Abigail Etters and Dr. Kadavakollu Published in Osteopathic Journal
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association published a letter to the editor written by BCOM second year medical student Abigail Etters and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Samuel Kadavakollu, Ph.D. In the letter, entitled “Chronic Pain Management: Perspective of an Osteopathic Medical Student in New Mexico,” Etters gives her viewpoint on the opioid epidemic in the state, citing studies that show prescription opioid-induced deaths account for nearly half of the unintentional overdose deaths in New Mexico, which has the eighth-highest drug overdose death rate in the nation. She points to the unique approaches osteopathic physicians take towards chronic pain management as a possible solution, and added, “Mastering the management of chronic pain starts with education and communication of expectations between patients and their health care providers.”
Read the full article at: jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2668392
Max Jiganti Presents Poster at COSGP Winter Research Symposium
Second year medical student Maxwell Jiganti presented at the annual Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) Winter Research Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He was one of approximately 50 presenters at the event who shared posters regarding experimental research, public health/observational research, and case studies across all COMs.
Jiganti said his project was on “cortical brain activity and any changes that may occur in individuals who have had ACL reconstruction surgery. Working with Dr. Yong Woo An from the NMSU Dance and Kinesiology Lab, we measured brain activity of our subjects using an electroencephalography cap while they performed balancing tasks on a specialized balancing machine. I initially heard about the project through a classmate, Temi Ogunleye; so without help from my peers I never would have had this experience. It highlights the importance of a medical school class communicating about the different opportunities that are out there.”
Jiganti continued collecting data for the project after the COSGP symposium and will be presenting the updated results this month at the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association conference.
Medical Students Present MRSA Research in Washington DC
BCOM medical students Stephanie Ayala, Marlina Ponce de Leon, and William Lay presented their research project “MRSA & Medical Students: A Longitudinal Cohort Study” at the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) national convention in Washington DC. Other contributors to the project included BCOM students Christopher Hooshmand, Andrew Ortega, and Eli Johnson; BCOM faculty members Michael Woods, Ph.D. and Debra Bramblett, Ph.D.; UTEP student Samantha Meza; and UTEP bioinformatics professor Delfina Dominguez, Ph.D.
Ayala said, “It was such a great opportunity to showcase our work and overall we received positive feedback from doctors and other medical students. We owe a big thanks to our colleagues at UTEP, as well as our colleagues from BCOM.”
