Sixty-five poster presentations filled the Atrium of PCOM Georgia recently representing hours of work for students and an opportunity to dive deep
into an area of interest.
Students earning doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy, in addition to biomedical sciences graduate students were able to present their work, according to Research Officer Ahmad Cader, MS.
To kick off the event, Veena N. Rao, PhD, a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar, and a professor and co-director of the cancer biology program in the Department of OB/GYN at Morehouse School of Medicine, delivered an address entitled “BRCA1 and Women’s Cancer: a 28 Year Journey from Discovery to Precision Medicine Leading to Health Equity.” Avadhesh C. Sharma, PharmD, PhD, chair and professor of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, introduced Dr. Rao, saying he felt “very proud” to have her at PCOM Georgia. Dr. Rao's daughter, Vaishali Reddy, DO '19, a PCOM Georgia alumnus and now a hospitalist at Emory Johns Creek Hospital, also attended the event.
A cadre of judges evaluated the poster presentations and four projects were recognized. Award winners included:
Among the poster presenters were Kevin Wang (DO '25), who worked with Madison Cohen (DO '25) and Julienne Ryland (DO '25) to study concussion management and novel diagnostic testing with faculty member Donald Penney, MD, MSC, FACEP, chair of clinical education.
He said, “Finding time for research is a little difficult. You have to balance it with school, club work and other activities, but overall, it's very rewarding because it helps you dive deep into a topic that you may not be familiar with. You can learn to become almost an expert in the field.”
Karlee Chandler (DPT '24) said that she and Riley Robinson (DPT '24), under the guidance of Ruth Maher, used technology to measure the depth and stiffness of tissues.
“We used it to measure the range of motion of the low back musculature and how the stiffness changed after treatment.”
Robinson said, “With changing the physical therapy degree to a doctorate, research has been a more important part of the process. It has helped expand our field, which I think is very important.”
Research Day judges included Barbara Wood, MLIS; Kevin Bradford, MLS; Catherine Delaney;
Jennifer Wiley, PT, DHSc; DPT, associate professor; Melisa Smith, PT, DPT, assistant
professor; Phillip Pearson; Shu Zhu, MD, PhD, associate professor of physiology; Francis
Jenney, Jr., PhD, professor of biochemistry; Irandokht Khaki, PharmD, MS, assistant
professor; Sonia Thomas, PharmD, BCOP, associate professor; Naushad Ghilzai, BPharm,
MPharm, PhD, professor; Xinyu Wang, PhD, associate professor; Ruth Maher, PT, PhD,
DPT, professor.
Learn more about research and student research opportunities at PCOM's three locations.
PCOM Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), PCOM Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, PCOM Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit pcomgeorgiahealth.org.
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