THE AUA CAMPUS UPDATE AUGUST 2019
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CONTENTS SPRING 2019 ORIENTATION WELCOME ADDRESS ...................... 2 IS THERE ANY VALUE IN BEING “NICE”? ...................................... 3 FROM THE EDITOR .........................................................................4 DNA BARCODING OF PLANT SPECIES IN ANTIGUA ..................... 5 THE FIRST AUA MEN’S HEALTH SYMPOSIUM ..............................6 AUA HOST THE LEEWARD ISLAND DEBATING COMPETITION ... 7 INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT (IVSA) WEEK APRIL 2019 ......................................................................................8 2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 1 - ANTIGUA........................................9 2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 2 - BARBUDA .................................... 11 AUA SPRING 2019 CLUB FAIR ...................................................... 14 THE LOCAL BUSINESS EXPO ....................................................... 19 GAPIO 9TH MIDYEAR CONFERENCE ............................................ 20 THE AUA GLOBAL MD PROGRAM ............................................... 21 OUR SUCCESS STORIES – DR. KHALID ANAM ............................ 22
AUA Wellness Committee Chair Dawn Roberts, US Department of Homeland Security Outreach & Communications Lead Nicole Wood and AUA Counselling Centre’s Director Lynn McKnignt at the IVSA cocktail reception in April
WHAT’S ON IN ANTIGUA ............................................................. 23 OUR SUCCESS STORIES – DR. ILYA NOGINSKY ......................... 24 AUA COMMUNITY OUTREACH .................................................... 25 THE BOOKSHELF .......................................................................... 29 FACULTY PUBLICATIONS ............................................................ 29 MEET A NEW COLLEAGUE ........................................................... 30 CAUGHT ON CAMERA.........................30 AUA’S FIRST ANNUAL HEALTH WEEK ........................................ 31 AUA HEALTHY PERSPECTIVES.................................................... 32 ESQUINA ESPAÑOLA WITH PROF. RAMSAY .............................. 34 WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS DAY ........................... 35 Chief Nutritionist Samantha Moitt, AUA’s HR Coordinator Seymone Lambert and Medical Benefits Scheme Nutritionist Dorothy Graham Charles during the 1st annual AUA Health Week in June
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SPRING 2019 ORIENTATION WELCOME ADDRESS When thinking about making a presentation to a class of new medical students, I often reflect on “How can I be helpful?”. Typically, this results in my pointing out how difficult medical school is, and adding some pointers about how to negotiate a successful tenure as a medical student; but you already know it is difficult, or at least you think you do. If you are like me you probably have grossly underestimated just how difficult this will be, I know I did. That said, there is so much noise around orientation and the beginning of classes, you are unlikely to remember any advice I give. So let’s instead speak from the heart. Intellectual arguments rarely change behavior, but getting in touch with our emotions, those things that motivate us, these heart-filled experiences, those you will remember for your entire life.
In the oath we take at graduation, we pledge to place our patient’s welfare above all else. We learn that we are expected to consider this in every decision we make. No one does this perfectly, but to the extent that we can and will do this, to that exact extent, we will reap the rewards of satisfaction in our profession. That satisfaction trumps academic, social and financial success, this is at the heart of the medical profession. This is the antidote to all of the things that trouble us and it makes bearable, the administrative hassles, the interference of big business, politics, and all the nonsense that we and our patients must endure. This is your purpose. When in that dark place, when you don’t know if you can go on, when you fear failure, remember your patient.
With that in mind, I am going to invite you to share with us in a sentence or at most two, why you are here. Now when I ask that I am not talking about why you are here in Antigua, or why you chose AUA. I am asking about your motivation to become a physician. I encourage you to write this down, someplace where you can retrieve it. Look at it again as a resident, and later as a practicing physician. I suspect it will change. Although I did not engage in this exercise, I recall having some pretty naïve ideas about our profession. will share with you the most enduring of these ideas now, and invite you to accept it as a truth about the practice of medicine. Patients come to us often frightened and in pain, sometimes that pain is not physical, but it is pain nonetheless. They come trusting that we will act in their best interest.
Robert Mallin MD University Provost
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IS THERE ANY VALUE IN BEING “NICE”? As our university matures, we have multiple reasons to be proud of innovations and achievements in the curriculum and teaching. We have the luxury of reflecting on the hard work that has produced these improvements. As we pause to catch our breath a natural question is: What else can we do on campus, in clinics, and in the hospital, to further improve our education experience, our academic success, and for that matter, our successes in life?
Most uncivil behavior comes from a lack of training and feedback or an unsupportive environment, rather than ill intentions toward others. Workers, students, or professors who feel highly anxious, frustrated, fatigued, or devalued, are more likely to lash out in angry or impatient ways that cause the target as well as any witnesses to feel threatened and less safe. The further consequences, including decreased work or learning performance, can be very adverse.
I encourage us all to consider the importance of civility, good manners, and kindness in our daily interactions. As a child, I came to understand from my parents that good manners—just being a “nice” person— was the way to make relationships function well. And I also came to understand that neighbourhoods, communities and large groups could function better when people treated others with the same respect and kindness they hoped to receive from others. So as an educator and administrator, I wasn’t surprised to learn there’s a growing field of research in areas of social psychology and business management focused on the benefits of civility in the workplace and in the classroom.
There is a pervasive misunderstanding that all of us need to work hard to overcome: Most of us develop a perception that human warmth and kindness are the opposite of competence and discipline, and that one must choose sides. The tragic irony is that the most effective leaders, teachers, workers, and students—whether in a corporate or educational setting— are both warm and competent; kind and disciplined. It is not necessary to choose one and discard the other. Take both.
What’s the meaning of “civility?” Uncivil behavior includes actions that show disdain and disrespect, a rude tone of voice or rude nonverbal behavior; civil behavior then, includes all the ways in which our parents hopefully taught us to be polite; to display courtesy and good manners. This may include saying please and thanks, smiling, thanking people for their service, listening politely when another person speaks and showing respect in our answers. Dr. Christine Porath, a professor of management at Georgetown University, described in a New York Times article how one survey of more than 4,500 physicians, nurses, and other hospital workers, found 71% of respondents attributed abusive or insulting personal conduct to medical errors, and 27% believed that such uncivil conduct had contributed to a patient death. A different study conducted in a learning environment, suggested that an uncivil environment caused students to experience a decreased ability to utilize and recall information. Rudeness causes people to become angry, sad, or fearful and may cause motivation, attention, and memory to decline significantly. This effect is not restricted to the target of uncivil behavior; witnesses to the behavior are similarly affected. Samuel LeBaron MD PhD Executive Dean of Basic Science
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FROM THE EDITOR Hello again! It’s always a pleasure to share the Campus Update with you and since this issue covers the period January through August, it is packed with even more interesting articles. If you’re a new student, welcome! Thank you for choosing AUA, I hope that your experience thus far is everything you imagined it would be. I encourage you to stay focused on your academic goals and take every opportunity to fully utilize all available resources. Please welcome first-time contributor to the AUA Campus Update Dr. Samuel LeBaron. Dr. LeBaron has been a part of our Basic Sciences team as a visiting professor for a number of years prior to joining us in his current capacity of Executive Dean. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology Dr. LeBaron started his career at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He authored numerous articles and chapters as well as a book related to pain management in children before attending medical school at the University of Calgary, Canada and completing a residency in Family Medicine in San Jose, California. He subsequently accepted a position at Stanford School of Medicine where he developed the first Stanford clerkship in Family Medicine.
In his capacity as a clinical preceptor and as director of the core clerkship in Family Medicine at Stanford, Dr. LeBaron held high expectations for students to learn basic clinical skills and knowledge balanced by a deep understanding of ethics, the realities of death and loss, and the role of spirituality and meaning in medicine. His efforts to teach these values led to awards for “Compassion in Medicine” from Stanford University, and “Humanism in Medicine” from the Association of American Medical Colleges. During his 20 years at Stanford Dr. LeBaron received numerous other awards for his clinical teaching, advising, and mentoring of student research projects. We are indeed very fortunate to have Dr. LeBaron on the AUA team and as a valued contributor to the Campus Update.
Sharon Brusch Editor
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DNA BARCODING OF PLANT SPECIES IN ANTIGUA By Dr. Joseph Cross
Students successfully use DNA Barcoding for the first time to identify plant species on Antigua Due to climate change, pollution, invasive species and other factors, species world-wide are vanishing at an alarming rate. This has important social and economic implications for Caribbean island nations. In addition, many students in the Caribbean, who may in future become scientists involved in the conservation effort, are disadvantaged relative to other countries through a relative lack of science teaching infrastructure and/or expertise. DNA barcoding projects are increasingly being introduced into biological science educational curricula, and such projects have been immensely valuable, both in educational terms and in assisting the worldwide conservation effort. Just as the unique pattern of bars in a universal product code (UPC) identifies each consumer product, a “DNA barcode� is a unique pattern of DNA sequence that identifies each living thing. Short DNA barcodes, about 700 nucleotides in length, can be quickly processed from thousands of specimens and unambiguously analyzed by computer programs. This project aimed both to begin the process of cataloging and mapping the flora on the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda for conservation purposes, and to provide molecular biology
research skills to local Antiguan students and students from AUA. This was the second round of our project. Thirty students took part over eight days, including ten local Antiguan students from Antigua State College, and twenty undergraduate medical students from the American University of Antigua. The project was highly successful, with students sampling over 100 local plant species and creating records for these on the world-wide repository for barcoding records, the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD). Student feedback indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the project, survey comments suggested students enjoyed being able to contribute to conservation work in Antigua and felt they gained valuable molecular biology skills.
The team hopes to expand the project to include more local Caribbean students in the near future and to train local educators to introduce DNA barcoding projects into their courses. The students are extremely grateful to AUA for the generous research grant to make this project possible. If you would like to participate in this research please contact Dr. Cross at jcross@auamed.net; Dr. James at KJames@auamed.net; or Dr Friedman at mfriedman@aicasa.net
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THE FIRST AUA MEN’S HEALTH SYMPOSIUM
l-r Mr. Colin Jenkins, Dr. Leslie Walwyn and Dr. Robin Roberts
AUA hosted It’s a Man’s Thing: Men’s Health Symposium on Friday January 18, 2019 under the auspices of H.E. The Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda Sir Rodney Williams. Dr. Robin Roberts, Urologist, Senior Lecturer and Director of the University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas addressed the gathering on key health issues that affect men globally including prostate cancer, heart diseases, self-abusive behaviors and excessive risk taking. Mr. Vernon Solomon, AUA’s Vice President of Administration and Community Affairs and Mr. Colin John Jenkins, creator of Men’s Empowerment Network (MEN) - both men’s health advocates, addressed
the situation as it relates to men in Antigua and Barbuda. H.E. Sir Rodney Williams commended AUA on the imitative stating that he is happy to be involved and looks forward to other forums of a similar nature specifically for men. The event was a collaboration between AUA and the Medical Benefits Scheme and was organized with the assistance of Dr. Leslie Walwyn. The event was attended by members of the medical and legal fraternity, the Defense Force, Immigration Services, Service Clubs, Emergency Medical Services, Mental Health services and men’s organizations.
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AUA HOST THE LEEWARD ISLAND DEBATING COMPETITION
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The 47th Annual Leeward Islands Debating Competition was hosted in Antigua at the AUA campus this year from February 28th to March 4th. The Leeward Islands’ debating Competition is an annual event founded by George Irish of Montserrat in 1972. The competition is an important forum, promoting the interaction of young people from across the Leeward Islands as they debate issues relevant to the region. AUA faculty members Dr. Joy Cox and Dr. Vernon Lindsay (pictured left) were among the panel of esteemed judges of this year’s competition The six island nations who participated were St. Maarten, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Anguilla, Antigua and Nevis. The debate topics were: “Emphasis on environmental conservation retards the capacity of developing nations to compete in the global economy;” “Regional Integration in the Caribbean is more of a theoretical concept than a practical reality;” “Dependence on tourism is stymieing the economic development of the Caribbean region;” “The lack of trust in our people is the main reason why the majority of CARICOM states are yet to adopt the Caribbean Court of Justice as their final Court of Appeal;” “Caribbean countries have not done enough to afford the LGBTQ community the same legal rights and protections as other citizens.” The four nights of fierce debate livestreamed on ABS TV as well as via ABS TV’s Facebook page drummed up tremendous support for the debaters throughout the islands. The competition was attended by dignitaries including H.E. Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda Sir Rodney Williams and the Hon. Minister of Education Mr. Michael Brown. The Nevis Literary & Debating Society team held unto the title for the 3rd consecutive years defeating Team Antigua and Barbuda in the finals by 66 points in the finals. Anguilla’s Ivor Adams won the title of “The Best Overall Speaker,” and Nevis’s Azel Williams “Best Speaker at the Debate Finals.”
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INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT (IVSA) WEEK APRIL 2019 The American University of Antigua Wellness Committee observed Interpersonal Violence & Sexual Assault Awareness month in April by hosting a week of activities to mark the occasion. The week of activities included a presentation on Human Trafficking by Nicole C. Wood on Monday April 15th at 5pm on the university campus. Ms. Wood is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Center for Faith & Opportunity Initiatives, Partnership and Communications Lead. The DHS Center for Faith & Opportunity Initiatives was created in 2006 by an executive order to help emergency managers effectively engage with faith and community-based groups. The DHS Center carries out the policies and program priorities of the White House Faith & Opportunity Initiatives, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 2010, the DHS Center expanded its focus to include human trafficking by becoming a founding member of the Blue Campaign. DHS' comprehensive, intra-agency approach to fighting human trafficking delivers training and technical assistance to faith and community-based organizations while providing subject-matter expertise to help communities successfully partner with other Blue Campaign components.
Nicole Wood accepts a certificate of appreciation from ADMA Club President Chiamaka Madu
The presentation on April 15th was attended by members of the Antigua and Barbuda Human Trafficking task force as well as representatives from the Antigua and Barbuda Immigration Department, Airport Services, the armed forces, AUA students, staff, faculty and other interested members of the public. The week culminated with a lecture on the topic of bullying by Cuthbert Forbes of the Halo Foundation and Feona Charles-Richards of Family and Social Services on Tuesday April 16th. The lecture was attended by primary and secondary school teachers, social workers, parents and other interested community groups and individuals. The annual IVSA week of activities is a collaboration of the AUA Wellness Committee and the AUA Community Outreach Committee and was organized by Dawn Roberts and Lynn McKnight.
Lynn McKnight (center) pictured with Fiona Charles-Richards and Cuthbert Forbes
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2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 1 - ANTIGUA
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The 2019 AUA RohrMan took place on March 8th and 9th and was the twin island nation’s first premier sporting event of the year. The first day of events included the Mini Distance Individual, Mini Distance Team Relay, Sprint Distance, the feature Olympic Distance Individual and the Olympic Distance Team Relay and was hosted at the beautiful Ffryes Beach in Antigua. The second day was hosted at the gorgeous River Wharf in Barbuda and included the 250m and 1km swim, 1km beach run, the Barbuda cycle race, the 5k & 10K run/walk and beach games. The event attracted the usual crowd of world class athletes including for the first time, AurÊlien Raphael who placed third in the 2018 France Sprint Triathlon National Championships. Junior French triathlete Remy Sichel also joined us along with regional contenders Barbadian Olympian Jason Wilson, Wilson's Barbadian compatriot Oein Josiah along with Antigua & Barbuda's national champion Jeffery Kelsick. Raphael finished 1st in the Olympic Sprint followed by Jason Willson in 2nd place, Remy Sichel in 3rd, Oein Josiah in 4th and Keffrey Kelsick in 5th place. For the females, New Zealander Andrea Hewitt one of the most accomplished triathletes in the world successfully defended her AUA Rohrman title for the third year. She faced fierce competition in the Triathlon Olympic Sprint from Maria Lozovskaya who placed 2nd, followed by locals Alisha David in 3rd place, Margarita Fernandez in 4th and Celine Merino in 5th place. Despite the star studded lineup our AUA competitors were very impressive! in the Olympic sprint Rachel Bellis placed 10th in the female category and Israel Romero placed 5th in the male category. In the Mini Tri Zoe Montoya placed 1st in the female category followed by Katie Marco in 2nd place, Bailey Sperry in 3rd place, Kristine McKinley in 4th and Elizabeth Jones in 5th place. In the male category Matt Pfeiffer placed 2nd and Marcello Vitorria placed 4th. In the Mini Team, Team Mallin placed 4th Team Konstantine Callihan/Arsian Mirza/Hunter Mellitus placed 5th and Team Marcello Vitorria/Paulna Thomas placed 7th with Marcello completing 2 of the 3 legs. Congratulations to all of our AUA athletes, YOU ROCK! The 2019 AUA RohrMan was truly a wonderful event; the venues were fantastic, the weather was unbelievably perfect on both days and the entire event was very well organized and executed. Congratulations to Dr. Kimberly Mallin, Rory Butler and the AUA RohrMan Association.
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2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 2 - BARBUDA
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2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 2 - BARBUDA
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2019 AUA ROHRMAN DAY 2 - BARBUDA
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AUA SPRING 2019 CLUB FAIR
A total of 17 student groups were represented at the Spring 2019 club fair which took place on February 8th this year. The African Diaspora Medical Association (ADMA) provided a totally unexpected flash mob-styled dance segment which was the high point of the afternoon.
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This business expo organized by Tracy WithyBrown and Desiree Roberts of Residential Services takes place each year at the beginning of the spring and fall semesters at the AUA campus. This semester the expo was hosted at the AICASA campus as well. The expo introduces students to products and services necessary for island life including mobile phone and internet service, driver’s permits, shipping and courier services and just about everything else in between. Significant discounts along with free samples of locally produced baked goods and sweet treats are also usually on offer.
THE LOCAL BUSINESS EXPO
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GAPIO 9TH MIDYEAR CONFERENCE by Dara George-John
(l to r) Dr. Naresh Parikh, Dr. KK Aggarwal, Dr. Anupam Sibal, Dr. Ramesh Mehta, His Excellency Mr. V Mahalingam, Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Dr. Brahma Sharma, Dr. Abhijat Sheth and Dr. Sanku Rao
The Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), in collaboration with AUA and the Medical Association of Antigua & Barbuda, held their 9th midyear conference in Antigua on Saturday, 4 May 2019.
GAPIO is a nonprofit organization and its vision is "Improving Health Worldwide". GAPIO stands to empower physicians of Indian origin to achieve highest professional standards, to provide affordable quality healthcare, and to contribute to local and regional community development and thereby help to reduce health inequalities and alleviate suffering globally.
Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a global pandemic, claiming 63% of all deaths. Globally, the NCD burden is set to increase significantly in the next ten years. GAPIO is focusing on prevention and early detection of NCDs and will enhance efforts to control NCDs�.
During the evening, Sir Vivian Richards served as the Chief Guest at a function that allowed the The midyear conference started with a scientific overseas delegates to get to know their AUA and program of which His Excellency Mr. V Antiguan peers a bit better. Overall, the Mahalingam, Indian High Commissioner to conference allowed for persons to learn about Guyana, served as the Chief Guest. The program recent scientific advances while also getting to had a strong emphasis on non-communicable know their peers from around the globe. diseases and covered topics such as cardiology, nephrology/transplant, and endocrinology. The speakers were experts in their fields and came from India, UK, USA and Antigua. Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Former President of GAPIO stated, “Non
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THE AUA GLOBAL MD PROGRAM
(L-R) visiting professors Stefan Göbbels, MD, M.Sc., Sherri Prosser, PhD and James Wilson, MD
The current Global MD F2019 semester commenced with a series of stirring lectures ranging from global health and security, medical intelligence, standardized hospital administration to research and infectious diseases. The program exposes students to remarkable subject matter experts who are considered the very best in their respective fields and this semester the lineup includes Dr. James Wilson, Dr. Sherri Prosser and Col. Dr. Stefan Göbbels. Dr. Wilson is a board-certified, practicing pediatrician who specializes in operational medical intelligence, with a focus on the anticipation, detection, and warning of infectious disease crises.
He heads the Nevada Center for Infectious Disease Forecasting at the University of Nevada, Reno.
medicine, burn and trauma care, general surgery and hospital administration was hard earned both as an active duty army hospital administrator and Dr. Sherri Prosser has a PhD in Curriculum and surgeon deployed to Afghanistan. Instruction from the University of Florida, with a specialization in mathematics education and a As a humanitarian and founding member of the cognate in special education. Her master’s and Global Health Security Alliance Steering Board, Dr. bachelor’s degrees are in special education and she Göbbels brings a wealth of current real-world teaches Medical Education at the School of global health knowledge and challenges to life in Education at John’s Hopkins University. the classroom. No doubt his vision of armed forces, NGOs and other stakeholders developing a Dr. Stefan Göbbels, is in active service for the cohesive partnership for standardized German Armed Forces deployed to the Medical collaborative and efficient emergency response to Services Division, United Nations Secretariat in global health crises will come to fruition in the very New York in the capacity of Military Medical near future. Advisor. His prolific background in emergency
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OUR SUCCESS STORIES – DR. KHALID ANAM
Dr. Reza Sanii and Dr. Khalid Anam
On February 14th current AUA students were given a glimpse into the life of one of our success stories. Though on a short vacation with his family, Pediatrician Dr. Khalid Anam was happy to spend a day on campus visiting with students, giving useful advice and answering a myriad of questions regarding their next steps towards becoming a medical doctor. During a brief tour of the campus Dr. Anam expressed his surprise at how rapidly the campus has grown and admitted to being a bit envious of the current students who now benefit from technologically advanced campus facilities as well as new and improved academic programs and services.
Dr. Anam completed his Pediatric Residency program at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ. where he specialized and did research in community medicine with interests in neonatal ICU in June 2017. He is currently in private practice at one of the busiest clinic’s in the US serving a variety of the under-served low income population and Medicare patients. Dr. Anam has affiliations and privileges with 4 regional hospitals of Northern New Jersey where he specializes in newborn care and mother-baby unit care with focus on breastfeeding/lactation medicine. During Dr. Anam’s visit to campus he graciously agreed to a short interview and given the ongoing controversy over the issue of immunization and the recent deaths attributed to measles outbreaks in the US and the Philippines, I had a series of relevant questions for him.
Dr. Khalid Anam received his medical degree from American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUA) and has been in practice for the past 5 years. Born in New Jersey, Dr. Anam speaks multiple languages, including Spanish and Bengali. He attended college in Seton Hall University, prior SB: Dr. Anam, what are your views on the topic of to enrollment in the Pre-Med Program at AICASA immunization? after which he matriculated into AUA and graduated in May of 2014.
KA: Immunization is extremely important for public health and is especially relevant today when there is an alarming rise in the incidences of communicable diseases. SB: How effective is immunization against Measles, Mumps and Rubella? KA: Immunization is 95% effective against those diseases and everyone should ensure that they are immunized to prevent infection. SB: Are there any proven side effects of immunization? What are the chances that a child can develop Autism as a result? KA: There are no proven side effects, the article published in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield was dispelled in 2010 by the General Medical Council in the UK. Any side effects of immunization are very minimal, soreness at the injection site is common; and in fact only 1 in probably 10,000 persons have been known to experience any other side effects.
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SB: Approximately what percentage of unimmunized children can contract communicable diseases? What advice would you give to parents of those children? KA: I would say that it depends on the virus, approximately 80-90% of unimmunized persons who are exposed to Measles will contract the virus, the percentage varies for other diseases. SB: The Washington State Department of Health confirmed 54 cases of Measles in Washington this week and declared a state of emergency. In addition, 55 children are reported to have died from Measles in the Philippines during the month of February alone. What would you say can possibly be the cause of these outbreaks? KA: I have no doubt that the main cause is unimmunized people in those communities. SB: What advice would you give to concerned parents who are wondering whether their children can become infected? KA: I would advise parents to start immunizing their children today, start with one at a time. If they have the shorts one at a time it allows adequate time for recovery from any mild side effects like soreness to the injection site. SB: With regards to the HPV vaccination, Antigua and Barbuda has recently initiated a vaccination program for girls, would you recommend it as an effective measure of protection for boys as well? What advice would you give to concerned parents regarding the HPV vaccine? KA: That is great initiative! boys should be vaccinated as well since males are carriers of the virus; unfortunately, most infected men do not experience any symptoms and if untreated this can result in penile and/or anal cancer. It is very important that health care professionals be patient with parents who may out of ignorance assume that the HPV vaccination will result in promiscuity among minors. The dialogue with parents should be open, as health care professionals we have to clearly address parental concerns and dispel any notions that the HPV vaccination promotes sexual activity among minors. SB: Dr. Anam thank you for your valuable insight, I can tell that you are very passionate about your role as a health care professional. Who would you say influenced your career choice? KA: Honestly, I can never forget Dr. Dyal Singh, he was my mentor here at AUA, he always gave me sound advice and I was very sad to hear of his passing. Dr. William Lois has also been a great source of inspiration and encouragement and I am most grateful to have met him on my journey.
23 SB: Any last words for current students? KA: I’d say go for it, you made the right choice! this is a very rewarding career and physicians are always in high demand. SB: So what’s next for you Dr. Anam? KA: I’m so very grateful that I made it! I have a beautiful wife and daughter and I have some amazing patients who are like my extended family, I may be following them for the rest of their lives or mine. I can’t speak for the future but I can definitely say that I am enjoying the ride right now!
WHAT’S ON IN ANTIGUA
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OUR SUCCESS STORIES – DR. ILYA NOGINSKY
Dr. Ilya Noginsky address the audience at the Spring 2019 Research Day
The keynote speaker for the 2019 Spring Research Day was none other than our very own AUA graduate Dr. Ilya Noginsky. Dr. Noginsky who graduated from AUA in March this year.
definite possibility for me and I’m really looking forward to that. Q: What advice would you give to yourself while you were an AUA student?
states allows you to experience and become familiar with a more diverse population and exposes you to different environments and challenges.
Q: Tell me a bit about your journey. I: It’s been mostly a great ride - more ups than downs and always interesting both in terms of the work and the people I’ve met along the way. Q: What would you say led you to medicine? A: interestingly enough I have always wanted a have a PhD in Molecular Biology and Music, I’ve always dreamt of becoming a musician and perusing Cancer research but my family encouraged me to pursue medicine. Q: Are you happy with all you’ve accomplished so far? A: Definitely! currently my focus is on Internal Medicine and I have started my residency in Brooklyn New York at the New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. In another 3 years a Hematology Oncology Cancer Fellowship is a
A: Be a bit more focused, don’t lose sight of your goal. If you’re looking for a second chance at success and you’re misguided in your thinking that this would be easy – no its not! you have to study all of the material and be vigilant especially with regards to the 1st and 2nd semester foundational knowledge. Medicine has to be your passion, what drives you this is not a second chance at undergrad. I have always been interested in both the cellular and the patient level, the humanistic side of relationships and treating people, its cerebral for me and solving problems gives me a rush. Giving people hope when they need it, that humanistic side of Medicine gives me the most satisfaction.
Q: Who were/are your mentors? A: Here at AUA it was Dr. Dyal Singh and Dr. Richard Millis. Dr. Singh was very encouraging, his saying “the cell is God” stuck with me and I enjoyed his remarkable sense of humor. Dr. Millis has always encouraged me to pursue research. Dr. Viranny at the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Centre, an Internal Medicine Specialist who was close to retirement at the time was a perfect blend of “Well done” encouragement and good humor during my rotation there. Q: What is your personal code?
A: I’m not sure I have one! but I’ve learnt in the past 4 years that it’s a mistake to trust everything you’re Q: Would you have done anything differently? told, look everything up, do your research before you get too emotionally attached – always rely on A: Not really, maybe study more and do rotations objectivity. in different US States. I think rotations in different
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AUA COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Dr. Richard Millis (2nd from l) and the Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Gaston Brown (4th from l) pictured with the health fair organizers
A total of 82 persons from the Point community were screened at the May 11th City West Health Fair The health fair which started at 9am and culminated at approximately 3:30pm was organized by the City West Team in partnership with The American University of Antigua Community Outreach Committee, State Insurance Corporation, Medical Benefits Scheme, the HIV/Aids Secretariat, the Antigua and Barbuda School of Nursing, the Dieticians & Nutritionists of Antigua and Barbuda and the Mount St. John’s Medical Center.
A total of 65 volunteers from the American University of Antigua comprising of 51 Med 3 & 4 students, 2 staff and 12 faculty members attended the event. Preliminary reports from Ms. Petra Williams who played a key role in organizing the event, indicates that the majority of individuals screened were in good health, the main cause for concern were incidences of obesity, chronic Hypertension and Diabetes. Ms. Petra Williams expressed her appreciation to AUA and the other partners who helped make the event a success. She added that she is very happy with the numbers screened but is looking forward to being able to attract a much larger crowd at next years’ event. The Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Gaston Brown expressed his appreciation for the volunteers as well as the City West Team and their
partners who organized the event. He expressed his hope that the event is only the first of its kind which he says is a part of his vision for the Point/Villa community which makes up the City West Constituency. When informed of the incidences of hypertension and Diabetes reported, the Prime Minister announced that he will be putting plans in place to ensure that testing supplies will be made available free of cost to those in need. He added that he is currently in the process of uplifting the community in a holistic way and improving the health and wellbeing of individuals is an important aspect of the overall plan.
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THE CITY WEST COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR
The Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Gaston Brown with AUA Faculty members (l-r) Dr. Rasheda Williams, Dr. Georgette Meade and Dr. Vasavi Gorantla (Rakesh)
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THE URLINGS COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR
Hon. Minister of Social Transformation Samantha Marshall (center) with members of the Harris Family who organized the 1st annual Harris Family Reunion and Urlings Community Health Fair. Photos courtesy of Efal Sayed
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THE ST. MARY’S SECONDARY SCHOOL CAREER DAY & HEALTH SCREENING
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FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
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THE BOOKSHELF
Dr. Noha Hussien
1. Somaya Amer, Noha Attia, Samir Nouh, Mahmoud Elkammar and Ahmed Korittum. A Multifunctional bioactive wound dressing for enhancement of skin regeneration in vivo. World Congress on Cell & Tissue Science (WCCTS-18), 29th-30th Dec 2018, Giza, Egypt. 2. Santiago Grijalvo, Gustavo Puras, Jon Zárate, Myriam Sainz-Ramos, Nuseibah AL Qtaish, Tania López, Mohamed Mashal, Noha Attia, David Díaz, Ramon Pons, Eduardo Fernández, José Luis Pedraz, Ramon Eritja. Cationic Niosomes as Non-Viral Vehicles for Nucleic Acids: Challenges and Opportunities in Gene Delivery. Pharmaceutics. 2019 Jan 22;11(2). pii: E50. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics11020050. Dr. Hassan Amiralli 1. Reviewed and suggested updates for the clinical content in the Clinical Blue Boxes of the textbook of anatomy: Clinically Oriented Anatomy 8th edition. Dr. Amiralli is also a member of International Advisory Board: Netter/Atlas of Human Anatomy 7th edition. Dr. Joseph Cross 1. Presentation “DNA Barcoding Antigua” At iBOL 2019 - The 8th International Barcode of Life Conference. Trondheim Norway, June 2019. 2. Chiovitti A, Thorpe F, Gorman C, Cuxson JL, Robevska G, Szwed C, et al. (2019) A citizen science model for implementing statewide educational DNA barcoding. PLoS ONE 14(1): e0208604. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208604.
Capoeira, Black Males, and Social Justice: A Gym Class Transformed By Vernon C. Lindsay Peter Lang Press published May 29, 2019 “In this book, Vernon ‘Leão Preto’ Lindsay asks the Capoeira community to expand the road to influence social justice movements. This is a must-read for Capoeiristas doing work in schools.” —Mestre Acordeon, United Capoeira Association “Once again, Vernon C. Lindsay has taken bold steps to articulate the physical, mental, and spiritual stamina needed to survive and thrive in uncertain times. His ability to reframe the concept of traditional K–12 physical education for Black youth is noteworthy in a time when physical education is slowly being removed from school curriculum. Such a claim to the necessity of physical education should be considered part and parcel of the process to affirm the humanity of Black youth.” —David Stovall, Professor of Educational Policy Studies and African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago “This book, like the author, is innovative. Vernon C. Lindsay offers Ginga as a creative approach for academicians and practitioners to use in their work with Black males.” —Tony Laing, Director of Men of Color Initiative, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
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MEET A NEW COLLEAGUE By Samuel LeBaron MD PhD
Dr. Michael Burg, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, graduated from Yale Medical School and completed an Emergency Medicine residency at Harbor/UCLA medical center. He has worked as an emergency physician for the Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Los Angeles, Stanford, University of California San Francisco; and for the past 20 years at the UCSF/Fresno Emergency Medicine Residency program. He also completed a Teaching and Faculty Development Fellowship at Duke University.
Dr. Burg has engaged in a wide variety of additional professional activities during his career. He has always had a special interest in creative writing. This led to his contributions as Chair of the Medical Humanities section of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He also participated in a Master of Arts program in Creative Writing. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 medical publications and has served on multiple editorial boards of emergency medicine journals. Two especially memorable articles include "Smiling in The ED," (Annals of Emergency Medicine) and “Gomer," (Journal of the American Medical Association). Both articles are very personal, touching, and remind us all of how essential it is to develop and maintain a humanistic engagement in our professional work. I recommend that you read both of these articles. Dr. Burg could tell stories all day of the many places he has worked and volunteered, including Belize, Brazil, Honduras, and Kenya. He also collaborated with emergency medicine colleagues in the Netherlands to found and develop emergency medicine as a specialty in that country. And even more: He has served as a cruise ship physician a number of times, and therein you can find even more stories.
Bake sale goodies puts a smile on every face
Working in the community has its fun moments
Who do you think won this showdown?
We’re blessed to welcome and include Dr. Burg to our faculty community.
World Autism Awareness Day
The first official campus photo
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AUA’S FIRST ANNUAL HEALTH WEEK By Adele Gamble
Day three was Water Wednesday, June 26th. Our ‘Did you know? Fact corner’ gave some interesting facts on water and the benefits of water consumption. The social committee members went around campus distributing bottles of water to the various departments. Day Four was Fitness Thursday, June 27th. Our ‘Did you know? Fact corner’ emphasized the importance of physical activity and the effects of exercise on psychological wellbeing. As part of our Year of Activities, the AUA Social Committee thought it beneficial to plan our first annual Health Week for the AUA staff and faculty community. Recognizing the importance of a healthy life style to positively impact productivity, and boost overall wellness, we decided to take a holistic approach and present topics that will cover, the internal wellness, physical body and mental health. These topics were: Nutrition, Mental Health and Fitness.
which was circulated to the AUA Community and placed on bulletin boards, highlighting facts about the benefits of eating healthy and showcasing foods we should include in our daily lives to promote good health. Ms. Samantha Moitt, Chief Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health, and Mrs. Dorothy Graham Charles Nutritionist of the Medical Benefits Scheme gave very informative presentations on Nutrition and Wellness. Ms. Moitt presented on the benefits of nutrition, defining the food groups and highlighting the pros and cons of each food group as well as showing the right portion sizes for daily consumption. Mrs. GrahamCharles concluded her presentation by speaking about overall wellness, promoting the importance of finding a wellness space and breathing and grounding for stress relief. At the end of the presentations healthy snack samples were distributed of a ‘Do it yourself’ trail mix that we all could try at home.
Health week activities commenced with Nutrition day on June 24th. The day started out with our ‘Did you know? Fact corner’,
Day two of the Health week was Mental Health Day, June 25th. Our ‘Did you know? Fact corner’ defined mental health and emotional wellbeing and highlighted keys to emotional wellbeing as well as tips to reduce stress in our lives. Dr. Jeffrey Jarosinski gave an interesting presentation on dealing with people in our everyday lives and learning how our outlook, attitudes and approach can determine the course our lives take.
Mr. Ellis Richards, Fitness Specialist of Keep Fit Boot camp, gave a presentation on fitness. He highlighted the benefits of keeping fit to reduce the risk or mitigate the effects of noncommunicable diseases. He educated the staff on aerobic and anaerobic exercises as well as the difference between strength and endurance trainings and how these could be combined to get the maximum fitness benefits for improved and sustained health. Everyone in attendance even participated in practicing the correct form for various exercises.
The Health Week ended with the EMTC department hosting a Health Fair for the Staff and faculty on June 28th. Patrons were pleasantly greeted by members of the EMTC team and were given a form to indicate particulars regarding their current health status. Person’s weight, height and BMI measurements were taken, general eye exams, blood sugar level, cholesterol and blood pressure tests were also performed.
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Finally, each staff had the opportunity to sit with our resident Dr. Courtney Lewis to consult on the test results and to address any issues or concerns they may have.
The AUA Health Week concluded with a Health Walk on June 29th. Over sixty participants walked from the Multipurpose Center in St. John’s to Hawksbill Beach, just about 3.5 miles, where we ended with light refreshments. Prizes were given to the first child to complete the walk, the person with the biggest group, as well as the first person to register for the health walk. First Child to complete the walk was Micah Joseph, the person with the biggest group registered was Wendy Roberts and the first person to Register – Janice Vigo.
Photos courtesy of Homer Jacobs
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AUA HEALTHY PERSPECTIVES
The show’s producer Vernon Solomon speaks with Dr. Jeff Jarosinski during the filming of the Men’s Health series
AUA Healthy Perspectives is back on ABS TV every Tuesday at 8pm. Over the past few months numerous local and international guests have joined Co-host, and Wellness Coach Linda Sawka to discuss a number of topics and issues including Ovarian and Cervical Cancer, Thyroid Disease, Oral Health, Birth Defects and Food Safety. During an episode on Dengue Fever, Dr. Belle Jarvis, Head of the Pediatric Department at the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre stressed the importance of ensuring that we are not providing breeding grounds for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which carries the virus. Dr. Belle Jarvis advises that barrels for rainwater collection should be kept securely covered and water contained in empty plant pots and other similar receptacles around the yard should be emptied regularly. One topic in particular – Measles, has been making headlines in North America and Europe over the past months. Outbreaks have recently been reported in the Caribbean region as well. The lack of immunization was
cited as the main reason for the sudden increase in Measles cases. During the discussion with Dr. Dane Abbott regarding Cervical Cancer and its root causes, the topic of immunization reared its head again, this time with regards to HPV vaccination. Immunization it seems is a topic that begs in-depth discussion since the lack thereof can have detrimental health effects that extend beyond the individual. We have every intention of discussing every aspect of this much debated topic over several episodes in the upcoming season. In a recent episode we spoke with local Ear Nose and Throat Specialist Dr. George Roberts regarding the issue of hearing loss. In February of this year the United Nations acknowledged that more than one billion 12 to 35-year-olds, risk irreversible hearing loss from exposure to loud sounds such as music played through ear buds/headphones via their smartphones, which prompted the release of new recommendations to help prevent noise-induced hearing loss and
related conditions. This report and its alarming statistics inspired us to invite Dr. Roberts to enlighten us on this and the subject of hearing loss in general. In a 3-part series on men’s health, two AUA Professors – Dr. Vernon Lindsay and Dr. Jeff Jarosinski were hosted on the show along with local urologist Dr. Dwayne Thwaites. The series explores medical, spiritual and emotional issues men face and how societal pressure can fuel their reluctance to seek help. Watch out for these and other interesting conversations on AUA Healthy Perspectives every Tuesday at 8pm on ABS TV.
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ESQUINA ESPAÑOLA WITH PROF. RAMSAY
Buenos días a todos! This time we are going to look at the irregular verb IR – to go. It’s a funny little verb as you will see but it is extremely useful as you can use it to say what you are going to do as well as just to say where or when you go. Without further ado let me introduce you to my little friend: IR
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To Go
(yo) Voy (tú) Vas (él) (ella) Va (Usted)
I go You go He goes She goes You (formal) go
(nosotros) (vosotros) (ellos) (ellas) (Ustedes)
Vamos Vais Van
We go You (pl. inf) go They go They (fem) go You (pl, fam) go
Use ¿Adónde? With ir to ask where someone is going. To answer, use the proposition a (to). ¿Adónde vas? Voy al centro comercial. ¿Adónde vas después? Voy al cine
Where are you going to? I am going to the mall. Where are you going afterwards? I am going to the cinema
Notice that when a comes before the masculine singular article el, that it contracts to al. A doesn’t not contract with la, los or las. Note that IR is used to say where someone is going at the moment, as well as where someone goes in general. ¿Cuándo vais a la Universidad? Vamos todos los días
When do you go to university? We go every day.
To say what someone is going to do, use the correct form of the verb followed by the preposition a + the infinitive of the verb: ¿Vas a comer en casa esta noche? Are you going to eat at home tonight? No, voy a comer con mis amigos en un restaurante. No, I am going to eat with my friends at a restaurant. ¿Qué vais a hacer después? What are you (all) going to do afterwards? Vamos a ir una fiesta. We are going to go to a party. In order to say WHEN something is going to happen you can use the following adverbs: esta mañana this morning esta tarde this afternoon esta noche tonight, this evening este fin de semana this weekend mañana (por la mañana, por tomorrow (morning, afternoon, evening/night) la tarde, por la noche) la semana (el next week (month, year) mes, el año) que viene Hay which means there is/are (hay una fiesta el sábado – there’s a party on Saturday) comes from the infinitive Haber, so to say there is going to be use - Va a haber e.g. Va a haber una fiesta este sábado. There is going to be a party on Saturday. To practice this new verb go to https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=verb-ir https://spanish.tolearnfree.com/free-spanish-lessons/free-spanish-exercise-5123.php or https://dwcaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/POSTSpanishsimplefuturetense.pdf These are exercises to practice what you have learned in this edition of Spanish Corner. ¡Buena Suerte!
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WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS DAY
On June 5th in honor of World Environment Awareness Day, a small but enthusiastic group helped plant the first trees and herbs in the Wellness Garden. The Wellness Garden is an initiative of the Wellness Committee with the aim of not only providing a tranquil environment for relaxation but to also eventually produce fruits, vegetables and herbs for the benefit of the campus community. Kudos to the Committee’s Chair Dawn Roberts and committee member Therese Archibald for spearheading the initiative and special thanks to everyone who showed up to lend a helping hand
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Comments/Questions? Email the editor at sbrusch@auamed.net
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