FAU Emergency Medicine residents Daniella Lamour and Thomas Peterson participated in a segment that has received a coveted “Edward R. Murrow Award” (Radio Television Digital News Association - RTDNA) for hard news.

Since 1971, RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards. Among the most prestigious in news, the Murrow Awards recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community. Murrow Award winning work demonstrates the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession. The Schmidt College of Medicine congratulates to WPTV reporter, Michael Buczyner, on this outstanding achievement.

The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Florida Chapter (North Florida, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida, and Tampa Bay Area) hosted its Florida Chapter Summit meeting on Saturday, May 7, 2022 as a virtual meeting. As part of the event, residents, medical students, and advanced practice providers were invited to submit posters to the SHM Florida Chapter Summit 2022 Virtual Scientific Abstract Competition.

The College of Medicine team, led by medical students Phillip Johansen and Karan Rajalingam, and neurology resident, Denis Babici, M.D., were awarded first prize for their poster titled, “Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures – Formulating a Differential Diagnosis.” The team was overseen by Marc Swerdloff, M.D., a neurology attending physician of Boca Raton Regional Hospital's Marcus Neuroscience Institute, and clinical affiliate associate professor and interim Neurology Residency program director. The team earned an automatic acceptance to the National Scientific Abstract Competition taking place during SHM'S Converge conference in 2023.

The 2022 Medical Post-Baccalaureate Class completed their 32-week program last month, with a poster presentation highlighting their research activities with Cleveland Clinic of Florida, Weston. These students participated in various clinical and research projects, and contributed to their principal investigators by providing retrospective analysis on case studies, analyzing clinical trends or evaluating the outcomes of clinical research. They have completed hundreds of hours of community service, four medical school-level graduate courses, i.e., immunology, microbiology, pathology and morphology, and have received graduate credit on their transcripts. As part of their curriculum, students participated as standardized patients, putting themselves in the role of the patient, and learning about how medial students are trained.

Graduates of the program have also been involved in professional development, preparing them to submit their secondary applications to medical school and coaching them for admissions interviews. Half of the Class of 2022 submitted applications for the upcoming medical school enrollment year; to date, 66 percent of applicants have received acceptances. The second half of the Class of 2022 are applying in the next application cycle.

The Florida Atlantic University Alumni Association (FAUAA) hosted its annual Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni ceremony and reception recently. The event brought together alumni to celebrate the accomplishments of their most outstanding peers. Alumni from eight of FAU’s colleges were honored for their career accomplishments, including Jodi-Ann S. Edwards, M.D. ’17, B.S. ’11, for the College of Medicine.

“I was overwhelmed with joy as I accepted my FAU Distinguished Alumni award! As I reflect on my medical school years, I always go back to memories of my first surgery mentors Dr. Lopez-Viego, Dr. Borrego, and Dr. Brickman. Your words of encouragement and acts of kindness towards me still resonate today. I don’t know if I would be in surgery today if it weren’t for my experiences with you and your strong support. I tell all of my students about my experiences with you during my surgery rotations,” said Jodi-Ann Edwards, M.D.

Physician-scientist Anatoly Nikolaev, M.D., Ph.D., is on a mission to improve outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer and other malignances by understanding the molecular mechanisms behind cancer treatment resistance and developing new, more effective therapies.

As a board-certified radiation oncologist with Cleveland Clinic Florida, Dr. Nikolaev specializes in head and neck cancer and central nervous system disease sites. In addition to caring for patients at Cleveland Clinic Florida’s Maroone Cancer Center in Weston, he is engaged in leading-edge research at the Port St. Lucie-based Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) and the Florida arm of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology (CITI).

After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University and researching targeted cancer therapeutics as a principal investigator with biotech giant Genentech, Dr. Nikolaev earned his medical degree at the Schmidt College of Medicine. He then completed his radiation oncology residency at the University of Alabama Hospital, where he was awarded a pilot grant to continue his research.

Congratulations to the newly selected members of the Teaching Academy at FAU’s College of Medicine. The Teaching Academy supports the continuous advancement of educators and educational scholarship to serve the community. The academy is an inclusive and prestigious community of educators dedicated to lifelong learning and educational excellence. After a competitive process, the third class of members were invited to join this prestigious group.

Sarah Wood, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education and associate professor of pediatrics, was selected as the 2022 Daniel C. Tosteson Visiting Professor in Medical Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. As part of the visiting professorship, Dr. Wood will present a Medical Education Grand Rounds at the conference in June, which is open to the entire medical education community at Harvard Medical School. She will also meet with selected education fellows and faculty.

The Tosteson Visiting Professorship was established in honor of Dr. Daniel C. Tosteson, whose distinguished leadership as dean of the faculty at Harvard Medical School brought about the New Pathway in General Medical Education. Dr. Tosteson is also the co-founder, with Dr. Mitchell T. Rabkin, of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, established in 1996 as an independent non-profit organization to support the mission of training the next generation of physicians and furthering the progress of innovative medical education. In commemoration of the Institute’s tenth anniversary in 2006, the Board of Directors voted to establish the Tosteson Visiting Professorship as a more fitting celebration of the vital, shared endeavor that is medical education.

A summer experience can be pivotal in the medical student’s career. Between the first and second year, students are granted approximately ten weeks to participate in clinical and research activities to supplement their education. A summer experience can also help students select a specialization.

While each student’s summer experience is different, a few students shadow and work in a principal investigator's office. One student spent the summer gathering data and working as a medical assistant, scrubbing into surgeries and serving as first assist in mastectomies and breast reconstruction operations. Another student plans to participate in the extensive hands-on anesthesia program, Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowships (MSARF) Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER). The student will be paired with a research mentor and anesthesiologist in Seattle to help conduct research, shadow and observe work in the operating room.

Students possess many expectations for the summer experience. They seek mentors who will cultivate their enthusiasm of clinical practice and will help them to develop research skills. They also seek experience in the field as well as professional and personal growth, while pursuing a variety of specialties to determine the right fit for their future career paths.

Medical students do not have the same experience each year. The summer of the first year of medical school is the only time during the program that provides students with flexibility to explore their individual interests. After the second year, students begin clinical rotations. During the third and fourth years, students take electives, outside rotations, to explore their specialty interests. Although, August signals the end of the summer experience and the beginning of the second year for medical school, many students maintain relationships with their principal investigator and continue researching with them throughout the remainder of medical school.

The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) is grateful to Joanna Drowos, D.O., associate professor of family medicine, and Peter Holland, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, for their contributions to the national faculty. Both shared their clinical expertise as item-writers and reviewers to be used for assessment purposes for Osteopathic physicians in training. The NBOME ensures high-quality assessment services offering valid, reliable and fair assessment tools that help ensure the public is treated by competent, caring healthcare professionals. The NBOME also creates the licensing exam for Osteopathic medical students. Read about the NBOME at https://www.nbome.org/who-we-are/national-faculty/.

This May, FAU Faculty and students partnered with St. Mary's Medical Center Trauma Center: Elijah Virgin, B.S.N., R.N., C.E.N., P.M.D., to present "Stop the Bleed" to students in the Medical Studies Program at the Claire and Emmanuel Rosenblatt High School at Donna Klein Jewish Academy. The program provides students the opportunity to explore the health professions and prepare for college and graduate training programs in a variety of fields including medicine.

In addition, the college’s medical students, staff and faculty also participated in the Stop the Bleed course in honor of national Stop the Bleed day on May 19. The various Stop the Bleed courses were delivered in collaboration with Tiphanee Brown-Francis from FAU Emergency Management, program liaison, Joanna Drowos, D.O., associate professor of Family Medicine, Lawrence Lottenberg, M.D., interim chair and program director of the Surgery Residency program and Department of Surgery, George Luck, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology in the Department of Surgery, fourth year medical students, Simran Hamid and Sarah Cole, the Health Care District, and Delray Medical Center and Saint Mary’s Medical Center.

Throughout the month of May, participants learn the basic skills necessary to control bleeding from accidents and injuries. The purpose of the STOP THE BLEED® campaign is to prepare the public to save lives if individuals nearby are severely bleeding. This preparation raises awareness and teaches people how to learn three quick actions to control serious bleeding.

This spring, second-year medical student, Talia Fradkin, completed a Masters of Healthcare Administration (M.H.A.) degree. Talia continues to serve as Chair of the Society of Interventional Radiology Reserves and was recently asked to join the American College of Radiology's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee. Through these organizations, she has worked with mentors and collaborated with two interventional radiologists to write the paper, "Percutaneous Interventions for Symptomatic Cholelithiasis and Acute Cholecystitis". Talia has also been working with Rainald Schmidt-Kastner, M.D., associate professor of neurology, on his COVID-19 related data mining research. For the summer, Talia was selected to participate in Kaiser Permanente's Introduction to Integrated Healthcare Program, which focuses on how to provide culturally sensitive care.

In the Fall of 2021, the Schmidt College of Medicine initiated the Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Guardian program. JEDI Guardians are appointed representatives from college’s departments and units of various levels, i.e., faculty, staff, and trainees, who serve as liaisons between their department/unit and the JEDI Office and serve on the Dean’s JEDI Advisory Council. JEDI Guardians receive ongoing training on issues related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion throughout their two-year appointment. Guardians strive to support the college’s “Race to Equity” action plan by embedding and championing JEDI initiatives within their units.

The JEDI Office congratulates personnel earning the Cornell University Diversity and Inclusion Certificate in 2021-22: Mavis Brown, Catie Gouchenour, Monica Lopez, Autumn Mreczko, Alicia Rootes, and Venus Davis Wallace

JEDI Guardian of the Month: Anne Fennimore, Ph.D. (Administration Representative)

Project: Inclusive Language Style Guide

Together with volunteers and partners, the JEDI office engaged 545, sixth through twelfth grade Palm Beach County students in educational enrichment activities and delivered 87 lessons on 30 program dates this academic year. In 2021, the JEDI Office renamed the former Healthcare Outreach Program (HCOP) as the JEDI Pathways Program. The JEDI Pathways Program supports the college’s Race to Equity Action Plan Goal 3: “Diversify the future physician and scientist workforce of equity advancing leaders.” The JEDI Pathways Program involves a team of faculty, staff, and learners working collaboratively with Palm Beach County (PBC) educators to deliver lessons and activities focused on biological science, career exploration, clinical exposure, college preparedness, financial literacy, mentoring, professional soft skills enhancement, and research exposure to middle and high school students in the south Florida community.

In their roles as JEDI Pathways Program leaders and volunteers, medical students further hone interpersonal, organizational and communication skills while giving back to young students in the community. The lessons delivered follow the college’s curriculum schedule, thus, providing medical students opportunities to teach and practice knowledge and concepts. This year’s JEDI Pathways Program Student Leaders include Joshua Drourr, Daniel Jacobs, Nikita Rao and Niyati Upadhyay, who successfully engaged 545 PBC Medical Academy students in patient simulation cases and anatomy lessons with class cohorts and individually in the high school college access, mentoring and career exposure Saturday program. The student leaders, with crucial support from the Clinical Skills Simulation Center staff and School District of PBC partner teachers, successfully navigated in-person and virtual delivery of program components. Leaders recruited classmates, residents, full-time and affiliate faculty as well as FAU pre-health, nursing, and social work students to achieve the goal of modeling an effective healthcare team. Congratulations and welcome to the 2022-23 JEDI Pathways Program student leaders: Lama Al Abdul Razzak, Miguel Castro, Zeynep Elshaer, Ishan Handa and Sarinya Meknarit.

The JEDI Pathways Program is possible only with community support and funding, and the college is grateful to The Virginia and Douglas Stewart Foundation for their vision and annual gift to the program. The School District of PBC has been a strong partner since 2007, and district leadership is essential to program development and resources. Thank you to community funders, medical student leaders and volunteers.

The JEDI office further supports the college and community through partnership with the college’s Foundations of Medicine Service Learning Program led by Peter Averkiou, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, that connects second year medical students with community partner organizations. Medical students may choose projects focused on health, wellness, and education of families and children, Pre-K and through young adult. The course aims to further develop students’ humanism and professionalism in patient care while enhancing their connection with our community. From 2015 to 2021, 127 medical students served a combined 3,362 hours with 23 JEDI community partners. The office piloted Interprofessional Education (IPE) service learning projects in 2020 and in 2022, three partner organizations engaged medical and master of social work students in IPE projects. Focusing on a team approach to healthcare is crucial to positive patient outcomes, and this service learning component of students’ education addresses the college’s Race to Equity Action Plan Goal 4: “Promote the health and wellness of underserved patient populations.”

The JEDI Office thanks the 2021 Service Learning Program community partners: A.D. Henderson University Schools, American Association of Caregiving Youth (IPE), Florence Fuller Child Development Centers (IPE), Genesis Community Health, Healthier Boynton Beach - Healthier Together, Palm Health Foundation, Rebel Recovery (IPE), The School District of Palm Beach County and partner schools, Boca Raton Community High School, Lantana Middle School, Lake Worth Middle School, Palm Beach Gardens High School, Roosevelt Community Middle School, Santaluces Community High School.

Both Service Learning and the Pathways Program provide opportunities for medical students to engage in research with the community. Building on the relationships developed during Service Learning projects, medical students conduct original research focused on program efficacy, health disparities, and healthcare inequities from which they develop presentations for professional and scholarly conferences and manuscripts to be published in peer-reviewed journals. For example:

Janwadkar, R. Byun, S. Rootes, A. Prakash, N. (2021, Sep). Self-Perceived Independent Living Skills and Self-Determination As A Method of Evaluating A Residential Program in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cureus, 13(9), e18133.

Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs is centered on the relatable angst of growing up, as it follows 15-year-old Eugene Jerome as he navigates the waters of adolescence. Set in 1937 Brooklyn, this award-winning play perfectly captures a classic coming-of-age story surrounded by identifiable family characters, as they confront the pressures of the impending war. Celebrate the life and works of this hilarious and highly autobiographical Neil Simon play. This beloved classic will both touch and tickle your heart. Tickets for FAU faculty/staff are $15.

The Florida Wind Symphony Jazz Orchestra, a professional Ensemble-in-Residence at FAU, will present Big Band Hits from the Golden Age, an evening of hits from the 30s, 40s and 50s, with authentic music of Big Band sensations like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Featuring vocalists to be announced. Directed by Kyle Prescott. Tickets for FAU faculty/staff are $15.

A rock retelling of La Bohème, a group of bohemian artists in the East Village of New York City struggle with gentrification, love, loss and legacies amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis. Through songs such as “Seasons of Love,” “One Song Glory,” “I’ll Cover You,” “Out Tonight” and more, they embrace hope, find strength and survive. The musical was revolutionary for its thoughtful and nuanced depiction of the AIDS crisis on stage, the antithesis of the often-flashy structure of musical theatre. Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking phenomenon defined a generation as it redefined the American musical and has never been more essential in today’s world. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, played over 5,000 performances, running for 12 years before closing September 7, 2008. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, the show won five, including Best Musical. Tick, tick…BOOM!

If you're looking for a summer camp for children, take a look at the list of camps FAU offers. From sports to music to foreign languages and much more, there’s something for everyone.