Students, faculty and staff at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine soaked up the sun and lots of information at this year’s American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) annual conference and exposition at the San Diego Convention Center. LECOM attendees took full advantage of the many speeches, seminars and events offered at OMED 2012.
LECOM Director of Sports Medicine Patrick Leary, DO was among the OMED presenters. Hundreds of physicians listened intently as Dr. Leary spoke about pre-participation physicals and concussion management. Recent LECOM Sports Medicine Fellow graduate Thurman Alvey III, DO took part in that presentation. Andrew Martin, DO, who earned his fellowship through LECOM, gave a talk on training and treating female athletes.
LECOM students played an active role at OMED. Jimmy DeMeo, a second-year medical student at LECOM’s Erie campus, was elected to the Student Osteopathic Medical Association’s (SOMA) Board of Trustees for Region 1. DeMeo will be responsible for coordinating all SOMA chapters in the Northeast region for 2012-13. Nearly 40 LECOM students representing the three campuses participated in the Council on Student Government Presidents, Student Osteopathic Medicine Association and other student activities.
The AOA Bureau on Osteopathic History and Identity honored fourth-year LECOM Erie medical student Brandon Karmo with second place in the history essay competition. Karmo receives a $3,000 prize for his essay, “Not Just Your Average Flu: The Story of Osteopathic Medicine and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919.”
As part of the Osteopathic Medicine: Hands-on Care Worldwide Seminar, second-year medical students from LECOM’s Seton Hill campus Catherine Caponero and Elizabeth Koh presented posters about their summer medical mission trips to Colombia and India, respectively. LECOM Research was represented at the AOA’s Scientific Seminar by Michael Peroski (OMS3) and Nikoletta Proudan (OMS2). Peroski and Proudan presented research posters on growth-releasing hormones in the human hypothalamus. Poster presenters received invitations to submit their projects to the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association to be reviewed for future publication.
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| LECOM student Jessica Rimkus (OMS2) is interviewed for the AOA web cast during OMED 2012 in San Diego. |
The LECOM’s annual alumni dinner, sponsored by LECOM President John M. Ferretti, DO, drew alumni from the Erie and Bradenton campuses. They gathered together to renew acquaintances and hear about the new and exciting programs that are taking place at LECOM, including the opening of the School of Dental Medicine in July. LECOM Board of Trustee member and Regional Dean Michael Feinstein, DO and Regional Dean Richard Terry, DO, were introduced. LECOM has increased clinical education in the San Diego area with Dr. Feinstein and Dr. Terry has opened a regional clinical education campus in Elmira, N.Y.
The gathering included two alumnus – Eric Bean, DO (’97) who was a member of the first graduating class in Erie and Kay Hooshmand, DO (’08) – from the first graduating class in Bradenton.