterson founded the Louisiana Addiction Research Center (LARC) at LSU Health Shreveport to radically improve models of care and intervention for those with addiction. Their inspiring vision led Kevin Murnane, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, to move from his long-time home in Atlanta to Shreveport to help address this crisis. Since its inception three years ago, LARC has become a leader in addiction research and is the only state-approved addiction center with the mission of serving all communities across the entire state of Louisiana.

Dr. Murnane describes methamphetamine as “an extremely addictive poison” that destroys a person physically and mentally. It is the No. 1 cause of drug-related overdose in Louisiana, as well as in many states west of the Mississippi River. While Drs. Patterson and Goeders knew methamphetamine use was on the rise in Shreveport, tracking the actual use amount among the population was difficult. “Many people who use methamphetamine do not want to disclose that information in a medical setting, while others may not know all the drugs they are using,” Murnane said.

Dr. Goeders knew that wastewater technology was a reliable metric to track the precise amount of methamphetamine use in Shreveport, so he turned to Dr. Murnane. “The best technology we have is wastewater testing. You can test a whole community objectively because anyone using methamphetamine expels the chemicals in wastewater,” Dr. Murnane stated. With support from the Caddo Parish Commission and the Community Foundation of North Louisiana, LARC received the funding to begin wastewater

testing in 2020. For the past two years, the City of Shreveport Water Department has collected samples in three Shreveport communities.

When LARC received the initial test results, they expected to see high levels of methamphetamine in the wastewater. However, Dr. Murnane describes the results as “beyond shocking.”

“We saw that Shreveport had two to three times higher numbers than any other place in the country, including many places known as hot spots of heavy use,” Murnane said. “In Shreveport, there are significant levels of opioid, cocaine and other substance use, but the methamphetamine levels are overwhelming.”

What makes Shreveport so susceptible to this kind of problem? “It’s not just one thing, but many things that create a large set of vulnerabilities,” Murnane shared, citing several factors including Shreveport’s location on a major drug trafficking corridor and extreme poverty and high incarceration rates, which have led to a sizable generational trauma burden. Shreveport’s demographics play a significant role as well. Methamphetamine use is historically high within rural European American communities, and use rates are increasing among African Americans. Native Americans have the highest rates of overdose and death from methamphetamine use. Shreveport is home to all of these communities.

Despite the negative and far-reaching problems Shreveport faces when dealing with the methamphetamine crisis, LARC’s leadership is passionately pursuing a solution. Dr. Murnane says the solution may be psychedelic therapy. “We have a solution that is one of the most promising treatments that I have seen in my 20 years of addiction research,” he said.

Psychedelics are a long-known class of drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamine or LSD, psilocybin from Psilocybe

Dr. Kevin Murnane, PhD candidate Frances Vest, and Dr. James Patterson

and other mushrooms and mescaline from peyote cacti. Native populations in both North and South America used psychedelics for thousands of years to produce resilience and improve mental health and social function. In the 1940s and 1950s, psychedelics were used in routine clinical practice to treat alcoholism, existential distress and other aspects of mental health.

During the “counter-culture” revolution in the 1960s, psychedelics became widely used outside scientific and medical constructs, and advocates pushed for their use outside of carefully designed and medically supervised conditions. Then, in an attempt to mitigate harm from this overreach and inappropriate use of psychedelics, the United States government heavily restricted their use and research on these drugs by placing them on Schedule 1 under the Controlled Substances Use. In part because of this heavy restriction, psychedelics have had a negative connotation for the last two generations. LARC wants to use state-of-theart research and the world-class infrastructure at LSU Health Shreveport to determine whether psychedelics can be used safely in our communities and to objectively assess whether they are effective in treating methamphetamine addiction.

Psychedelic therapy has experienced a renaissance in the past few years, thanks in part to a close colleague of Dr. Murnane’s. Matthew W. Johnson, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, has been instrumental in this research and has published his findings citing psilocybin, commonly known as “magic mushrooms,” in treating tobacco dependence. Johnson found that a single dose of psilocybin, under the care of trained clinicians, eliminated cigarette smoking in more than 80% of participants for many months after this single treatment.

Peter Hendricks, PhD, Professor of Public Health at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), has seen similar results using psilocybin to treat cocaine addiction. UAB’s clinical trials show very promising results with individuals who have been addicted to cocaine for decades and have tried many other conventional treatment options.

“This research is incredibly promising for us when it comes to treating methamphetamine addiction here in Shreveport,” Dr. Murnane said. “The Louisiana Addiction Research Center is excited to bring psychedelic therapy clinical trials to LSU Health Shreveport this year.”

LARC has already received substantial financial support from donors passionate about psychedelic therapy for addiction. “This is some of the most powerful philanthropy we have seen at LSU Health Shreveport,” said Jesse Gilmore, VP for Development at the LSU Health Shreveport Foundation. “LARC has a huge problem to solve, but it also has brilliant minds and incredible resources and infrastructure. That’s what makes these clinical trials so inspiring to outside stakeholders who want to see this epidemic resolved. We hope that the local community will step forward and support this cause too.”

Clinical trials will soon be underway. Frances Vest, a thirdyear PhD candidate in Dr. Murnane’s lab, developed the protocol for the clinical trials under the guidance of Drs.

Murnane and Patterson. For the first set of studies, LARC will partner with Uprising Addiction Center, an inpatient treatment facility in Shreveport focused on a holistic approach to treating addiction. As the lead graduate student for the ongoing and upcoming clinical trials, Vest has worked with CADA and Uprising Addiction Center since June 2021, studying neurocognitive changes as well as structural and functional brain changes in people receiving treatment for methamphetamine addiction.

“The opportunity for clinical research is what motivated me to complete my PhD at LSU Health Shreveport,” said Vest, who interned with Dr. Murnane as a Biopsychology undergraduate at Oglethorpe University. “I have always had a passion for helping people struggling with addiction, especially those who have tried everything and have no other support. It is a dream come true to be part of these clinical trial studies.” Throughout these trials, Vest will be involved with screening candidates for the study and analyzing the results.

Participants will receive either psilocybin or another psychedelic compound, 5-MeO-DMT. “While psilocybin is more commonly known, its effects last 6-8 hours and will ultimately be more expensive for patients,” said Murnane. “5-MeO-DMT, on the other hand, lasts 45 minutes and would be a more practical option. Our goal is to reduce barriers to access so that everyone suffering from addiction has a chance for a better life.”

Patients will receive several counseling sessions with a trusted therapist before being administered psychedelics. In addition, LARC is busy preparing the Clinical Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport to be a relaxing, safe and comfortable environment for patients. Dr. Peter Hendricks from UAB will serve as the Clinical Advisor during the clinical trials and will help train the psychiatry faculty, clinicians and partnering treatment centers.

The Louisiana Addiction Research Center hopes to change the narrative of addiction through its research. “The wastewater study showed just how prevalent methamphetamine use is in our community,” Dr. Murnane said. “People often have a false, dangerous and counterproductive idea of drug users in their mind, but addiction affects everyone, every family and every community. Addiction tears apart families, increases crime and creates a heavy trauma burden for generations. We hope LSU Health Shreveport and this community can serve as a model of an effective solution to this crisis for the rest of the United States.”

For more information on how to support the psychedelic clinical trials at Louisiana Addiction Research Center, visit lsuhsfoundation.org/LARC or call the LSU Health Shreveport Foundation at 318-861-0855.

LSU Health Sciences Foundation Hosts Inaugural White Coat Scholarship Luncheon

On March 6, top donors, LSU Health Shreveport leadership, and faculty gathered to celebrate the success of the White Coat Scholarship Campaign and the fourteen scholarship recipients from the School of Medicine. Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. David Lewis, and Noel Foundation board member, Steve Walker, each spoke on the importance of institutional scholarships at LSU Health Shreveport. Students, Driskell Green (MSI) and Meredith Nelson (MSIV), shared the impact that their scholarships have had during their medical education. “We were grateful for the opportunity to celebrate this group of fantastic future doctors who are leaders at the medical school right now. We could not be more proud of them and what they’re doing at LSU Health Shreveport,” shared Kevin Flood, President and CEO of the LSUHS Foundation. “We also thank the outstanding faculty and medical educators who ensure our graduates serve our community the best that they can. We thank the donors who continue to astound us with their generous support year after year.”

Thank you to the donors who have endowed scholarships and the hundreds of donors who have supported the White Coat Scholarship Campaign. To date, more than $640,000 has been raised for the White Coat Scholarship Campaign, allowing LSU Health Shreveport to award scholarships to ten current medical students, with 12 more available for the incoming Class of 2027.

Congratulations to the outstanding medical students who received these scholarships:

Adrian Chen, MS1 – Noel Foundation Scholar

Constana Gracia, MS1 – White Coat Scholar

Driskell Greene, MS1 – Noel Foundation Scholar

Mackenzie Louviere, MS1 – Dr. Yogendra S. Goel Endowed Scholar

Gianni Ly, MS1 – Smith Family Scholar

Angela Nguyen, MS1 — White Coat Scholar

Huy Nguyen, MS1 – White Coat Scholar

Dominique Perilloux, MS1 – White Coat Scholar

Prerana Ramesh, MS1 – White Coat Scholar

Alika Shum, MS1 – Dr. Yogendra S. Goel Endowed Scholar

Macie Serio, MS1 – Tommy Brown, MD Memorial Endowed Scholar

Sydney Seastrunk, MS1 – Lester Wayne Johnson Family Endowed Scholar

Kyle Dacdac, MS3 – Sandra and Jerry Martin Endowed Scholar

Meredith Nelson, MS4 – Charles E. Hargon, Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholar

Student scholarships remain a critical need as we work to ease the burden of debt and expand access to medical education at LSU Health Shreveport. For more information on how to support the White Coat Scholarship Campaign or how to endow your own scholarship or student award, contact the Foundation at 318-861-0855.

TERRY DAVIS, PHD ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP

In January, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate Dr. Terry Davis as she begins retirement. Many of Dr. Davis’s friends and colleagues came together to establish the Terry Davis, PhD Endowed Professorship in honor and recognition of her dedicated support to LSU Health Shreveport and her unwavering pursuit of research and academic excellence.

Dr. Davis led an inspiring and impactful career during her more than 40 years at LSU Health Shreveport, serving as Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and Division Chief of Healthcare Disparities. She was dedicated to investigating the impact of patient literacy on health and health care. Among her many achievements, Dr. Davis developed the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), the most widely used test for literacy in medical settings. She also developed easy-to-understand patient education and provider training materials that have become the gold standard nationally.

Thank you, Dr. Davis, for your inspiring dedication to LSU Health Shreveport and the community.

If you are interested in supporting the Terry Davis, PhD Endowed Professorship, please visit lsuhsfoundation. org/terrydavis or contact the LSU Health Sciences Foundation at 318-861-0855.

LSU Health Shreveport Donors Took Bold Steps Forward for First LSU Giving Day

LSU Health Shreveport was proud to partner with our flagship campus, as well as six other LSU campuses across the state, for LSU Giving Day on March 29. Nearly 100 donors raised $82,343 for student scholarships and support funds across all three LSU Health Shreveport schools. LSU’s “Bold Steps Forward” theme for Giving Day 2023 was a tribute to the LSU community’s audacious spirit and shared enthusiasm to strive for excellence. Thank you to every donor who stepped forward for our future healthcare leaders and scientists! Stay tuned for LSU Giving Day 2024.

In conjunction with LSU Giving Day, the LSU Health Sciences Foundation hosted a day of gratitude on campus. Students, faculty, and staff wrote hundreds of thank you notes and recorded messages to our generous donors while celebrating the impact of philanthropy at LSU Health Shreveport. Thank A Donor Day serves to involve all of LSU Health Shreveport in the donor stewardship process and demonstrates to our donors that their contributions have a tangible, human impact.

Investitures

David Kim, DMD, MD, FACS

The formal investiture ceremony for Dr. David Kim, Professor and Chair of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Division Chief Head & Neck Oncologic Surgery, was held in March 2023. Dr. Kim is the holder of the Jack W. Gamble, DDS Endowed Chair in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

The Gamble Chair was funded by various colleagues, friends, students, and patients of Dr. Gamble. Its purpose is to support multi-disciplinary research and teaching excellence within the OMS Department. Dr. Gamble’s contributions to the OMS program in Shreveport and the School of Dentistry in New Orleans were outstanding and unequaled at the time in the areas of state dental and medical leadership, legislative activities, and teaching. His devotion to this OMS program molded the lives of over 40 surgical residents from 1967-1997. Under his leadership, the program became an internationally known center of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery excellence.

Dr. Kim completed an accelerated program in dental science at the University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and

Michael Yim, MD

The formal investiture ceremony for Dr. Michael Yim, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, was held in November 2022. Dr. Yim is the holder of the Cherie Ann Nathan, MD Endowed Professorship in Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery.The Nathan Professorship’s purpose is to enhance the academic, research, and clinical mission of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS Department) at LSU Health Shreveport. The Nathan Professorship was initiated by grateful patients to recognize Dr. Nathan’s passion for curing devastating diseases that cause cosmetic and functional impairment.

Michael Yim, MD, specializes in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery. His clinical practice focuses on nasal and sinus diseases, including acute and chronic sinusitis, growths and tumors of the sinuses and skull base, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, endoscopic orbital surgery, nasal obstruction, and allergies. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Yim is actively involved in clinical research. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in the field while presenting his work at national conferences. He

Sciences in Pittsburgh, Penn., and received his medical degree from the State University New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn. He served his internship at the health center in Brooklyn prior to serving a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Division of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery/Department of Dentistry, Kings County Hospital/ SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, where he was chief resident. He completed a fellowship in maxillofacial oncologic and reconstructive surgery with the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore.

He is also the Director of the Head & Neck Oncologic/ Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship in the OMS Department.

has a strong interest in resident and medical student education and currently serves as the co-course director for the Head and Neck block for first-year medical students. Dr. Yim graduated from medical school with Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honors, followed by an Otolaryngology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he also served as Chief Administrative Resident. He then completed fellowship training in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery at the University of Utah Health.

The LSU Health Sciences Foundation partnered with the Community Foundation of North Louisiana for its 10th annual Give for Good on May 2. Each year, this day of philanthropy raises critical funds for more than 200 nonprofits in our region. Thank you to the many donors who gave $37,480 to support LSU Health Shreveport during this year’s campaign. Throughout the past Give for Good days, more than $280,000 has been raised to support LSU Health Shreveport’s strategic initiatives. We are grateful to the many alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and community members who give so generously on this day every year!