Alice Pomidor, professor of geriatrics, will serve as co-project manager for a new study the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is conducting. The results of the, “Assessment of Health Care Providers and Older Adult Service Organizations to assist in the Prevention and Early Recognition of Florida’s At-Risk Drivers,” will be used by the Safe Mobility for Life Coalition to develop outreach and educational materials for health care professionals and service providers to assist aging at-risk drivers within their own communities. View the press release [pdf].

Sixteen students from the Class of 2015 have been chosen as the newest members of the FSU Chapman Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Daniel Van Durme, faculty advisor, said the selection committee carefully reviewed the nominations. “These students rose to the top,” he wrote in an email to the College of Medicine, “as true exemplars of humanism by receiving multiple nominations from faculty, staff and peers in categories demonstrating clinical excellence, service to others, patient-centered approach to care and compassion.” These students were selected:

• Amanda Abraira
• Ryan Berger
• Maureen “Paulie” Bruns
• Tyler Caton
• Nicole Dillow
• Maria “Paula” Domino
• Brian Gordon
• John “JD” Hales
• Shermeeka Hogans-Mathews
• An Lawrence
• Yaowaree “Noona” Leavell
• Joanne Meador
• Patrick Murray
• Sarah Robbins
• Jonathan Salud
• James “Tyler” Zorn

Blakele Bakker (Class of 2015) is one of a dozen students this year who have received the Dr. Robert C. Knapp Medical Student Award. The awards, which give priority to Florida students, are presented by Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper (HOW), in hopes that the students will consider a career in gynecologic oncology. The honorees receive $3,000, plus $2,000 more for expenses if they present their work at a recognized society. Bakker is a student at the Pensacola Regional Campus. The other award recipients were from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

 Florida State University College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty has been selected as chair-elect of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The LCME is the governing body of U.S. and Canadian medical schools that award the M.D. degree.

Visit med.fsu.edu for more information.

Tina Tso (M.D., ’11) received the Gillespy Award when she graduated from the Halifax Health Family Medicine Residency Program. She explained: “All the inpatient hospital nurses vote for the graduating resident who exhibits the qualities of a ‘caring doctor’ – specifically, compassion, caring, empathy, cooperativeness with nursing staff, kindness toward others and professional respect toward all members of the health-care team.” Tso is now a physician with Florida Health Care Plans.

An essay by Yaowaree Leavell (Class of 2015) is spotlighting the College of Medicine’s student-centered faculty. The tribute to Suzanne Harrison, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, was a finalist in the American Medical Women’s Association contest on the topic of mentorship. The best essays, including Leavell’s, were printed in AMWA’s first Linda Brodsky Memorial Journal, named after a noted activist for fair treatment of women physicians.

Leavell is a student at the Fort Pierce Regional Campus. Both she and Harrison are involved in AMWA locally as well as nationally. Both are members of the association’s committee called Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH).

Read Leavell's essay.

Myron Rolle (Class of 2017) is receiving another honor from the FSU Alumni Association. On Sept. 19, he’ll be one of five alumni inducted into the Circle of Gold. Among the other recipients is Donna Lou Askew, former first lady of Florida.

The Circle of Gold recognizes worthy individuals who, through their service and achievements, personify the university’s tradition of excellence. A maximum of 12 awards are presented each year.

Rolle, a Rhodes Scholar and All-American safety for the Seminoles football team, got his bachelor’s degree from FSU in 2008. He was selected in June as one of Florida State’s newest Thirty Under 30 — recognizing their contributions to their professions, communities or FSU as young alumni.

College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty and Senior Associate Dean Alma Littles were invited to present at the State University System Health Initiatives Committee Workshop in Tampa this week. 

Fogarty presented on university curriculum and training, while Littles presented on issues in health-care delivery. Both presentations took place Monday, July 21.

Margaret Stephens, database administrator for the College of Medicine, will compete for a national tennis championship in Palm Springs, California this fall. She's a member of the "James Gang" women's team that will represent Florida in the 40-plus division of the United States Tennis Association league-play national championships.

The James Gang recently won the Florida sectional title in Daytona Beach to advance to the national tournament, which takes place Nov. 7-9.

Assistant Professor Sanjay Kumar was recently issued U.S. Patent No. 8,722,403 for "Specimen Preservation Chamber and Method" and $500 from the FSU Research Foundation. The invention constitutes a bubble reservoir for artificial cerebrospinal liquid (aCSF) and a holding platform for preserving acute brain slices used for electrophysiology.