Ignite Magazine | Fall 2016

A P U B L I CAT I O N O F N O R T H E A S T O H I O M E D I CA L U N I V E R S I T Y • V O L 17.2 FA L L 2 016

WHEN IT TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY

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isit any university campus this time of year and you’ll notice that something’s in the air.

On NEOMED’s campus, the many shades of turning leaves reflect the varied skin tones and the vibrantly colored clothing of our students.

The horizon serves as a distant canvas for the amazing hues painted by our diverse population.

In a few weeks, many NEOMED students will celebrate the significance of their forthcoming work with white coat ceremonies, where future pharmacists and physicians will take solemn oaths. Hippocrates, believed to be the originator of this rite of passage, once said, “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.”

On our campus there’s an inherent collaboration and interdependency that nurtures the humanities in medicine. But our students are also taught to act intentionally, in order to serve the whole person. To truly listen, so they can bring wellness to population groups that are often underserved.

Intent…and focus.

In our Healthy Aging Research Collaborative (HARC), we bring a focus to five research areas, advancing science that investigates diseases of the heart and vessels; the mind and emotions; the brain; bones and muscle; and hearing and speech.

In this issue’s The Silent Thief of Sight, you’ll see what Denise Inman, Ph.D., says 60 million people cannot see. You’ll also find out why moms of young athletes, veterans and the elderly — everyone! — should be excited about Osteoactivin — an innovative protein discovered by NEOMED’s own Fayez Safadi, Ph.D. And for those who think diversity affects only that which can be seen, reading about Charles Thodeti, Ph. D., will open your mind — and your heart.

Some of this issue’s stories test other perceptions, such as the notion that diseases of the aging are just about the elderly. Rebecca German, Ph.D., discusses problems of swallowing (the most frequent cause of death in Alzheimer’s) that she’ll research through a new National Institutes of Health grant she received to study swallowing problems in infants.

Second-year medicine student Katherine Joyce’s Ask Before You Enter treats us all to a few lessons: People need to be listened to, and misguided actions can have a ripple effect. It was life stories from more than 2,000 responders that went into creating a remarkable book by Mark Munetz, M.D., and his Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry — personal accounts solicited by a Dear Abby letter.

The students arriving on campus take my breath away as they remind me of the importance of the work done here at NEOMED. The fresh reminder of the rewards of our collaborations from bench to bedside, the art of the humanities and the art of listening give us a taste of what nature always offers…a chance to breathe in the fullness of life.

Jay A. Gershen President 02 I G N I T I N G

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VOL 17.2 FALL 2016 Northeast Ohio Medical University is a communitybased, public medical university with a mission to improve the health, economy and quality of life in Northeast Ohio through the medicine, pharmacy and health science interprofessional education of students and practitioners at all levels. The University embraces diversity, equity and inclusion and fosters a working and learning environment that celebrates differences and prepares students for patient-centered, teamand population-based care.

Ignite magazine (Fall 2016, Volume 17, No. 2) is published twice a year by the Office of Public Relations and Marketing, 4209 St. Rt. 44, P.O. Box 95, Rootstown, OH 44272-0095 Email: publicrelations@neomed.edu Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., President NEOMED Board of Trustees: Daisy L. Alford-Smith, Ph.D. Paul R. Bishop, J.D. Carisa E. Bohnak, Student Trustee Sharlene Ramos Chesnes James M. Guirguis, Student Trustee Joseph R. Halter, Jr. J. David Heller, CPA, Chair Robert J. Klonk, Vice Chair Chander M. Kohli, M.D. Richard B. McQueen

Editor: Elaine Guregian Contributing Editors: Dana Goehring; Roderick L. Ingram, Sr.; Jared F. Slanina Publication Design: Scott J. Rutan Illustrations: Cover and page 24, David Szalay, associate professor, Myers School of Art, The University of Akron; Raven Burdette, B.F.A, Myers School of Art, The University of Akron; Branden Vondrak, B.F.A., Kent State University School of Visual Communication Design.

Photography: Phil Masturzo, Chris Smanto, Lew Stamp.

As a health sciences university, we constantly seek ways to improve the health, economy and quality of life in Northeast Ohio. The Accent Opaque paper used for this magazine has earned a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and a Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification. Strict guidelines have been followed so that forests are renewed, natural resources are preserved and wildlife is protected. Ignite was printed

by Printing Concepts in Stow, Ohio, using soy inks.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the editors.

Copyright 2016 by Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio 44272.

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DEPARTMENTS 18 HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE 27 INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION 20 BENCH TO BEDSIDE

28 HEALTH SCIENCES PIPELINE

24 HEALTHY AGING

30 DONOR SPOTLIGHT

25 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

32 CLASS NOTES

26 RESEARCH AT NEOMED

35 WHALE WATCHING

FEATURES

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04 THE SILENT THIEF OF SIGHT Swimming toward a cure for glaucoma.

08 MODELING DIVERSITY The team that eats together works better together.

12 ASK BEFORE YOU ENTER Take your advice? Who asked you?

ON THE COVER New friendships, new beginnings: the academic year is starting, and the world of health sciences is wide open.

Artist David Szalay, an associate professor of graphic design at the University of Akron — a NEOMED partner — feels the excitement.

14 DRAWING MEDICINE Picking up an artist’s pen helps you see things differently.

16 A FIRST RESPONDER ON SECOND REVIEW How a letter in Dear Abby spawned a manual about collaborating to treat the mentally ill.

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Branden Vondrak earned a B.F.A. from the Kent State University School of Visual Communication Design.

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FEATURE

THE SILENT THIEF OF SIGHT

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BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

p until a certain age, glaucoma is just a vague notion for many of us.

Yes, we get checked for it at vision exams. Maybe we even try to absorb the explanation when the ophthalmologist checks the intraocular pressure (IOP). We remember that if it’s “off,’’ (let’s see, which is bad, too high or too low?) that’s a warning sign for glaucoma: a disease of the eyes that at some far-off time we may take more seriously.

But glaucoma afflicts 60 million people worldwide, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, so it’s good news that Denise Inman, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy at NEOMED, has received a highly competitive award for $1.8 million over five years from the National Eye Institute of

Illustration: Branden Vondrak

the National Institutes of Health — funding that will allow her to work toward therapies for the disease.

Her topic? “Metabolic Vulnerability as a Disease Target for Glaucoma.’’ Dr. Inman has reason to believe that mice who lack metabolic (energy) reserves to draw on in times of stress are more susceptible to developing glaucoma. If her new research found that to be true, the next question would be whether the same is true in humans.

Answering the question would be huge, because it would bring researchers much closer to finding drug therapies for glaucoma in humans, says Dr. Inman, who is also the director of the integrated pharmaceutical medicine degree program in NEOMED’s College of Graduate Studies.

SILENT THIEF Glaucoma has been nicknamed “the silent thief of sight’’ because of the way it creeps up on people, says Dr. Inman.

Patients lose their peripheral vision first, and the central nervous system compensates for the loss amazingly well. The afflicted people may start rotating their heads a little bit more to see things but not realize anything is amiss until they are examined by an ophthalmologist.

Research progress can be frustratingly slow, and the field keeps changing, says Dr. Inman. “As scientists, we are only as effective as the tools we have at our disposal. We still have constraints — we have to model the diseases, often with a rodent model. There are tremendous similarities between mice and humans at the molecular level but there are also structural differences,’’ says Dr. Inman.

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From 15 years of research, Dr. Inman has discovered that long before any obvious damage or degeneration takes place, functional changes happen in the optic nerve, which fires electrical signals between the eyes and the brain. The metabolic vulnerability that she is studying through the new grant is found on the optic nerve.

SWIMMING POOL TEST Many experiments will need to be conducted to determine the source of metabolic vulnerability. Here’s one key question along the way: How does a researcher know when an animal is blind?

Dr. Inman’s team built a miniature swimming pool (she holds out her arms wide to demonstrate the size, about one meter by 60 centimeters) with a video monitor at one end that shows a visual stimulus: black and white bars that can be of varying size, like a vision chart, with a platform underneath. A particular strain of mouse that spontaneously develops glaucoma is used for the testing, under strictly monitored conditions.

When the mice are placed in the water, they see the platform and swim toward it; eventually, they begin to associate the platform with the visual stimulus.

Once the mouse swims toward the platform 70 percent of the time during training, the researcher can be certain that their action is intentional. After that, if they don’t swim to it, it means they can’t see. For those who can’t see, the researchers will improve the mouse’s central nervous system metabolism to see if their vision improves.

It takes two weeks to train mice to do a task, like the swimming pool task, and the dietary intervention (improving their metabolism) might take anywhere from two to six months. The metabolic vulnerability is measurable at 6 months, and the mice will be blind between 10 and 12

Denise Inman, Ph.D./photo by Phil Masturzo

months of age. Considering all this, notes Dr. Inman, the researchers will be working around the clock to finish on time.

Here, in Dr. Inman’s own words, is what she has determined so far, and what she hopes to learn next: The optic nerve conducts electrical impulses, similar to the way electrical cords bring energy from the outlet to an appliance.

If you stimulate the optic nerve on one end, you can observe the changes that happen along the nerve. As we stimulated and recorded animals that were more and more severely compromised — closer to mimicking glaucoma in humans — we discovered that the conduction of electrical signal along the nerve was also compromised.

In order for the optic nerve to function, it needs oxygen; it needs glucose. We discovered that if we took away the oxygen and the glucose, the optic nerve would almost immediately stop firing. It wouldn’t conduct the electrical signal anymore.

With a normal subject, if we gave the oxygen and the glucose back, most of the nerve would come back and start functioning again. But that wasn’t true in our mouse model of glaucoma. Once you took away the oxygen and the glucose, the optic nerve couldn’t bounce back.

Our model, these mice with glaucoma, appeared to have no metabolic reserve. They were functioning at — well, it’s like tightrope walking without a net. There was no backup. If something stressful happened to them, the axons — extensions of the retinal ganglion cells that run along the retina — would be lost. The electrical signal would not arrive at the brain. No visual information could be delivered.

What we’re trying to understand is, how do these subjects get to the point where they have no metabolic reserve? Once we understand what drives the degeneration of the optic nerve, we can work on ways to stop the process.

DID YOU KNOW?

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bout 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma — though many of them don’t realize it. That’s really dangerous, since glaucoma causes irreversible blindness.

Here’s a term you can throw around at your next eye exam: Intraocular pressure (IOP). Checking the Intraocular pressure (IOP) is the cheap and easy way to test for glaucoma, but there’s a caveat: As many as 30 to 40 percent of patients with increased IOP do not actually have glaucoma, says Dr. Inman. To know for sure, the ophthalmologist needs to look at the optic disc and examine visual function.

What can be done? Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops or through surgery. Although it can be treated, as yet there is no cure.

— Elaine Guregian

FEATURE

Front row, left to right: Ravi Adapala, Charles Thodeti, Holly Cappelli Back row, left to right: Alexander (Sasha) Bratslavsky, Anantha Kanugula, Ashot Minasyan

DR. THODETI INTRODUCES HIS TEAM: Ravi Adapala Jack of All Trades

Alexander (Sasha) Bratslavsk Enthusiastic Apprentice

Ravi is a graduate student born in India. I recruited him from The University of Michigan. He is very experienced in performing cell biology and biochemical experiments and has become proficient at microsurgeries in mice and rats. He, Dr. Kanugula and prior lab member Roslin Thoppil were from three different areas of India, with different languages, so they used to speak English — not Indian — to communicate.

Sasha is the newest member of the Thodeti lab. He is originally from Russia but grew up in Cleveland and recently graduated from Kent State University. He is currently learning the trade secrets while at the same time assisting everyone in the lab.

Holly Cappelli Dependable. Taskmaster. Balancer.

Holly is the one with the organizational skills. She ensures that everything is orderly and properly labeled. She has also become experienced with physiological techniques using the mouse model and maintains the mouse colony in the Comparative Medicine Unit. Holly is a graduate student and our MVP!

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Anantha Kanugula, Ph.D. Experienced, Calm and Cool!

Dr. Kanugula is a post-doctoral fellow originally from India, via the United Kingdom. Dr. Kanugula joined my lab with excellent cell and molecular biology skills, with a special focus on tumor cells.

Ashot Minasyan, M.D. Magic Fingers Dr. Minasyan, a cardiologist, came to Rootstown from Armenia with his wife, who is a NEOMED medical student.

Dr. Minasyan is the expert surgeon in the lab, performing mouse microsurgery and echocardiography.

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MODELING DIVERSITY

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BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

harles Thodeti, Ph.D., has the wind at his back as he begins the 2016-17 school year.

In 2015-16, the assistant professor of Integrative Medical Sciences at Northeast Ohio Medical University received his first major National Institutes of Health award, worth more than $1.5 million over four years. Also at the national level, he was named as a Fellow of the American Physiology Society, Cardiovascular Section; and NEOMED presented him with the University’s 2015 Junior Faculty Award for his recognized excellence and productivity in research.

Behind the proven scientific acumen of this friendly, approachable researcher are less quantifiable skills: adaptability, appreciation of other cultures, a genuine kindness. Dr. Thodeti lives his conviction that diversity — including talents and approaches to work, not just nationality, gender and cultural background — is the best business model for running a successful scientific research lab.

Dr. Thodeti grew up understanding what it meant to be different. His family was Christian — a minority religion in the small South Indian town of Markapur, and just a fraction of the population in a predominantly Hindu country. (In India overall, about 80 percent of the population is Hindu and just over 2 percent is Chris-

tian, according to the 2011 census.) Dr. Thodeti crossed both religious and class lines when he married a Hindu woman whose Brahmin family belongs to the highest rank in the religious system.

You might say that Dr. Thodeti has found a happy life by cheerfully disregarding categories. For his NEOMED lab, he seeks out a blend and balance among the people on his team.

Dr. Thodeti’s belief in diversity stems

the popular belief that minorities are at risk in India, Dr. Thodeti’s own experience was that people of different religions lived in harmony.

Dr. Thodeti attended the highly competitive Silver Jubilee Government Degree College, named on the 25th anniversary of Indian independence. Diversity was built in: Students were sorted by their majors — science, history or commerce — and then combined, one of each major, in dorm rooms.

The dorms also mixed students by their year in school and combined students from different regions in the state.

“After a couple of months I knew three versions of slang,’’ says Thodeti, who also has a fondness for American pop culture. He notes that the city of Hyderabad, where he followed his mentor to work in a top-ranked research university, is nicknamed in India as Cyberabad, be– Charles K.Thodeti, Ph.D. cause of its emphasis on computer tech. from his own experiences. Despite coming Dr. Thodeti’s first professional position from a minority religion, he made friends away from home was at a university hoswith Hindus and Muslims alike. Through- pital in Sweden where half of the researchout childhood, the bottom line for him ers in the lab were Swedish and the rest was, “Even if someone was mean to me I were British, Iranian or Indian. In their would be nice and finally they had to be department, they also had French, Monice back!’’ Having a mother who was an roccan, Chinese and British post-docs.

In Sweden he got to know the Iraexcellent cook didn’t hurt either. During the Christmas holiday season, his Hindu nians and Indians first, because the food friends who were normally vegetarian was similar. As a way to connect the would indulge in his mother’s special group, he started organizing people to chicken pulao and chicken curry. Despite go out to a restaurant together. Eating

I think NEOMED leadership makes

a conscious effort to recruit people to

increase diversity. I can see it in all of the student activities and the seminars on

diversity. I think we are going in the right

direction. I don’t feel like a minority. I feel like I am just a part of the NEOMED

community.This is a wonderful place.’’

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FEATURE

together at a favorite Greek place helped the group bond.

Next stop: Harvard Medical School, where in 2004 he and his wife moved to accept a job offer. He was hired in a lab there in a program founded by Dr. Judah Folkman, who started the field of angiogenesis — one of Dr. Thodeti’s areas of interest. At Harvard, he worked in Dr. Don Ingber’s lab for five years with people from Israel, Spain, Mexico, India and China. “People think Harvard has cutthroat competition, but after one year we were all eating lunch together several times a week,’’ he says.

A comment like this comes as no surprise to Andre Burton, executive director of diversity at NEOMED, who calls Dr. Thodeti “exceptionally welcoming.” The researcher is unusually attuned to interacting with people across areas and jobs at the University, says Burton. When there are university-wide diversity programs, you can be sure that Dr. Thodeti will participate.

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over the world, Dr. Thodeti has learned to get down to business and hire people who balance and complement each other.

“When I interview people to work in my lab, I know that everyone I talk to will be smart, but I don’t pick people just because their CV says summa cum laude,’’ he says. ‘’You need to be a team player. Nobody knows everything. If a graduate student suggests doing an experiment in a different way based on the literature, I can’t get offended.’’ And students are the undisputed experts with the latest technology, he adds.

Dr. Thodeti tries to be aware of everyone’s strengths and be willing to learn from others. He doesn’t mind if people in his lab work on their own schedules. His own experience in Europe allowed him to develop an appreciation for measuring productivity by hard work and results, not how much time you spend in the lab.

Lab researcher Holly Cappelli, who is from the predominantly white suburb of Chagrin Falls, near Cleveland, says she didn’t travel much outside of the United

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States prior to graduate school. “To be honest, before I came to NEOMED for graduate school, joining a diverse lab was not a high priority. After joining the Thodeti lab, at first, there was a language barrier among all of us, but when we said something the other one didn’t understand, none of us were offended if someone asked us to repeat ourselves. Overall, the Thodeti lab felt welcoming.’’

Cappelli’s colleague Ashot Minasyan, M.D., agrees. “I believe in unity and diversity. We have it here in this lab,’’ says Minasyan. Cappelli credits Roslin Thoppil — a female Indian graduate student formerly at NEOMED, now a post-doctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University — with helping her learn the conceptual science, while Ravi Adapala helped her learn hands-on skills. Cappelli adds, “The best thing about our lab is that it’s fun to be around such a diverse group of people. Plus, I found out how much I like Indian cuisine!”

Photos by Phil Masturzo

DR. THODETI

EXPLAINS HIS CURRENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health R01 Award for “Mechanotransduction in Myocardial Adaptation to Ischemia” $379,000 annually for four years (total $1.5 million)

After a heart attack, part of the heart muscle tissue dies and the activation of fibroblasts helps to repair the damaged tissue. Excessive activation of these cells in response to heart attack or hypertension can cause cardiac fibrosis — which can eventually lead to heart failure. However, few drugs are available to treat fibrosis, and the molecular mechanism of fibroblast activation after a heart attack is not well known. My main goal is to gain an understanding of the mechanism behind this process and someday to develop drugs that can reverse cardiac fibrosis and prevent heart failure.

CHARLES K. THODETI, PH.D. Assistant Professor of Integrative Medical Sciences at NEOMED

Hometown: Markapur, in southern India. Currently resides in Copley, Ohio Education: Attended Silver Jubilee Government Degree College, Kurnool, India, for bachelor’s degree. Master’s and Ph.D. from Sri Venkateswara (S.V.) University in Tirupati, India Family: Wife Sailaja Paruchuri, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the University of Akron and collaborates with Dr. Thodeti in the area of tumor angiogenesis and inflammation. Daughter Sathwika Thodeti was accepted to NEOMED’s B.S./M.D. program and started college at Youngstown State University in summer 2016.

Daughter Samyami is in fourth grade.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health R15 Award for “Integration of Mechanical and Soluble Signaling in Tumor Angiogenesis” $453,140 over three years American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid Award for “Mechanical Control of Endothelial Function during Angiogenesis” $77,000 annually for two years (total $154,000)

The blood vessels in the body are like plumbing in a house. A leak or blockage, if not repaired, can lead to collapse of the house, as seen in many diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetic retinopathy. In the above two projects, one focus of our research is to normalize the leaky vasculature in cancer tissue, so we can deliver anti-cancer drugs and reduce tumor growth.

In addition, we want to understand at the molecular level how new blood cells are formed from existing vessels so we can develop new therapies for ischemic heart diseases and peripheral vascular diseases. In a nutshell, I would like to act as a molecular plumber to repair blood vessels.

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ASK BEFORE YOU ENTER: NOTES ON WORKING IN LOW-RESOURCE COMMUNITIES

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BY KATHERINE JOYCE (M2)

rior to starting medical school at NEOMED, I earned a Master of Public Health degree and worked with community-focused organizations in low-resource/low-income areas including Somaliland, India and Boston. During this time, I saw effective collaborations among providers, researchers and community members, but also saw well-intentioned individuals and groups whose health or research projects were received as unhelpful or patronizing because they did not communicate or involve the community they intended to help.

Whether it was hospital-donated neonatal isolettes without converters to power them or kind but misguided clinicians instructing illiterate parents to read to their children, I observed programs that wasted time or money — and most important, did not address community concerns. When people in positions of power (like clinicians and researchers) do not elicit input from the community regarding their needs, unfortunate caricatures like the “White Savior” take hold.

Author Teju Cole aptly described this caricature when he

wrote, “A nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike savior, or at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied.”

This rings true not only on the African continent, but in any low-resource area. The impact of misguided actions can ripple broadly into the future: Projects or advocacy initiatives may fail due to poor communication with a community, and discouraged community members may decline to go ahead with projects that could have benefited them.

Among the clinicians whose initiatives were well-received by community members, I found one thing in common: the clinicians asked community members if they wanted support before they even drafted a grant application for any given intervention. The clinicians included community members in any programmatic initiatives and if the community did not want that intervention, or disliked the methodology, the clinicians adapted in a variety of ways including shifting funds, hiring local staff, incorporating educational programing and modifying research instruments. They also employed tested research methods like Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to include community members in assessing need and outcome. In short, they asked before they entered.

Berbera Regional Hospital staff load a stretcher into one of their ambulances.

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An example of the quality of overseas donations. This ambulance was missing major parts and was largely inoperable. Fixing this vehicle would have cost the hospital significantly.

And asking often brought about impressive results. At the Tribal Health Initiative in Sittilingi, India, doctors responded to community requests by creating a community health worker and nursing training program. The grassroots organization Peace Boston produced a show called Hip Hop 9.1.1, in which local youth performed to promote peace in areas of Boston neighborhoods with high rates of community violence. After asking how they could help to overturn an emergency housing policy, physicians at Boston Medical Center demonstrated at the Massachusetts State House and testified before a congressional committee. At Berbera Regional Hospital in Somaliland, staff from the hospital and a non-governmental organization called Health Poverty Action changed a pre-hospital training curriculum so it better fit the needs of their staff and patients.

As a health care professional and public health researcher committed to working in an urban setting as a future physician, I try to ask myself: How can my colleagues and I ensure that our efforts, however noble and well-intentioned, support the needs of communities labeled as underserved or living in low-resource settings?

In the best cases, clinical expertise can inform and guide a community’s request. For instance, behind the statement “My kids are missing too much school” may be a patient from a community where parents may lose their jobs if they take time to care for sick kids, or perhaps substandard housing with mold or pests that aggravate childhood asthma. Fully understanding the whole picture is crucial when developing a plan to address the need.

There are a number of questions any person (student or professional) might ask themselves if they are planning to work with an underserved community:

Some community requests could not be met without an influx of external funds. At Berbera Regional Hospital, orthopaedic surgical staff rely on epidural anesthesia for operations to conserve drugs and oxygen, and are running low on hardware to complete surgeries.

• If I could not add this to my resume/post on social media/get recognition, would I participate?

• Are there members of the community or other professionals who would elicit better outcomes than I? • Am I the most appropriate person with the most appropriate skill set to do this work?

• Who are my community partners and how would they like to see their concerns addressed?

• Is financial reimbursement for community members included in the budget?

• Do I know the track record and mission of the project/ organization I am working with, and who funds them?

• Who has requested and who is benefiting from the intervention/project?

• Is this project sustainable without outsider support?

• Do community members and staff know how to present the project to the media?

• How are outcomes being evaluated and how will they be distributed to the community?

• How can community members participate in program administration and provide feedback?

If you cannot answer these questions, you may want to reconsider your approach. When any person, regardless of class, color, creed or other defining characteristic, asks us for help as professionals, it is our responsibility to address what they need in the way they need it. In this way we are, at a minimum, doing no harm by asking before we enter.

A student in the NEOMED-Cleveland State University Partnership for Urban Health program, Ohio native Kate Joyce is in her second year in the College of Medicine at NEOMED.

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FEATURE

DRAWING MEDICINE

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BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

s comic strips have grown up into graphic novels, they have miraculously kept their outsider attitude while gaining a new level of respect.

A colored marker somehow confers the magical permission to say and show feelings that might otherwise stay masked. And here’s the good news for anyone enticed by the course title “Graphic Medicine: The Clinic in Comic Form,’’ a humanities class offered to fourth-year students at NEOMED: You don’t need to know how to draw.

Michael Blackie, Ph.D., an associate professor in family and community medicine, introduced the course as a way for students to think deeply about their experiences treating disease, and to express those experiences creatively. NEOMED isn’t alone. Nationally, other medical schools have started offering such classes.

Dr. Blackie said he works with the fourth-year students to help them put into graphic form an experience they have had in medical education or on a rotation — or their own experience of an illness. The only rule is that it must have a medical theme.

He’ll ask leading questions, like “What are the worst stereotypes about surgeons or radiologists or family doctors? How

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would you represent those traits?” His goal is to help the student see the stereotypes, then consider how the stereotypes sit with them. He wants students to actively reflect on what is happening to them and what choices they are making.

Another exercise: Dr. Blackie asks the students to draw a painful experience (one that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to share with the class). He gives them 20 minutes to draw it, then has them hand it over to someone else who describes it.

Why? “Describing pain is difficult. We say, ‘It’s a stabbing pain,’ but most of us haven’t been stabbed,’’ says Dr. Blackie, who previously taught at Hiram College in Ohio and in the Honors College at the University of Southern California, where he earned a Ph.D. in English. Future doctors need to be able to interpret patients’ descriptions, says Dr. Blackie.

His goal is to encourage students to take a more holistic view of practicing medicine: “They know what happens to a body with diabetes — but a patient isn’t just a body. They have a community and racial differences and so on. Part of what we do in this class is to get at the nuances. Students have an opportunity to observe the messiness of health care.”

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A TALK WITH THE ARTIST While a fourth-year College of Medicine student at NEOMED, Rosemary Szparagowski, M.D. (’16) enrolled in Graphic Medicine: The Clinic in Comic Form and created “The Do’s and Don’ts of Medical School,’’ reproduced here. When she graduated in 2016, the College of Medicine recognized her with the Excellence in Public Health and Excellence in Psychiatry awards.

Why did you enroll in Dr. Blackie’s class?

I come from a family of artists and I am always looking for creative outlets. I love sketching and doodling. During my third and fourth year rotations I could never be found without a pen and a notebook in hand. I was delighted when I found out NEOMED offered a course in graphic medicine. It gave me an opportunity to learn more about the medium and use it to reflect on my medical school experience.

At what point were you able to laugh about the topics you covered in your comic strip about the do’s and don’ts of medical school? Or was it more of a grimace?

Dr. Blackie encouraged us to think about the things that frustrated us about our medical school experience and to transform these negative experiences into art and humor. It was a little rough when I first started thinking about some of the more difficult parts of medical school. I had my share of struggles. But after I started writing the comics, I was more amused than frustrated. I definitely laughed a lot more often than grimaced.

You have chosen to do your residency in psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. When Dr. Blackie asked your class to talk about the stereotypes of the various specialties, did it help you clarify why you wanted to pursue that field?

Haha, that exercise was fun. But what I found was my idea of a psychiatrist is very different than the stereotypical psychiatrist. My image of a psychiatrist was shaped by the doctors I met on rotation. NEOMED connects us with some truly amazing mental health professionals.

Why do medicine and pharmacy students need classes in the humanities?

As medical and pharmacy students, we are exposed to a lot of situations that are unique and challenging. Writing and art are tools that have the potential to make those experiences accessible to the general population.

— Elaine Guregian NORTHEAST OHIO MEDIC AL UNIVERSITY

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FEATURE

A FIRST RESPONDER ON SECOND REVIEW

I

BY RODERICK L. INGRAM, SR.

began this writing assignment in anticipation of reviewing People with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System: Answering a Cry for Help, a practice manual for psychiatrists and other practitioners. The guide is written by the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) Committee on Psychiatry and the Community — a committee that includes Northeast Ohio Medical University’s Mark R. Munetz, M.D., who is the Margaret Clark Morgan Endowed Chair and Professor, as well as the director of the University’s Community-Based Mental Health research focus area.

In what the authors call a cry for help, they arranged several years ago to have a letter published in the Dear Abby advice column.

The letter stated that an estimated 320,000 people with severe mental illness — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression with psychotic features — were incarcerated in jails and prisons.

The letter went on to ask readers to tell their stories about family members who were mentally ill and had spent time in jail or prison. Readers were invited to respond to the letter in hopes that they would “effect change in (the mental health/justice fields), and have a profound impact on the treatment of many of our loved ones.”

I had my doubts. Though earnest, the letter and request were open-ended and seemed lacking in the personal and private commitment necessary to engage one to speak so openly about such family matters. Anyhow, why would serious psychiatrists use Dear Abby?

More than 2,500 readers and their families responded.

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The GAP committee clearly knows something about how to ask the right question. The writers were able to get common folk to respond quite eloquently to complex social issues that reeked with such unpleasant experiences as ignorance, injustice and violence. The readers’ stories overflow with quite understandable feelings of anger and blame, hopelessness and failure. The Studs Terkel-like honesty of the testimonials knocked me off my chair, emotionally. It was heartbreaking to read the stories of so many who must have felt hopeless in trying to help their loved ones.

The testimonials moved me to such an extent that I, too, wanted to share a story from an incident that took place about 20 years ago.

The phone call comes on a relatively calm Saturday morning.

Caller: “My face looks pretty bad. I don’t know what happened.”

Responder: “I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

He grabs his Llama .357 magnum, tells his wife what happened, jumps in his car and heads to the public housing project where he grew up.

When he arrives, he is shocked by the caller’s face: swollen and broken, the right side virtually covered with spots of dried blood that serve as a sort of cosmetic to hide the bruises underneath. His bloodied right eye protrudes, as if it were sitting on top of his cheekbone. It hurts the responder to see the caller — his father — looking so disfigured and sad, and in so much pain.

“Who did this to you?” he asks. His father replies, “We had been drinking, last I remember before I woke up…I think Al did it.”

Al is the Responder’s brother, a talented artist who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early teens. Al has spent several years in and out of mental institutions, seen several psychiatrists and been prescribed a variety of medications. He has had long periods during which he often hallucinated, but sometimes he simply remained silent, often

staying in bed for what seemed like months.

There were also times when, perhaps not taking his medication, he was completely unpredictable — doing things like walking down the middle of the neighborhood’s busy intersection or standing outside in inclement weather while partially clothed, talking loudly to himself, saying such odd things that neighbors were often amused. But he had never violently struck anyone before. And although there was concern that he might one day hurt himself, he never had hurt anyone — until now.

As a kid, the Responder often had to keep watch of Al. When his brother strayed too far away from home, he would often end up in the arms of the police, handcuffed or put in the back of the patrol car. On several occasions, friends would race to the family’s apartment and tell the Responder, “The police have Al.” The Responder would run over to where the police were holding Al and attempt to explain to them that he was mentally ill and he meant no harm, but before the Responder could continue, he would be told, “Get the hell away from here before we arrest you too!” Ultimately, the Responder and his dad would have to pick Al up from the district police station where he was being detained for trespassing — on his own neighborhood streets.

So today, years later, when the Responder receives the dreadful call that his dad had been beaten, only to find that the attacker was his own brother, he isn’t sure who to call.

The person Al struck was their father, but the Responder remembers what happened to Al just for loitering and wonders what would happen to Al for doing this. It hurts him to see their father’s face so distorted, and it hurts just as much to know that Al is in pain, too.

Al loves their dad dearly, but something beyond his control has caused him to hurt him.

Sigmund Freud, who famously refused pain medication beyond aspirin after undergoing several surgeries and radiation treatments for his throat cancer, was

known to say, “I prefer to think in torment than not to be able to think clearly.” Like the father of psychoanalysis, Al preferred to think irrationally and remain delusional than be in the zombie condition that the medications left him in – and his family didn’t entirely disagree. Unfortunately, not unlike some of the mentally ill written about in People with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System, Al would self-medicate, mostly with alcohol but sometimes with harder, more destructive, drugs like crack cocaine.

There are many complexities and obstacles associated with mental illness: difficulties finding resources, inadequate training for many, a lack of understanding for most. Yet this committee of writers not only managed to seamlessly frame the concerns and desires to help on the part of families, law enforcement, judges, psychiatrists, and probation or parole officers; it also managed to align these disparate groups and their issues into cohesive partnership solutions that successfully integrate community-based care. All in just 125 pages!

While People with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System is a short, easy read, it is heavy on resources, with several appendices that are direct, useful and effective in informing all readers how to respond to people with mental health illnesses. This publication can educate the entire community: medical professionals, the mentally ill, law enforcement and family members alike. Well worth reading, the book challenges and compels any professional in the field, family member, or caregiver to make the effort to effect change.

GAP. (2016). People with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System: Answering a Cry for Help (First ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

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HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE

Raven Burdette is a master of arts administration student at The University of Akron. She received a B.F.A. with a dual concentration in printmaking and drawing/painting from the Myers School of Art at UA.

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POETRY THRIVES ON CAMPUS

THE LILACS

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

When she asked the color of the blooms,

E

I looked into her rheumy eyes

ach year, medicine students across the country enter NEOMED’s William Carlos William Poetry Competition, named for a physician who practiced family medicine in Rutherford, New Jersey while simultaneously building a wide reputation as a poet. The annual contest runs through NEOMED’s Human Values in Medicine Program, in keeping with NEOMED’s emphasis on the humanities as integral to the medicine curriculum.

In spring 2016, history was made: For the first time in the competition’s 34-year history, a top winner was a NEOMED student. Ileana Horattas, now a third-year student, tied for first place with Phoebe Prioleau, a medicine student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.

Reproduced here are Horattas’ winning poem and comments that she shared at a NEOMED ceremony featuring the winning student poets as well as guest speaker Matt McCarthy, M.D., a writer and physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Paused just a moment, and replied: They look the way fog feels on skin, Cashmere cool and combed cotton.

The color of thunder, but not the crash— Just the gentle rumble, far away enough That you wonder if you ever heard it Before you roll over and return to sleep.

When you finally wake up, moving oh-so-slowly Through the early summer morning That belies the coming heat —it’s there, too.

And she smiled just a bit, so I continued: It’s Thursday, when flushed excitement Tinges the gray monotony

Growing up, writing was a way for me to give form to the emotions and improbable ideas that often captured my imagination.When I rediscovered my love for writing in medical school, I found that it was an invaluable tool for reflecting on the new experiences to which I was being exposed — as well as an outlet for the frustration, stress, and excitement that comes with the territory of being a medical school student.

NEOMED is unique in that it is a health sciences university that places great emphasis on the value of the humanities.

One of the most important themes covered in the humanities courses is connection: creating a personal and honest relationship with the patient. Because my work as a student is often reflected in my writing, I found myself wondering how I would form connections with patients who seemed so different from me, patients who perhaps experienced the word in a completely different way. In writing the poem “Lilacs,” I explored this idea by pitting the narrator against two such barriers — age and disability.

— Ileana Horattas (M3)

Illustration: Raven Burdette

It would be thirty-nine with a dash of ten If mathematics were botany It’s hidden in how The word forsythia sounds But mostly, it hums like violins Or murmured voices in bed on a rainy fall day.

It’s the color of nostalgia, the exact same way That memories can be sweet And just a little sad, too.

And yes, I would have to say it is smooth, The hidden face of a seashell washed onto a beach.

Not quite cardamom or vanilla, Certainly a little of each.

I stopped when she cried— Her tears were several shades too blue.

She quickly told me not to stop, And said she just never knew How beautiful the garden was So late in the year.

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BENCH TO BEDSIDE

NEOMED co-entrepreneurial lead Gregory Sondag, Ph.D. (foreground, left) and principal investigator Fayez Safadi, Ph.D. (foreground, right) at a work session at Ohio State University.

TRAINING FOR THE MARKETPLACE

S

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

hark Tank for scientists.

That’s how Fayez Safadi, Ph.D., describes I-Corps@ Ohio, an entrepreneurial training program that the NEOMED researcher and his team just completed, thanks to a competitive state grant. The Ohio program, housed at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, is modeled on a program developed at the National Science Foundation to promote the transfer of technology from lab to marketplace.

I-Corps@Ohio selects teams of academic researchers with promising new technology, then connects them with high-powered business people who coach them. The I-Corps@Ohio training complements the support offered at NEOMED’s REDIzone — dedicated

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laboratory space on campus where new technology is prepped for the marketplace through the power of public-private research partnerships.

START WITH THE CUSTOMER Training and activities, some in person and some by videoconferencing, took place at a fast clip for seven demanding weeks over the summer. That quick pace exemplifies the high aspirations of the program, says Dr. Safadi. The first order of business? To identify potential clients by doing 100 interviews — the first dozen in four days. The final goal? For Dr. Safadi’s team, GPN Therapeutics, to determine its best potential clients.

As the principal investigator on the team, Dr. Safadi began with his own contacts to set up client interviews. The

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co-entrepreneurial leads, graduate student Fouad Moussa and post-doctoral fellow Gregory Sondag, Ph.D., were required to participate in conducting the interviews. At weekly meetings, the NEOMED team discussed their hypotheses and customer interviews; developed and revised their business model; and drew conclusions that could impact the future of their technology and start-up company.

Weekly presentations via webscasts to the panel of successful entrepreneurs — an exacting and tough audience, according to Dr. Safadi — were an important part of the process.

The following notes from Dr. Safadi, shown in the photo above, give a glimpse into the work completed by these researcher-entrepreneurs over two months:

WEEK OF JUNE 13:

It’s tough — I’m doing all of this on top of my regular work.

Day 1 — Our team has to identify July 27: We heard lectures and and interview 100 potential customers watched presentations by business leaders for the use of Osteoactivin in clinical and also by people from grant agencies. settings. We have to complete the first We also met with four instructors, who dozen interviews in four days here at asked us to summarize what we accomOhio State University, so we are going plished and provide our feedback on the non-stop from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. with a workprogram. The instructors told us we were ing lunch. one of the top teams!

All of the teams presented a technical July 28: All of the teams did a final summary today. After 9 p.m. we headed presentation, starting with the twoback to the hotel and worked till 2 a.m. minute videos we each had made. In the on a PowerPoint for the group. videos, we had to demonstrate the probDays 2, 3 and 4 — We interviewed lem and the solution, including a business orthopaedic surgeons; pediatricians who plan. We also had see kids with bone to talk about how disease; and veterwe had modified inarians, including our plan, based on a top-notch indithe interviews we vidual who does THE NEOMED TEAM: had done and feedorthopaedic surKNOWN AS TEAM 4, GPN THERAPEUTICS back from I-Corps. gery on racehorses Principal Investigator: Fayez Safadi, Ph.D., professor of It wasn’t easy to from Kentucky. anatomy and neurobiology at NEOMED do all the interWe talked about Co-Entrepreneurial Leads: graduate student Fouad Moussa views. The last the potential use of and post-doctoral fellow Gregory Sondag, Ph.D. week, we still had our technology not 30 left to do, so only for humans Executive Mentor: Elliot Reed, J.D., M.B.A., program manager Greg Sondag (one but for animals, of NEOMED’s REDIzone of the co-entrepreespecially horses neurial leads on and dogs. our team) and I Each day, every decided to attend team presented to each other. There were 10 teams, each the stronger the hypothesis, because ev- a spinal conference in Miami, where we with 3 or 4 people per team, all of them eryone has a different point of view. From could cover a lot of ground.

After completing the I-Corps@Ohio in a medical field. (There were another interviews, we are able to determine who 10 teams in other areas of technology, is — or just as important, who is not program I feel confident that my team knows what to do next. We determined like computer science.) We were the only — a potential client.

July 1: The business instructors keep that our focus was spinal fusion and bone team doing bone regeneration. There pressing to narrow our market. Original- healing, and we know there is a big marwere about 8-10 instructors. All the other teams were evaluating us on their ly we considered fracture healing and ket for our product. We will keep interlaptops as we went, giving us scores from spinal fusion. They told us that even try- viewing clients and begin interviewing ing to do both upper and lower spine is angel investors, and we’ll apply for addi1-10 and comments. It was brutal!

June 29: Proud that our scores went too much, so we decided to focus on tional tech funding, for example, from up. We tied for first today, with a score lumbar spinal fusion. So, this morning I the Small Business Innovation Research of 7.4. Grading is tough. We have done interviewed a spinal fusion surgeon at (SBIR) and Small Business Technology 40 out of the 100 interviews so far. We Emory University. We will interview peo- Transfer (STTR) programs. We are ready have the week of July 4 off, so they told ple in China and the Middle East, too. to take this enterprise to the next level. us get ready: you’ll have to have 20 interviews done the following week.

So far, we have learned how to do a business model canvas (a focused business plan). We have learned that hospital administrators, more than surgeons, make the final decisions about purchasing technology such as ours, so we are interviewing them. We’ve learned the definition of a value proposition — the benefit of the technology.

The most important thing we have learned is that we have to keep testing and adjusting our hypothesis through the interviews. The more people we interview,

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BENCH TO BEDSIDE

Sandrine Mubenga, the entrepreneurial lead for team Battery Management from the University of Toledo, answers questions.

PROVE THE PREMISE

I

n the field of medicine, the term new technology could refer to anything from a prosthetic limb to medical therapies. Dr. Safadi’s therapy, Osteoactivin, which he has developed over a period of 15 years of research and continues to develop through rigorous scientific testing, is to improve bone strength and healing. As the business people at I-Corps@Ohio might ask, what makes your product so special? Medicines pitched to an aging population suffering from osteoarthritis are abundant. But as a June 2, 2016 New York Times article noted, many people are scared off by the rare side effects of these medications.

How big is the problem? By 2020, about 65-70 million people in the United States will have osteoporosis (bone loss, often leading to broken bones). The numbers are likely to rise each year, since osteoporosis – bone loss – is a health risk of aging. With people living longer and the population continuing to increase, more people each year will be affected. And

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not only older individuals: Diabetics and smokers are at increased risk for osteoporosis.

Sports injuries are yet another area of concern, and the worst trauma suffered by members of military forces is orthopaedic, says Dr. Safadi. He has spent more than a decade getting ever closer to a therapy to help fractures heal faster, so that patients could enjoy improved quality of life at lower expense.

Fifteen years ago, Dr. Safadi’s lab at Temple University in Philadelphia (where he worked prior to coming to NEOMED) discovered a protein in bone cells that could activate stem cells, promoting bone growth and healing. They started by growing cells in culture dishes (in vitro) and progressed to working with genetically engineered mice (in vivo). When they disrupted the protein, the mice lost bone. When they reversed the process, triggering the activation of excess bone healing, there was no ill effect for the mice.

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1

2

3 1. NEOMED co-entrepreneurial lead Fouad Moussa reviews a team presentation video.

2. Co-entrepreneurial lead Gregory Sondag, Ph.D., and executive mentor Elliot Reed refine a NEOMED presentation.

3. NEOMED’s Team GPN (from left to right, Fouad Moussa, Gregory Sondag, Ph.D., Fayez Safadi, Ph.D., and Elliot Reed) will use knowledge gained through I-Corps@Ohio to ready the product Osteoactivin for the marketplace.

4. Every team presented to the entire group, and the business leaders encouraged questions and discussions.

4

So far, so good. Dr. Safadi patented the protein under the name Osteoactivin (osteo=bone; activin=activation).

Two years ago, Dr. Safadi’s technology was funded by the Ohio Third Frontier’s Tech Validation Fund, with matching funds from NEOMED, to test Osteoactivin in sheep. The researchers drilled a hole into a sheep femur and delivered the therapeutic protein locally. The bone healed, as Dr. Safadi’s team reported to the Orthopaedic Research Society Conference in March 2016.

To be certain that Osteoactivin is safe, the researchers will test it in other large animals before beginning human trials.

Once Osteoactivin has passed through all of the regulatory steps for FDA approval, Dr. Safadi and team will use the entrepreneurial expertise gained through I-Corps@Ohio to help them take the product to market.

OSTEOACTIVIN AT WORK What happens when a bone fractures?

First, there is inflammation and hematoma (blood pooling outside the blood vessel).

Next, stem cells migrate to the damaged area to help begin the healing process. If there is a trigger, they turn into bone cells, called osteoblasts. Dr. Safadi’s contention is that treating stem cells with Osteoactivin protein triggers them to become osteoblasts, promoting bone growth and healing. A similar healing process could be a therapy for other bone diseases.

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HEALTHY AGING

David Szalay is an associate professor at the Myers School of Art, The University of Akron.

EAT COLOR

O

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

xidative stress and inflammation can be found anywhere you find disease. That’s why anti-oxidants like fish oil, with its omega-3 fatty acids, have become so popular in fighting back.

If you’re thinking fish oil, ugh, and you also reject the solution of eating polar bear livers (that’s what North Pole explorers did to stay healthy), here’s more palatable advice.

Eat color, says Altaf Darvesh, Ph.D., who started the nutraceuticals (food-derived nutrients) class at NEOMED. Brightly colored veggies and fruits, like blueberries, raspberries, red bell peppers or carrots, are dense with flavonoids — intensely colored compounds that are antioxidants.

Berries are nature’s powerhouse, says Dr. Darvesh, who is an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences and assistant professor of psychiatry at NEOMED. He says there’s a legend that in World War II, young pilots reported that when they 24 I G N I T I N G

ate bilberry (European blueberry) jam, their vision improved.

What else to eat or not eat? For those with celiac disease (about 0.5 percent of the population), avoiding gluten is useful. Otherwise, Dr. Darvesh says, “I don’t see any advantages in keeping away from gluten, because it is protein. No bread, beer, pasta or bakery products?’’ he asks, with a look of cheerful disbelief. “It may be just a fad.’’

Dr. Darvesh teaches the students in his nutraceuticals classes about safe over-the-counter uses of herbs; the history behind herbal remedies (“What did we use before injections? Weeds and seeds!’’) as well as sources of reliable information on them; and natural therapies, such as yoga or aromatherapy. One important reminder he always makes: people should obtain medical advice when considering dietary changes.

Eating and living well doesn’t have to be complicated, says Dr. Darvesh, who likes to quote Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’’

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Illustration: David Szalay

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

SUPERFOOD SNACKS – MAKE YOUR BRAIN HAPPY

BY DANA GOEHRING

S

chool can be stressful. There can be little to no time to eat between classes or to interrupt long study sessions to fix a meal. What if there were foods that could provide all the necessary nutrients needed and more? Ta-da: Cue the superfoods.

No, these foods don’t wear capes and they can’t instantly cure an illness. In fact, there is no scientific research behind why they are called superfoods — just urban myths. Foods on this list are considered “super” because they are nutrient-rich and provide high amounts of fiber, vita-

mins, minerals and other nutrients.

Eating a superfood can still provide a healthy boost when you are crunched for time. The superfood list includes berries (particularly blueberries), apples, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds (such as almonds), kale, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, fish (especially salmon) and pomegranate. If school is making you nutty, try munching on some almonds to relieve stress. Almonds provide many good nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene. They are also a good source of fiber and can help reduce the

risk of heart disease.

There’s more: Superfoods can help lower cholesterol, lower blood glucose levels, improve memory and boost the immune system. That’s big, since a strong immune system is especially helpful in staying on top of school work.

Next time a long study session comes up and brain food is needed, check out one of the following recipes for an easy snack with ingredients that can be picked up at the local grocery store.

Craving French fries? Why not try sweet potatoes that are still crispy, but healthier than white potatoes? The bright orange color means it is high in an important antioxidant, beta carotene. This low-calorie snack is a good source of fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. It can also help reduce the risk of some cancers. From testing these recipes. I have a few suggestions that should help even novice cooks be successful.

Chewy No-Bake Granola Bars

Cooking tips: • Small, round potatoes are easier to cut into fries.

• Baking time will vary depending on your oven. In mine, it took 20 minutes on the first side and 10 on the second.

• Mix the oil and seasoning well before combining with the fries in the bag, to ensure that the fries are evenly coated.

1. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Mix rolled oats, steel-cut oats, rice cereal, dried fruit and almonds together in a large bowl.

3. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and add in the brown sugar, honey and vanilla.

4. For about two minutes, whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then, pour over the oat mixture and stir to combine.

5. Evenly spread the oat mixture in a prepared baking dish and press the chocolate chips into the top.

6. Be sure to refrigerate for one hour until the bars are ready to eat. Bon appetit!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries 6 sweet potatoes, cut into French fries ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons canola oil 3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Combine in a plastic bag — sweet potatoes, canola oil, taco seasoning and cayenne pepper.

3. Once all the ingredients are in the bag, securely close the bag and shake until all the fries are evenly coated.

4. Spread the fries out in a single layer on two baking sheets and bake each side for 30 minutes or until they are brown on each side. Once brown, flip them and cook the other side until brown.

1 cup rolled oats ½ cup chopped almonds 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup steel-cut oats ¼ cup butter

½ cup mini chocolate chips 1 cup crispy rice cereal ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup chopped mixed dried fruit ¼ cup honey

Cooking tips: • Rice cakes can be substituted for crispy rice cereal. For a healthier butter option, use unsalted butter. It works just as well.

• Don’t substitute instant oats for steel-cut oats; their textures are very different. For the rolled oats, use the kind described as old-fashioned.

• Honey is the one ingredient you cannot skip. It is essential to hold the bar together. Be sure to add the honey to the butter/brown cinnamon sugar/vanilla mixture. Don’t add it afterward.

• Refrigerate the mixture overnight for best results.

Recipes courtesy of allrecipes.com.

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RESEARCH AT NEOMED

WHEN SWALLOWING GOES WRONG

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

G

ulp. Down the hatch.

Swallowing is one of those bodily functions that you don’t think about until you can’t do it. And swallowing problems can affect people at both ends of the age spectrum. The neurological causes of impaired swallowing (technically known as dysphagia) for adults include stroke, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease — the latter two of which are part of our research focus on neurodegenerative disease and aging at NEOMED. In fact, swallowing problems are the most frequent cause of death in Alzheimer’s disease, says Rebecca German, Ph.D., a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at NEOMED. When liquid or bits of food enter the lungs, they can cause aspiration pneumonia, a lung infection that is life-threatening to the elderly and young alike. “Pre-term infants, who are not as well developed as full-term infants, often have problems coordinating breathing and swallowing — consequently, many of them aspirate liquid,’’ explains Dr. German, who holds a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University and came from Johns Hopkins University three years ago to join NEOMED’s faculty.

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From years of study, Dr. German knows that swallowing can go wrong in pre-term infants for a number of reasons.

For one, such infants often require heart surgery, because the prenatal pattern of blood flow does not automatically change to the normal postnatal pattern. The necessary surgery can accidentally damage one of the nerves of the larynx that is necessary for safe and accurate swallowing — and for keeping milk out of the lungs.

Dr. German’s challenge is to sort out the two issues that factor into swallowing problems in infants: laryngeal nerve damage and being born prematurely. “Are they independent problems, or is there an interaction that makes having both of them an even bigger problem for these fragile patients?’’ she asks.

With a new, five-year grant of $2.38 million from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. German will take the next step in her ongoing research.

“Studying the problem in human babies this young is nearly impossible,’’ notes Dr. German. Researchers don’t yet know how full-term babies develop so that their lungs remain safe and clean. So, Dr. German will work with an animal model to

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determine the mechanics of swallowing and how these mechanics develop in preterm infants compared with full-term infants. Her team will also see if there is a potential for a gradual recovery from this injury to the laryngeal nerve, then begin to design ways to help pre-term infants learn how to swallow safely.

Francois Gould, Ph.D., a senior postdoctoral fellow who has worked with Dr. German for nearly three years, will continue working in her lab on this next project. “At birth, you’re adding a new level of complexity with the addition of the breathing system, which uses the same plumbing as swallowing but for different roles. You can’t breathe and swallow at the same time. If you are pre-term, you are going to find that coordination more difficult,’’ he says.

Dr. Gould and Dr. German are also interested in exploring the growing evidence that a loss of sensory perception is involved in swallowing problems among people with Parkinson’s disease. What’s clear right now is that swallowing function is critical at any age, and Dr. German’s latest grant will allow her team to learn more about it.

Photo: Chris Smanto

INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

THE PHARM-ASSIST!

BY RODERICK L. INGRAM, SR.

A

shortage of primary care physicians, more outpatient facilities, medication management, a change in fee-for-service models: What does all of this mean for us confused consumers?

I recently received an email from Jaclyn Boyle, Pharm.D., M.S., M.B.A., BCPS, offering me a consultation with Pharmacy Innovations, LLC, that would be covered by my health plan. She said her goal as a pharmacist was to discuss how to make the most of my medications. We could meet in person or by phone or videoconference — whatever was most convenient for me.

While it’s true that Pharmacy Innovations, LLC is an affiliate of Northeast Ohio Medical University — my employer and the publisher of Ignite — I wasn’t required to agree. But a free consultation, where I could get answers to many of my questions about the changes in health care? I said yes.

The day of our meeting, I sprayed each nostril twice, as prescribed, with my Flonase®. I was a little nervous that Dr. Boyle would scold me if she knew I hadn’t been taking my medication properly. Geared up, I started with an easy question.

RI: Pharmacy Innovations says it wants to improve the health and well-being of urban and rural communities through advanced pharmacist services. What does that mean?

Dr. B: With the shortage of primary care doctors, people may only see a physician once a year, but they see pharmacists like me all the time. We can meet one-on-one with employees, talk with their primary care physicians, and help patients understand the benefits of taking their medication properly, as well as the potential side effects and complications.

RI: Is that what is meant by medication management?

Dr. B: When pharmacists are more involved, physicians can focus on the diagnosis when they meet with patients, then

work in collaboration with the pharmacist to make the most of medications. Pharmacists can spend more time listening to patients. We are centered on the patient — not the product and not the diagnosis. We’re consultative.

RI: So let’s talk about pharmacists. Are they different from Pharm.D.s?

Dr. B: A change in training happened nationally around 2000. Until then, the Pharm. D. (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree was not required to become a pharmacist. So there are still many pharmacists without a Pharm.D., who can provide the same type of patient care. Many pharmacists, including at NEOMED, also elect to do residencies for specialized training after graduation, similar to what medical school graduates are required to do.

NEOMED produces highly credentialed pharmacists who receive experiential training with preceptors and are interprofessionally educated (trained to work as a team with medicine students). As a 2012 graduate of the NEOMED College of Pharmacy, I am not only well prepared to provide the medication check-ups we offer through Pharmacy Innovations; I can also help in providing care.

RI: Can you give me an example?

Dr. B: Let’s say you are taking an over-the-counter herbal supplement that interacts with your extended-release prescription medication, so your prescription doesn’t work correctly.

The complication might lead you to stop taking the prescribed medicine that you really need, provoking more illness and maybe a hospitalization — which could lead to additional medications. In listening and understanding who our patients are, we will help change the common practice of using a pill to fix everything, by treating the whole person.

RI: So pharmacists can assist by reducing medication dependency, hospitalizations and cost?

Dr. B: Reimbursement models are changing. As pharmacists become more involved in patient-centered care, we help ensure high-quality, team-based, preventive care; immunizations; and medication management — all while reducing costs for the patient and for health care as a whole.

RI: Positive change through teamwork. It’s like sports.

Others may get the credit for the score, or in this case the care, but you are making the assist.

Dr.B: Ultimately there will be fewer prescriptions, less abuse, better adherence and healthier communities. We don’t need the credit. We’re just happy to be part of the team.

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HEALTH SCIENCES PIPELINE

WHERE’S THAT SOUND?

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

W

hile the rest of us may be intrigued by the chirps and tweets that birds create, Rebecca Curry is more interested in how birds hear. Her curiosity has led to a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health that will support her research in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at NEOMED. Ask Curry about her research, titled “Cellular Mechanisms of Binaural Hearing Neurons in an Avian Interaural Level Difference Circuit,” and she will tell you about sound localization — the process by which humans sort out the tangle of sounds that they hear.

“When you hear a sound, your cochlea

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will tell you the frequency and how loud it is but not where it is coming from,’’ she explains. “Our brain compares what it hears in the right ear with what it hears in the left ear to figure out where the overall sound is coming from.’’

Through NEOMED’s collaboration with Kent State University, where Curry is a fourth-year graduate student, she has had the opportunity to work in the lab of Yong Lu, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurobiology at NEOMED. For this research study, Curry will work at the cellular level to discover how brainstem neurons process information and encode sound location in birds.

Her end goal is to provide a deeper

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understanding of sound processing, which could inform new technologies to help patients with hearing loss or cochlear implants. To get there, she is studying the mechanism of how a bird processes sound as a general model of hearing.

WHY BIRDS? Historically, researchers have relied on birds as a scientific model because they have an elegantly simple auditory system, yet still share many features with mammals, says Curry, who holds a B.A. in neuroscience from Kenyon College. This makes researching certain questions much easier, which leads to greater insight into how sound is processed by humans.

ONE STUDENT’S PATH TO PHARMACY

BY JARED F. SLANINA

D

espite growing up in Northeast Ohio Medical University’s backyard, Shaye Laubert did not realize her calling in health care until she realized the difference she could make through NEOMED’s Health Professions Affinity Community — one of the nation’s largest health professions pipeline programs for youth. Each fall, NEOMED begins the school year by bringing together middle and high school students from across the state to identify health concerns in their communities and develop action plans to address them. As a Rootstown High School student, Laubert attended the event with no particular expectations, but left having planted a seed for her eventual career.

“I met Dr. Gina Weisblat (professor of family medicine at NEOMED and co-founder of the HPAC program) that night and was completely inspired by her,” said Laubert. “She was just a ball of energy, and I thought to myself, ‘I could see myself doing something like this down the road.’ Suddenly, I had a long list of ideas about how I could help my community. I knew I had discovered something about myself.”

Laubert joined forces with another classmate to create an HPAC group preparing middle schoolers for the challenges they would face in high school. The pair

started optimistically by surveying the students about how they viewed a high school education. The students’ responses quickly brought Laubert and her partner back to Earth. “Eighth grade students thought high school would be one big party,’’ said Laubert. “The seventh graders considered a high school diploma to be pointless because it was likely they wouldn’t finish. The sixth grade students also didn’t anticipate finishing high school, for a different reason — because they assumed most would have a child by that point and be unable to complete their education.”

Laubert reported the findings to the school’s principal, who set up regular lunch meetings so Laubert could provide the students with a positive role model and mentor them on how to succeed in high school and beyond. The experience went so well that Laubert decided to join AmeriCorps — a nationally funded program that works alongside NEOMED to recruit and coordinate HPAC groups throughout Ohio — while attending Kent State University. As she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she spent two years working as an HPAC leader, helping students at several local schools to tackle substance abuse, raise autism awareness, and provide strategies to cope with depression and stress. Laubert managed to do all this despite taking extra

hours to complete her bachelor’s degree in just three years.

From her experiences with HPAC as well as her relationship with her sister, who has Type I diabetes and celiac disease, Laubert concluded that she was meant for a career as a health professional. After graduating from KSU, her path was abundantly clear: This fall, Laubert is a first-year student in the College of Pharmacy.

Thanks to her strong work in the classroom and the community, Laubert is one of six NEOMED students to receive the Medical Mutual Education for Service Scholarship — a $72,000 award toward her tuition that will be disbursed in $18,000 increments over Laubert’s four years at NEOMED. In exchange for the scholarship, Laubert will practice one year as a full-time pharmacist and provide advanced pharmacy services, such as medication management, in a medically underserved rural or urban community in Ohio for each year the scholarship was awarded.

“NEOMED has felt like home to me ever since I got involved with HPAC,” Laubert said. “I love Rootstown and want to give back to Northeast Ohio. Plus, I already feel comfortable with the faculty here. I can even call my adviser at 11 p.m. if I need to — which I actually know from experience! I’m really excited about this new chapter.’’

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DONOR SPOTLIGHT

FOR GUILLERMO

F

BY ELAINE GUREGIAN

amily makes Susan Alfonso’s world feel right.

Six daughters, two NEOMED graduate sons — Mark (’90) and David (’02). Bushels of grandchildren (17, to be exact). Alfonso’s dimples deepen when she is complimented on remembering every single one of the many birthdays.

“It’s all up here,’’ she jokes, pointing at her head. She recalls what her late husband, Guillermo Alfonso, M.D., a general surgeon and clinical faculty member at NEOMED, used to say to his medicine students when he thought they relied too much on looking things up online. “Put it in there: Your head is your computer.’’

Dr. Alfonso learned to think on his feet from an early age.

When he was growing up in Bogata, Colombia, a year of rural service was required from medical doctors. He was the only

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doctor for 18,000 people on the Colombian plains and his patients sometimes had machete wounds from run-ins with guerrilla fighters. He and his wife met after he had left South America and was working at a hospital in New York City.

Susan (called Susana, growing up in Colombia, but renamed Susan by a clerk when she moved to the States with her family) was a high school student volunteering in pediatrics at the hospital. One day when she was delivering some X-rays, an intern discovered she was originally from Colombia and said, “Oh, we also have a doctor here from Colombia.” They met, and after dating for a year, were married. The union lasted for 44 years — until Guillermo’s death in 2003.

Guillermo was a man of great compassion, says Susan. When his patients were at the hospital, he would visit them before surgery and sketch out for them what he was going to do so

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Photo: Lew Stamp

Reconnect with a Who’s Who of Fellow Health Professionals

that they felt comfortable. He was an accomplished artist whose paintings, many inspired by artists whose work the couple viewed on visits to Israel, now fill the walls of Susan’s condo.

When Guillermo died, Susan’s world could have gotten smaller. Instead, Mrs. Alfonso found a way to keep contact with NEOMED. Every time someone she loves graduates from high school, has a baby, loses a spouse, gets married — you get the picture — Mrs. Alfonso donates to a scholarship fund she endowed at the University in Dr. Alfonso’s name. In the selection process, priority is given to a fourthyear medicine student with great financial need, preferably a student who wants to be a primary care physician.

“I wanted to memorialize my husband in a special way,’’ she says. After all of his years teaching anatomy at NEOMED, this seemed fitting. More than 400 cards and letters have already been sent to acknowledge gifts made to the endowment in

ALUMNI REUNION & AWARDS DINNER { 9. 24.16 }

I wanted to memorialize my husband in a special way.’’

– Susan Alfonso

Join the NEOMED Alumni Association for an elegant evening of food, wine and fun. honor of joyful and sad events alike. Susan’s children and grandchildren surprised her with a party when the endowment was large enough that they could present the first scholarship.

The four recipients so far have each had a different story: Tam Pham (the 2013 awardee) had come to the United States from Thailand and discovered NEOMED on a high school field trip. Sanjin Drakovac (2014) came to the U.S. from Bosnia to live with a foster family as a child. Shane Jeffers (2015) told Susan that everyone tried to discourage him from going into family practice, but she encouraged him to follow his dream. The 2016 recipient, Lindsay Meade, is a non-traditional medical student, at 28. She started her career as a nurse and decided to return to medical school.

Each year, a new recipient and Susan Alfonso meet for lunch to celebrate the student’s path in medicine. No doubt, Susan Alfonso will continue to follow all of their stories, feeling good that she is helping students from the NEOMED family on their way.

To learn how to contribute to Shine On, the campaign for NEOMED, visit ShineOnNeomed.com.

Did you know? NEOMED has nearly 4,000 alumni representing all 50 states plus Canada and the U.S.Virgin Islands. Fellow alumni hail from over 300 universities, including Ivies and universities abroad. Alumni practice in 24 different specialty areas and are employed by nearly 200 health care institutions and pharmacies, including many of U.S. News’ Best Hospitals of 2015-16.

Reconnect during our second annual Alumni Reunion and Awards Dinner, Saturday, Sept. 24, as we recognize the following recipients for their distinguished service: Lifetime Achievement Award – Robert Liebelt, M.D., Ph.D. Distinguished Service Award – Janice Spalding, M.D. (’87) Distinguished Alumni Award – Andrew Schoenfeld, M.D. (’03) Alumni Association Appreciation Award – Kim Stearns, M.D. (’85)

{ 5:30 – 6:30 cocktails | Dinner at 6:45 } Visit giving.neomed.edu/reunion for more information.

n eo m ed . ed u

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CLASS NOTES

1997

Mary Scott, M.D. was named

medical director for Scotts Miracle-Gro’s Le Herron Wellness Center in Marysville, Ohio.

2004 See

Deepa Reddy, M.D.

(’04) under 2000

1993

Karen Barr, M.D. serves as

medical director of electrodiagnostics as well as the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine Residency program director for the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Deborah Sauder, M.D., joined Intercoastal Medical Group as a family practice physician in the Lakewood Ranch office in Bradenton, Florida.

2000

Krishna Mannava, M.D. (’00) became chief of surgery at

1994

Babur Lateef, M.D. was

one of five individuals appointed to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Dr. Lateef is a comprehensive ophthalmologist for Advanced Ophthalmology Inc. and has held academic appointments at The George Washington University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital Department of Ophthalmology. He also served as chief resident at the University of Rochester Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Lateef is a volunteer physician for both the Greater Prince William Community Health Center and Prince William Area Free Clinic.

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Vascular and Endovascular Surgeons of Lancaster in Lancaster, Ohio in 2015.

Dr. Mannava and his wife and fellow NEOMED alumna, Deepa Reddy, M.D. (’04), who is a practicing corneal and general ophthalmologist in Lancaster, Ohio, live in Pickerington, Ohio with their three-year-old daughter.

2005 Ripple Doshi, M.D.

(’05) and Pooja Doshi, M.D. (’05) welcomed their third child, a baby girl named Nishka, December 13, 2015.

Her older brothers, Ishaan (6) and Shalin (3) are crazy about her!

2002

Theresa Lash-Ritter, M.D.

was named associate chief experience officer for Cleveland Clinic Akron General. Dr. Lash-Ritter is a boardcertified family medicine physician currently serving as the medical director for Cleveland Clinic’s Urgent and Express Care Clinics, Chagrin Falls Family Health Center and Madison Medical Office Building.

In her new role, she will move her clinical practice to the Akron General Center for Family Medicine.

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Ryan Davis, M.D. (’05) and Geetha Davis, M.D. (’07) welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Leena Rao Davis, on May 8, 2016. Leena joins her big brother, Kieran Mark Davis.

2007See Geetha Davis, M.D. (’07) under 2005

James Pan, M.D. joined Fairfield Healthcare Professionals Vascular Surgery in Lancaster, Ohio in May 2016. Dr. Pan specializes in minimally invasive treatment of various vascular diseases, as well as cosmetic vein and wound care.

2008 Gina Oviedo-Batt, M.D. and her husband, Brian, welcomed a baby boy, Logan Batt, on October 12, 2015.

2009

Joseph Kearney, M.D. and his wife, Mary Smyrnioudis, M.D., welcomed their first child, a baby girl, Sophie Denise, on May 17, 2016.

2012 Robert Dallara, M.D. is

completing a fellowship in interventional chronic pain.

2013 Laura Bukavina, M.D. Nicholas Miladore, M.D. (’12) and Julia Ng, M.D. (’12) were married on August 15, 2015 at St. Rose Catholic Church in Perrysburg, Ohio. The afternoon ceremony was followed by a reception at Carranor Hunt and Polo Club, also in Perrysburg. The couple now resides in Kalamazoo, Mich. Dr. Nicholas Miladore is in his final year of orthopaedic surgery residency and Dr. Julia Miladore is completing her final year of general surgery residency at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker, M.D. School of Medicine.

2011Luke Poth, M.D. and

his wife, Carly, welcomed a baby girl, Vivienne Lillet Poth, on June 3, 2015.

and Pavlo Karpyn welcomed their second child, a baby boy, Luca, on September 19, 2015.

Jennifer Flavin Sabatino, Pharm.D. was the primary author of an article published in the December 2015 edition of the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The article “Impact of a Pharmacist-Provided Comprehensive Medication Review Service for Urgent Care Patients,” explains that many urgent care patients may have chronic medical conditions, have fragmented medical care and would benefit from a review of their medications.

Mark Shasti, M.D. and his wife, Sherry, were married July 3, 2015.

Michael Ruhlin, M.D. and his wife, Maureen Ruhlin, welcomed a baby boy, Jack, on January 27, 2016.

Ashley Nord, M.D. was married to Shane Riley on May 28, 2016 in Canfield, Ohio. The couple will be moving to Pittsburgh, where Dr. Nord will be joining Kids Plus Pediatrics, an outpatient pediatric practice.

2015

Anthony Fossaceca, Pharm.D. and his father, NEOMED preceptor, Carl Fossaceca, Pharm.D., have partnered to run an infusion center for IV medications.

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How can I be sure that the work I care about so much will continue when my career winds down?

C. William Keck, M.D., M.P.H., has spent his life improving public health through medicine.

Leading a large metropolitan health department in Northeast Ohio Teaching the first courses in community medicine at NEOMED Battling tuberculosis with the Peace Corps in La Paz, Bolivia Forging partnerships among hospitals, social services agencies, legislators and academic institutions

Bill wants to be sure that the next generation of students continues the work that has been so meaningful to him. That’s why he and his wife of 55 years, Ardith, created a charitable trust to benefit NEOMED students. The Keck CEOMPH Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide much-needed funds every year in perpetuity to a deserving Master of Public Health Administration student.

To learn more about estate planning, please contact Michael Wolff, J.D., at 330.325.6667.

WHALE WATCHING

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

BY DANA GOEHRING

MUSICIANS IN MEDICINE

MIM members present Christmas concerts, regale unwitting recipients with Song-a-Grams on Valentine’s Day and attend events such as “Musical Genius and Psychiatric Illness,’’ a lecture-demonstration by a nationally acclaimed pianist-psychiatrist.

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN MEDICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION

AMERICAN PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION

APhA-ASP is just the club for students who want to gain hands-on experience working with patients. Members volunteer at Open M, a free health clinic where students can help patients through all the steps required to get medical care.

APAMSA seeks to change the world, one Hepatitis B screening at a time.

Working in conjunction with the Front Porch Café in Akron, members of APAMSA have provided education, screening and a guest speaker, Munshi Moyenuddin, M.D., an infectious disease physician who discusses the importance of prevention.

WALKING WHALE BARBELL CLUB

For all of us who can use repeated reminders to keep that long-ago New Year’s resolution to get fit, WWBC is just the club. With the goal of becoming healthier and stronger by lifting weights in a stress-free environment, the WWBC meets in the Sequoia Wellness Center on campus.

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS CLUB

DDAC, 2015-16 winner of the Diversity Student Organization Awareness Award, hosts events such as Rare Diseases Week to raise awareness for equal treatment of individuals who have developmental disabilities. Come hear inspiring stories of individuals who don’t let their disabilities slow them down.

CLINICAL DETECTIVES

Sherlock Holmes fans can put on their deerstalkers and try their hand at solving medical mysteries. With the help of student adviser Paul Lecat, M.D., the club presents new mysteries each semester.

NEOMED students get together to solve medical mysteries, sing to strangers, get fit, raise awareness and change the world. Check out what these students are up to! Here’s a sample of what NEOMED clubs have to offer. More details at neomed.checkimhere.com.

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Non-Profit Organization

4209 ST. RT. 44, PO BOX 95 ROOTSTOWN, OHIO 44272

U.S. Postage PAID Rootstown, Ohio 44272 Permit No. 4

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