News, notes, accolades and success from across the School of Medicine Columbia family!
Congratulations!
Several members of our School of Medicine Columbia family have had recent accomplishments and good news to share:
- Counseling and Rehabilitation program director, Dr. Christine Sacco-Bene, was awarded the Rehabilitation Counselor Educator of the Year honor from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA).
- Counseling and Rehabilitation student, Allie Ledbetter, was selected as this year's ARCA Master's Student of the Year for her exceptional work and dedication to the field.
- Dr. Mitzi Nagarkatti, chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, was awarded the Vos Lifetime Career Achievement Award in Immunotoxicology at the annual conference of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) in March.
- Michael Pitre, a junior undergraduate research student working in Joe McQuail's lab, was awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. Michael’s research focuses on exploring the role of D-serine metabolism in age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. He is an Honors College student and McNair Scholar working on a BARSC degree with an accelerated undergraduate to M.D. concentration and a minor in neuroscience.
- Marla Frick (Jim Fadel mentor) received a travel award to attend and present at the 2025 NEURAL Conference at the University of Alabama Birmingham.
- Sam Walther (Ana Pocivavsek mentor) received a Small Research Grant from the Sleep Research Society Foundation.
- Alexia Crockett (Fiona Hollis mentor) was notified she received a prestigious AAUW American Dissertation Fellowship for 2025-2026. AUW fellowship program is one of the largest and the oldest non-institutional source of graduate funding for women in the United States.
- Christian Wohlfeld (Jim Fadel Mentor) received a graduate SPARC award entitled: Pharmacologic modulation of hypothalamic circuitry via peripheral semaglutide administration in rats.
- Taylor Childress (Cora Smiley and Susan Wood mentors) won first place for her undergraduate poster presentation in the Behavioral Pharmacology Division at the ASPET meeting (American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics).
- Dr. Claudia Grillo's lab recently had an article titled "Leptin Activation of Dorsal Raphe Neurons Inhibits Feeding Behavior" selected as a highlight article by Diabetes. She and Dr. Nicholas Maxwell, a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University School of Medicine, who previously was a graduate student in Dr. Grillo's lab, then joined the podcast DiabetesBio to discuss the article.
- Lexi Blas (Jim Fadel mentor) successfully defended her Masters thesis, entitled "Activation of basal forebrain afferents following systemic inflammation."
- Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti is the recipient of the SC Governor’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Awareness, 2025. He was recognized at the SC Academy of Science Meeting held in early April.
- Two biomedical doctoral program students were honored at the annual USC Graduate School Awards Ceremony in late April. Brooke Bullard received the Dean's Award for Doctoral Achievement, and Vi Nguyen received the Outstanding Dissertation Award (biological and life sciences).
- Two teams from the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience Department received pilot projects from the COBRE Center on Targeted Therapeutics (CTT): Sujit Pujhari and Norma Frizzell's project is titled "Sex-Specific Epigenomic Reprogramming in ZIKV-Infected Microglia and Its Impact on Brain Development," and Ana Pocivavsek, Alessandra Porcu (pharmacy) and Chase Francis's (pharmacy) project is titled "Role of Astrocytic EAAT in Aging-Induced Sleep and Circadian Disruptions."
- Fiona Hollis and Susan Wood have received a new NIH R01 award as multiple (Co) PIs entitled "Psychosocial stress-induced neurometabolic dysfunction as a mediator of postpartum cardiovascular disease."
- Congratulations to MD program Teachers of the Year: Britt Wilson (MI class), Alexa Gandy (MII class), Andrew SIdes (MIII and MIV class, Columbia), Hugh Wilcox (MIII class, Florence) and Tabitha Townsend (MIV class, Florence).
Congrats, Grads!
Congratulations to our School of Medicine Columbia graduates! May Hooding and Commencement Ceremonies were held May 8, and 9, respectively, in downtown Columbia. Hooding events were held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, while Commencement was held at the Koger Center. Graduates from the School of Medicine Greenville joined SOMC graduates at Commencement, and this year's event speaker was Dr. Jonathan Gleason, Executive Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer at Prisma Health.
Stress Research Expertise
Dr. Larry Reagan, professor and researcher in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, was named editor-in-chief of the journal Neurobiology of Stress earlier this year. This is a high impact international neuroscience journal focusing on stress and stress-related disorders, and Dr. Reagan handles publications on neuropharmacology, behavioral neuroscience, neuroimmunology, neurochemistry, neuropsychiatric disorders, stress neurobiology and metabolic disorders. Dr. Marlene Wilson, PPN department chair notes, "This achievement recognizes his international reputation in stress neurobiology." - congratulations, Dr. Reagan!
2025 Discover USC Success
Several School of Medicine Columbia students, including medical scholars, graduate and postdoctoral students, captured an award for their Discover USC poster presentation. Discover USC, the annual research showcase sponsored by the USC Office of the Vice President for Research, welcomed over 3,300 presenters, mentors, reviewers, family and friends to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, on April 25. Check out the full SOMC recap HERE.
USC Team Excels at National CLARION Competition
Congratulations to SOMC medical students Caroline Hensing and Hadley Hudson, who were part of a USC Interprofessional team who competed in the National CLARION Case Competition in Minneapolis last month. The team captured third place at the event, and Caroline was awarded Best Presenter in the competition. Check out the full story!
Gift of Body Program Memorial Service
The 2025 Gift of Body Memorial Service was held on April 5, at the Bible Way Atlas Church in Columbia. The purpose of this brief, non-denominational, memorial service is to enable our students to pay their final respects and show their appreciation for the great service which their first patients provided. Click HERE to view the 2025 Gift of Body Memorial Service.
Welcome to the Team!
Several new faculty and staff members have joined the SOMC team recently. Welcome to Kelsey Marl (ultrasound program manager), Lisa Frierson Staggers (brain health administrative coordinator), Hope Bursac (biomedical sciences administrative coordinator), Alexandra Kao (brain health speech language pathologist) and Coleman Darby (facilities groundskeeping).
Gold Humanism Honor Society Induction Ceremony
The Saunders Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society at the School of Medicine inducted 15 students from the Class of 2026, along with six residents and two faculty members to it's chapter on May 16. Congratulations to students: Madison Arnel, Courtney Brown, Kyra Dixon, Brynn Franz, Bailey Gibson, Hansel Haase, Stephanie Litzenberger, Matthew Magee, Elle Magnan, Michael Patina, Matthew Powell, Kendall Stalls, Katherine Turnley, Donald Weller II and Tatiana Wirth; residents: Muhammad Sohab Arif, M.D., M.P.H., Kayce Lynn Booth, M.D., Logan B. Carlyle, D.O., Jack T. McCarthy, M.D., Jacob Allen McKenna, D.O., and Sireen Momani, D.O.; and faculty: Thomas Alan Black, M.D., Ph.D., and Brian Ford, M.D.
Summer-Fall 2025 Magellan Scholars
Several USC undergraduate students with faculty mentors at the School of Medicine have been awarded summer-fall Magellan Awards. Congratulations to Hannah Brennen, Isabella Castellanos, Taylor Childress and Sarah Chugh, Vivian Delgra, Audrey Mahoney and Leah Stone, Anna Nesmelova, Sriya Pallapothu, Michael Pitre, and Hayden Withers on their awards.
FoodShareSC Launches First Community Cooking Class
In early April, FoodShare South Carolina launched their very first community cooking class in their new kitchen! Under the direction of Lilly Allen, Community Program Manager, they are collaborating with Finlay House, a senior residence community in Columbia, on a three-part series for residents who receive the Fresh Food Box. The classes focus on strategies for safe food storage, cooking for one, cooking with limited equipment and/or in a small space, and managing chronic disease through food choices. Click HERE for more details!