PCOM Perspectives

The January podcast, which features a discussion with Dr. Ruth Maher, a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at PCOM Georgia, is now live.

Professor Maher is a board-certified clinical specialist in women’s health from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Prior to joining academia, she owned and ran private physical therapy practices in Dublin, Ireland, and in the United States specializing in women’s health and chronic pain conditions.

In this episode, we discuss Dr. Maher’s work in the treatment of individuals with pelvic floor dysfunction and we’ll learn more about a device that is helping many patients overcome what has been termed an epidemic. In addition, we discussed how we as clinicians can help change the healthcare system to improve patient outcomes.

PCOM Perspectives: Diversity in Health Care by Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

The November podcast, which features a discussion with Dr. Harold Komiskey, a professor of neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology at PCOM Georgia, is now live.

Dr. Komiskey has a strong background in neuroscience, aging, pharmacology, toxicology and astrocyte research. For the past decade, he has been investigating an astrocyte model to study signaling mechanisms involved in age-related neurologic disorders and environmental toxicants.

He has successfully competed for state and national funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

In this episode, we discussed why it is so challenging to find an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, possible screens for dementia, and what triggers neurodegenerative disease and how it can be prevented. We also talked about how PCOM is helping to promote research about diseases like Alzheimer’s.

This episode features a discussion with Brian Balin, PhD, professor of neuroscience and neuropathology, chair of biomedical sciences, and director of the Center for Chronic Disorders of Aging, whose work focuses on discovering and targeting pathogens that may trigger the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Our conversation touched on the state of current Alzheimer’s research, and how his hypothesis differs from others that—until now—have been more popular; how his area of research is growing; how PCOM students are learning about neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s; and how the growing aging population can affect the U.S. healthcare system.

This episode features a discussion with Terri Erbacher, PhD, clinical associate professor of school psychology, whose work focuses on various aspects suicide prevention, intervention and post-vention response and the traumatic impact this loss has on those left behind.

The discussion touched on how parents can spot troubling behavior early on; how physicians and behavioral health practitioners can work together to mitigate risk of suicide attempt; and how schools play an important role in the mental health of children and adolescents. Also discussed the ways PCOM is helping its students break through the stigma of mental illness that persists in health care.

The July podcast features a discussion with Gary Freed, DO, a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at PCOM Georgia.

Dr. Freed is referred to as the state “expert” on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Safe Sleep by the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A graduate of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Des Moines University and a neonatology fellowship at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University, Dr. Freed worked as an award-winning professor at Emory University School of Medicine until his retirement. We were fortunate that he joined the PCOM Georgia faculty in 2017.

Dr. D’Angelo is the course director for cellular anatomy in the Structural Principles of Osteopathic Medicine course for DO students, and also teaches anatomy to students in the biomedical sciences and physician assistant studies.

In her lab, she has been exploring novel and effective treatments for osteoarthritis. Currently, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—NSAIDS— are used to treat the symptoms of OA but these can lead to long-term health complications and they do not stop the progression of the disease.

Dr. D’Angelo and her colleagues have patented a new treatment that in pre-clinical studies is effective in slowing the progression of the disease. In collaboration with her faculty start-up company, ProteaPex Therapeutics, she is testing the effects of the OA drug on cells obtained from patients receiving total knee replacement.

Learn more here https://www.pcom.edu

This episode features a discussion on obesity and weight management with Michelle Lent, PhD, associate professor of clinical psychology.

Dr. Lent’s research interests span pediatric obesity treatment, psychosocial factors in bariatric surgery, school and community-based obesity prevention and treatment initiatives, food addiction, urban consumer food purchasing behaviors and cognitive-behavioral interventions for adult obesity. She also directs the Weight Management Program though PCOM’s Center for Behavioral Therapy.

Our discussion touched on the difficulty of treating obesity; the role of both behavioral health practitioners and physicians in its treatment; and addressed the weight stigma that can persist in society—and among healthcare providers.

The March episode features a discussion about the pharmacy profession with Shawn Spencer, PhD, RPh, the dean of the PCOM School of Pharmacy at PCOM Georgia. Topics include Dr. Spencer's vision for the School of Pharmacy, how he measures success, as well as the evolution and future of the pharmacy profession. Other items discussed include the role that pharmacists and pharmacy education can play regarding medical cannabis, the expansion of programs in South Georgia, and the challenges of establishing a healthcare delivery footprint in Georgia.

This episode features a discussion on the thriving research division at PCOM with Mindy George-Weinstein, PhD, chief research and science officer.

Dr. George-Weinstein is a prolific researcher in her own right. She and Jackie Gerhart— Coordinator of the Research Support Staff and Director of the Bio-Imaging Facility—discovered cells at PCOM which are now part of a multisite, multimillion dollar research project that seeks to find effective treatments for blindness, neurodegeneration, chronic wound healing, fibrotic diseases and cancer.

Our discussion touched on the importance of the basic sciences in medical education; collaboration between researchers across departments and campuses; and how research and clinical medicine go hand-in-hand.