June 5-9, 2023

WesternU COMP-Northwest celebrates Class of 2023 graduates

Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest celebrated 91 graduates at Commencement May 26, 2023, at Boulder Falls Center in Lebanon, Oregon.

COMP-Northwest graduate Mehak Preet Kaur, DO ’23, who was selected by her peers to speak at Commencement, reflected on everything this class endured and rose above in the past four years.

“This long iteration of the things that we have endured as a class isn’t to trigger suppressed memories, rather to pay homage to you, your resilience, your unwavering faith in yourselves and in this vocation. It is to commemorate your spirit that despite it all, just keeps going,” she said.

WesternU COMP-Northwest celebrates first graduate to complete DREAM program

When Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest graduate Mariam Rija, DO ’23, crossed the stage at Commencement May 26, 2023, she represented a dream turning into reality.

Dr. Rija is the first COMP-Northwest student to graduate after completing the DREAM (Diversity Recognized Emphasized and Assimilated into Medicine) program, a free enrichment program offered by COMP-Northwest designed to promote diversity at the COMP-Northwest campus and in the greater osteopathic medical community.

WesternU College of Podiatric Medicine to lead Special Olympics Fit Feet health screenings

WesternU College of Podiatric Medicine Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs and Faculty Affairs Rebecca Moellmer, DPM, FACFAS, FAAPSM, DABPM, and CPM Assistant Professor Chandler Hubbard, DPM ’18, are both Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Fit Feet Clinical Directors.

They will lead CPM students and other volunteers at the foot screening and analysis areas at the Special Olympics Southern California Summer Games at California State University, Long Beach June 10-11, 2023. College of Dental Medicine faculty and student volunteers will also provide oral cancer/dental screenings, oral hygiene instructions, fluoride varnish, and boil-and-bite mouthguards.

WesternU College of Pharmacy Dean elected as California Pharmacy Council Chair

WesternU College of Pharmacy Dean Sunil Prabhu, BPharm, PhD, was unanimously elected as the Chair of the California Pharmacy Council (CPC) during the recently concluded California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The California Pharmacy Council (CPC) is a consortium of CEO deans of all 14 schools and colleges of pharmacy in California, leaders of the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CHSP) along with representatives from their respective foundations. The California Board of Pharmacy is also represented in the CPC. The mission of CPC is to promote the pharmacy profession in the state through collective efforts of academia, pharmacy associations and the state board.

College of Optometry news

Women in Optometry's feature on "Top Graduates: Optometry’s Class Of 2023" includes WesternU College of Optometry graduate Crystal Sin, OD '23, pictured at Commencement with Dr. Elizabeth Rega.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin wrote about Dr. Sin's journey through the WesternU pipeline from seventh grade in the Pomona Unified School District through earning her Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree from the College of Optometry.

COMP news

COMP Department of Translational Research faculty with their collaborators published the following:

Supra Rajiv, Supra Rajesh, Agrawal DK: Surgical Approaches in Total Hip Arthroplasty. J Orthop Sports Med. 2023; 5(2): 232-240.

Rai V, Agrawal DK: Role of transcription factors and microRNAs in regulating fibroblast reprogramming in wound healing. J Bioinformatics and Systems Biology 2023; 6(2): 110-120.

Supra R, Wilson DR, Agrawal DK: Therapeutic potential of “Smart Exosomes” in peripheral nerve regeneration. J Biotechnol Biomed. 2023; 6(2): 189-196.

Studio Portraits, Tuesday, June 6

Public Affairs and Marketing is holding an open studio portrait day:

9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 6

Please click on the link above and sign up for a timeslot that works for your schedule if you would like a new studio portrait. We will schedule additional portrait days for those who cannot come to the studio on this day.