Practicing physicians, residents and medical school students gathered to share their current research projects and learn about current ongoing investigations during PCOM South Georgia's annual Research Day on May 8.
Keynote speaker Jennifer McQuiston, DVM, deputy director in the Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), began the event with an overview of some of the initiatives her division handles, which include investigating and responding to infectious disease threats that could have catastrophic consequences on the public’s health and safety, such as Ebola, Marburg, smallpox, anthrax, rabies, prions and others. Dr. McQuiston spoke to a full house of listeners and then fielded questions at the end of her presentations.
The event included poster presentations and podium talks by area student and professional researchers.
“Research Day here at PCOM South Georgia is an opportunity for our students to engage in scholarly work,” said Jennifer H. Shaw, PhD, chair of the department of biomedical sciences for the doctor of osteopathic medicine program at PCOM South Georgia. “It gives them the opportunity to ask a research question, go through the research question process and interact with clinical researchers if they do a clinical case report.”
Madison Kreitz (DO ’25) presented a poster about the project on which she collaborated with two other researchers titled “When hitting the bull’s eye is a loss: a case of hydroxychloroquine induced maculopathy despite guideline-based dosing.” The case study reported about a 64-year-old woman who had been treated with the drug hydroxychloroquine for rheumatoid arthritis and developed hydroxychloroquine retinopathy despite being given the medication according to the recommended dosage guidelines.
“A lot of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which are pretty common diseases, are on hydroxychloroquine,” Kreitz said. “It's really important that they see an ophthalmologist to get screened for this bullseye maculopathy. This condition, even though it's rare, it does happen. This project really taught me, in my future practice, to make sure these patients are getting screened.”
Savannah Finley (DO ’26), and her group conducted a literature review of the currently available drugs that have been effective for treating systemic lupus erythematosus.
“This information increased my medical knowledge as it comes to pharmacology,” she said. “Specifically, I learned a lot about the mechanism of action of the drugs and how those side effects of the drugs may not be preferable for one person or another. I also looked into the socioeconomic impacts of having one drug over another, and that just goes to show that knowing this information is going to help me treat my future patients, not only my rotations, but residency and beyond.”
During Research Day, projects were judged with awards presented the following week. Winners included:
In 2019, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a premier osteopathic medical school with a storied 125-year history, extended its commitment to the Southeast by establishing PCOM South Georgia. An additional teaching location in Moultrie, Georgia, PCOM South Georgia offers both a full, four-year medical program leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences. PCOM is a private, not-for-profit institution that trains professionals in the health and behavioral sciences fields. Joining PCOM Georgia in Suwanee in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state, PCOM South Georgia focuses on educating physicians for the region. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 229-668-3110.
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