A group of students from the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine and a group of residents from Harnett Health Internal Medicine traveled to Charlotte as part of the annual N.C. Chapter Meeting of the American College of Physicians.
The meeting was held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the Ballantyne Hotel.
The ACP Chapter is open to practicing internists, medical school faculty, internal medicine residents and medical students throughout North Carolina.
The med school and Harnett teams, composed of residents and students, presented several scientific posters and took part in Doctor’s Dilemma, a Jeopardy-style competition.
For the Student Doctor’s Dilemma Competition, Campbell sent third-year student doctors Avery Eaton, Khushmi Shah and Neel Patel. Namoos Siddique, a second-year student doctor, and Monica Mercurio, Manisha Mishra and Shah, all in their third years at the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine, presented scientific research posters.
Siddique presented a project to find early molecular markers of macular degeneration, an eye disease that causes irreversible blindness in the elderly.
Mercurio presented a project of statewide surveillance of kissing bugs that can transmit the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease, a serious tropical condition most recognized in Central and South America and Mexico. Infection from the parasite causes fevers, skin rashes and congestive heart failure.
Mercurio’s and Siddique’s work fell into the Basic Science Research Category. Mishra presented a patient with Fournier’s gangrene, a life-threatening skin and soft tissue infection, in the Clinical Vignette Category.
Shah received an award for her work on her poster in the Basic Science Research Category. Her project centered on using gene-editing technology in cell culture to determine mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy medications used to treat leukemia.
“This was definitely my favorite part of the day,” Shah said. “I am very passionate about my research, and I love talking to other physicians and students about it. While the work I am doing is only in its initial phase, and we are light years away from using the data in a clinical setting, the work is very important for the future of cancer treatment.
“We are working to optimize individual-based cancer treatment via gene manipulation and therapy. I hope to continue to work and contribute to the field of cancer research,” she added.
Harnett Health Internal Medicine residents participating in the Resident Doctor’s Dilemma Competition were Drs. Sujay Parepalli, a third-year resident; Priya Simmons, a second-year resident; and Karoline Thompson, a third-year and chief resident.
Thompson and Dr. Priyanka Barad, a second-year resident, presented posters. Thompson, for a Quality Improvement Project, presented research toward increasing advanced care planning in the outpatient setting among patients with chronic illness. Barad, for a Clinical Vignette, presented a patient with stroke symptoms due to an atrial myxoma, a rare heart tumor.
The residents are under the guidance of Drs. Elizabeth Butcher, program director for the Harnett Health Internal Medicine Residency, and Benjamin Putnam, associate director.
“We are very proud of our CUSOM students and our Harnett Health/Cape Fear Valley internal medicine residents,” said Dr. James J. Cappola III, chair and associate professor of Internal Medicine at Campbell.
With 161,000 members in countries across the globe, the American College of Physicians, its website says, is the largest medical-specialty society in the world. ACP and its physician members lead the profession in education, standard-setting, and the sharing of knowledge to advance the science and practice of internal medicine.