2019 Archive

Neema Patel and the Gibbs Family

Scholarship transforms heartbreak into hope

December 11, 2019, Margaret Gregory

In 2002, 8-year-old Wanda Gibbs died after being hit by a car at her bus stop. After her tragic passing, the community came together and launched a fundraising initiative to ensure Wanda’s memory would live on. Their efforts established the Wanda Gibbs Scholarship at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, which was awarded for the first time earlier this year.

Dr. Patterson and patient

UofSC center brings health care to those in need

November 20, 2019, Margaret Gregory

In South Carolina, a majority of the 46 counties are considered to be medically underserved. The South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare is working to improve access to quality care through training programs that are helping grow the health care workforce.

John Doering-White

Meet new faculty: John Doering-White

November 04, 2019, Craig Brandhorst

John Doering-White became interested in immigration issues as an undergraduate and followed his research interests to Mexico as a graduate student. Now an associate professor at the University of South Carolina with a joint appointment in social work and anthropology, he hopes his research will contribute to the development of a more humane immigration system in the both the United States and Mexico.

physician empathy

Researchers use virtual reality videos to help medical students cultivate compassion

October 07, 2019, Chris Horn

Gaining insight into a patient’s concerns and feelings is essential for positive clinical interactions between patients and physicians and better health outcomes. To help foster empathy in medical students, researchers at the School of Medicine Greenville are testing virtual reality videos.

2015 flood

Disaster research

July 29, 2019, Megan Sexton

From a thousand-year flood to deadly hurricanes, South Carolina is no stranger to disasters. That’s why University of South Carolina researchers are working to better understand why dams fail, how to quickly map disaster areas and ways to improve how people with disabilities navigate natural disasters.

Alexandra Vezzetti

First class of UofSC physician assistant graduates helping improve healthcare access

July 19, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Alexandra Vezzetti was in the first class of physician assistant students at the School of Medicine and the first PA student to rotate through the neurology department at Prisma Health. Department Chair Souvik Sen, M.D., was so impressed with Vezzetti that he hired her, and next month, she’ll become the department’s first physician assistant.

Tarak Patel

Patient-centered approach deepens medical students' understanding of addiction

June 18, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Tarak Patel, a second-year medical student at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, had witnessed the devastation of addiction while volunteering at hospitals and free clinics, but he only had a surface-level understanding of the complexities of the issue. That changed earlier this summer when Patel participated in the Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS) at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Center City, Minnesota.

Katy Pilarzyk in the lab

Brain Power

May 23, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Second-year Ph.D. candidate Katy Pilarzyk was one of three University of South Carolina students awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship this year. She will use her funding to continue her work in Michy Kelly’s lab at the School of Medicine Columbia. The lab studies the inner workings of the brain to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying social and cognitive deficits.

Project Hope

Cause for hope

April 03, 2019, Chris Horn

When Wendy Rothermel’s son Cade was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, her family life was upside down, punctuated by his frequent temper tantrums. But when the family connected with Project HOPE and Cade’s therapy began, positive changes followed. The nonprofit foundation, launched by two university alumnae, is bringing hope to families across the state.

antibiotic-resistant bacteria

The growing resistance

February 12, 2019, Chris Horn

Antibiotic resistance, a public health threat that already endangers millions worldwide, is on track to become a much deadlier problem in the years ahead. Part of the challenge, says a University of South Carolina public health scientist, is that bacterial resistance to antibiotic medications is fostered not only in clinical settings but also in the environment.

Cheedy Jaja and child at Sierra Leone clinic

Committed to service

February 08, 2019, Laura Kammerer

At the height of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, Cheedy Jaja traded the relative comforts of American health care practice for Tyvek bodysuits and chlorine baths. Now the Sierra Leonean native is committed to a new mission: to bolster the early diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell disease in children.