June 2022
Welcome to the June issue of “The Scope,” the newsletter of the ECU’s Health Sciences.
Good day Colleagues,
My last day as interim vice chancellor and as an ECU employee is June 30.
That day also equates to the culmination of a number of exciting changes that our university set in motion over the past year. As most of you are aware and with full support of faculty, staff, BOT and senior leaders, the chancellor has approved the restructuring of academic programming at ECU so that all programs and academic support functions report to a single chief academic officer, the provost. So, on July 1, the Division of Health Sciences will no longer exist. In addition, the Division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement will also report to the provost. These Divisional structures are dissolved on July 1.
Dr. Ron Mitchelson
Personally, I’m not a fan of the word ‘division,’ and from, my vantage point, I believe that this is a remarkable development that permits us to finally proclaim and behave as One ECU. We will be more cohesive and more agile with this new structure in place. As you also know, Brody’s clinical affairs will report through Dean Waldrum to the chancellor. I am very grateful for the spirit that Pirates have illustrated amidst this difficult process — you have embraced change and you have illustrated your capacity for creative innovation. That type of institutional culture trait will pay important dividends as you move forward. Don’t ever lose sight of the need to innovate and to evolve.
Academic reorganization is not the only exciting change that we set in motion over the past year. The creation of ECU Health symbolizes a strengthened commitment to clinical alignments that will yield improved educational experiences, research potential and patient care for ECU and its partners. Dean Waldrum and Executive Dean Higginson provide us with excellent leadership, and they are implementing change within BSOM that provides a strong foundation for future developments. One future development will involve an integrated and enhanced approach to telehealth (education, patient services, and research). I am grateful that Dr. Sy Saeed has convened a group of campus leaders over the past year to analyze existing telehealth capacities and issues, and to provide recommendations for future innovation. That white paper has been left with the BSOM deans, the provost, and the chancellor. It represents another opportunity to innovate and evolve.
And as a final reminder, we have an exciting new leader to head up our College of Nursing, effective July 1. Dr. Bim Akintade will follow in the footsteps of Dean Sylvia Brown as she ends a brilliant career as a faculty member and as an administrator. Dr. Akintade impressed all of us with his creative spirit, and I know we can expect innovation in that key college.
You get my point as I depart the scene. Commit to innovation and embrace change. It’s an imperative, and I know Pirates well enough to feel confident in a very bright future.
Best wishes,
Ron Mitchelson
Interim Vice Chancellor
Division of Health Sciences
Education
Students across the Health Sciences Campus are going the extra mile to embrace opportunities that enhance their educational experiences.
The 2022-2023 cohort of N.C. Schweitzer Fellows was announced, including four students from the Brody School of Medicine and two students from the School of Dental Medicine. The students will work with faculty mentors and community partners to address local health care challenges, from access and resources to population-specific programming.
“During these shifting days of the pandemic, it is critically important our next generation of health professionals understand the challenges community members face in achieving health and wellness, learn how to develop initiatives which help overcome those challenges, and use their voice to advocate for our most vulnerable,” said Barbara Heffner, executive director of the N.C. Schweitzer Fellowship program. “I continue to be impressed and by the innovative approaches the Fellows devise to fill the gaps in our health care system to meet the needs of at-risk communities.”
In May, the first cohort in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to Ph.D. program graduated, along with the first cohort in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Anesthesia program. These two programs, made up of two and 12 students, respectively, marked two new ways the College of Nursing is adapting to an evolving field.
Morgan Braxton, left, and Taylor Nelson make up the first cohort in the ECU College of Nursing’s BSN to Ph.D. program. Both earned early assurance spots in the program through the Honors College. (Photo by Conley Evans)
The BSN to Ph.D. program blends the doctoral curriculum with two different Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) concentrations — the nursing education concentration or the health systems leadership concentration. This option reduces the number of master’s-level courses required in the traditional MSN program and facilitates completion of the nursing Ph.D. in a timely manner.
The 12 students that make up the College of Nursing’s first cohort in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Anesthesia program are charting the course for the next group of students as well. The clinical doctoral degree has been mandated for entry to practice by 2025 by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.
“These inaugural DNP nurse anesthesia students have been educated with the traditional anesthesia program components that combine an outstanding basic science curriculum with extensive clinical experience in the practice of nurse anesthesia,” said Dr. Maura McAuliffe, professor and director of the nurse anesthesia program. “They are well prepared to provide general and regional anesthesia to all types of patients and cases, but now have additional competencies required of the DNP curriculum: populations health, health care finance, statistical design and methods for translational studies and leadership working in interdisciplinary teams to care for patients across the lifespan.”
The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association recognized ECU’s chapter with the 2022 Gold Honors for its dedication to the mission of the national organization, which is inspiring, empowering and supporting students in communication sciences and disorders programs. The chapter is based in the College of Allied Health Sciences’ Department of
“I am beyond thrilled with the hard work and dedication of our NSSLHA chapter,” said Tricia Carter, clinical assistant professor and faculty advisor to the ECU NSSLHA chapter. “I have been so impressed by the organization and efforts of our officers to provide opportunities to our students for advocacy, education and awareness.”
A team from the Brody School of Medicine’s Internal Medicine Residency Program won first place and the Osler Cup in the American College of Physicians Doctor’s Dilemma competition. Doctor’s Dilemma is the biggest competition based on knowledge of internal medicine, featuring as many as 60 teams each year in a friendly but highly competitive environment.
Coached by Dr. Lacy Hobgood, clinical associate professor in East Carolina University’s Department of Pediatrics, the team competed for three days against some of the world’s brightest medical residents, including teams from the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. Drs. Alex Bradu, Omar Khdeir and Swethaa Manickam earned the right to compete at the national level by first winning the North Carolina chapter’s competition.
Dr. Herb Garrison, associate dean for graduate medical education, said the team’s performance on the national stage reflects the quality of medical education at Brody and also helps enhance its reputation.
“They competed against the best residents from around the world in a test of medical knowledge and speed and emerged as the winning team,” Garrison said. “In addition to demonstrating the type of great physician trainees we have at the Brody School of Medicine and ECU Health, this win provides us a huge recruiting advantage as other schools will take notice and want to send their best medical students our way…I couldn’t be more proud.”
One 2022 dental school alumna is following a path toward making her dream come true. Observing the parts of living things and how they work has been a lifelong interest for Dr. Rachel Cantrell, who is set to begin her next chapter at Emory University in an integrated MD/oral surgery program. Her hope is to eventually become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Cantrell, a native of Washington, North Carolina, went to ECU for her undergraduate education and earned a master’s degree in biology from Mississippi College. She was a 2020-21 J. Bradley Wilson Schweitzer Fellow, partnering with the dental school’s oral medicine clinic to address the unmet health care needs of vulnerable populations and educating women on autoimmune diseases. Cantrell also founded the Interdisciplinary Oral Medicine Study Club to integrate the study of medicine, dentistry and other health professions.
“My passion for this cohesive mix of dentistry, medicine and surgery has only grown as the years have passed,” she said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to study the human art form and play a role in shaping that form, whether that be a clinician who listens to connect and understand, to help create intangible change in patient’s lives or by shaping a physical form with the use of my hands in the operating room.”
Patient Care
Milestones and accolades abound across campus for health sciences students, patients and faculty.
ECU medical students honored patients who taught them valuable lessons about medicine and life during the Legacy Teachers Celebration, a new tradition presented by Brody and ECU Health that gives students a chance to honor a patient they met during third-year rotations who taught them lessons they will take with them into their careers as physicians.
“We spend so much time training using books, but it’s not until you really start to talk to patients that you begin to learn what medicine is all about,” medical student Jared Barkes said. “This is our chance to give back to the patients who have taught us so much.”
This year’s Legacy Teachers Celebration continued a tradition that began in 2018 but was paused in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The luncheon also stood for hope and good health even as the pandemic continues.
Dr. Amanda Higginson, associate dean for student affairs at Brody, said the event marked “the relationship and partnership between a health system and a school of medicine.”
Med Student Daniel Middleton pins Elane Baugher. Rebecca Baugher watches. (ECU Photo by Cliff Hollis)
The School of Dental Medicine celebrated the 10th anniversary of CSLC-Ahoskie, the school’s first of eight community service learning centers across North Carolina. The centers provide oral health care for patients in rural parts of the state faced with lack of access and a shortage of practicing dentists; they also offer students and residents valuable experience working in clinical settings in different communities.
Roanoke Chowan Health Center CEO Kim Schwartz remembered in 2005 when the conversations began about adding a dental component to the center’s resources. “We were thinking, ‘How in the world are we going to do this?’” Schwartz said. “Today, we are still the only community health center and dental learning center that are co-located. We are still the only one.”
Fourth-year dental students Rebecca Agner, Rachel Downs and Kari Wordsworth attended the anniversary event; they were beginning their first of three CSLC rotations in Ahoskie. All three said they were fortunate to witness an event that honored the history and legacy of the first CSLC.
“It’s really cool to see how far the school has come,” Downs said, “and it’s cool to see the reputation that this CSLC has gained among the patients, to watch that and observe it.”
Thirty-five ECU Physicians clinicians have received national recognition for their exceptional care of patients with diabetes. Sixteen of the 35 are receiving this designation for the third time.
ECU Physicians, which became part of ECU Health in January, earned the 2022 Diabetes Recognition Program distinction from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of health care, for providing care that meets six predetermined clinical performance measures.
The NCQA determines the top-performing medical providers by studying the efficiency of health plans and how well providers deliver scientifically recommended care. Dr. Jason Foltz, chief medical officer for ECU Health Physicians, said this recognition exemplifies their core mission to provide the highest quality most compassionate care to their patients.
The NCQA measures and accredits health plans through an exhaustive assessment that includes framework, operations, clinical quality and patient satisfaction. More than 203 million people are enrolled in NCQA-accredited health plans.
“I’m thankful for the trust our patients place in us and our comprehensive care team members always putting the needs of our patients in the center of their care.”
Watch video in closed-captioning here
Research
Ongoing health sciences research has potentially far-reaching implications for patients and consumers.
Dr. Jamie DeWitt, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, was one of four researchers to be awarded an inaugural fellowship through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory to study per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS are a group of more than 12,000 human-made chemicals that are commonly found in commercial household products, industrial facilities, drinking water and food grown in PFAS-contaminated soil or processed with equipment that used PFAS.
Research compiled by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that people exposed to PFAS experience a variety of health effects, including decreased antibody responses to vaccines, increased incidents of certain types of cancers, liver damage and increased risk of thyroid disease, asthma, decreased fertility, pregnancy-induced preeclampsia and hypertension.
Dr. Lok Pokhrel, left, and Dr. Shaw Akula work in a lab in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. (Photos by Cliff Hollis.)
The new applied research fellowship will provide DeWitt the opportunity to collaborate more closely with DEQ researchers by working alongside them to conduct sampling, assist with data analysis and get an up-close perspective of regulatory process for PFAS.
A pair of researchers at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine have discovered that a new nanotechnology could potentially have therapeutic benefits in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Dr. Lok Pokhrel, an assistant professor of toxicology in Brody’s Department of Public Health, received a patent through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in June 2020 for outlining how an antiviral nano-drug that he designed and developed — called SNAT (Smart Nano-Enabled Antiviral Therapeutic) — could serve as an intranasal antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2.
“In the beginning of the pandemic there were no vaccines, but I had this technology that we found to have antimicrobial properties and I wanted to see if it would also work on viruses,” Pokhrel said.
“So I needed to find a virologist to collaborate with and to explore if the drug works and if it does work, how it works.”
In response to the pandemic, ECU constructed a pair of Biosafety Level 3 laboratories (BSL3) to allow scientists to safely study toxins or infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2. This enabled Pokhrel to partner with Dr. Shaw Akula, a virologist and associate professor in Brody’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, to conduct preclinical research into the potential therapeutic benefits of this novel technology against SARS-CoV-2.
“We tested the ability of this nanoparticle to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and it not only lowered the SARS-CoV-2 levels, but it also improved lung health and significantly reduced the body weight loss due to viral infections,” Akula said.
When the world turned to scientists for a solution to COVID-19, Akula said he and Pokhrel were eager to use their expertise to try to gain a better understanding of the virus; the patented nanotechnology provided an exciting path toward potential clinical implementation.
“(Pokhrel’s) invention is an amazing product, so I am grateful that he brought me into this work. Because we are looking at benefits beyond just this particular virus. All the credit goes to Dr. Pokhrel to have designed and developed SNAT.”
Watch video in closed-captioning here
Endowment honors Brown
A scholarship endowment established in honor of Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the East Carolina University’s College of Nursing, is already the largest in the college to date — and it’s still growing as her June 30 retirement date approaches.
Brown, whose nursing and leadership experience at ECU spans almost 44 years — 47 counting her time as a nursing student — was instrumental in the growth and expansion of the ECU College of Nursing’s programs and facilities and through her impact on North Carolina as both a faculty member and administrator. She has served as dean since 2009.
The Sylvia T. Brown Scholarship Endowment and its growth are testaments to Brown’s leadership and her ability to bring out the best in the nurses around her — from students and new nurses to faculty and staff, career professionals and nurse leaders.
Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of ECU’s College of Nursing, will retire June 30 after nearly 44 years of service. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
“Dr. Brown leaves an impressive legacy,” said Dr. Ron Mitchelson, interim vice chancellor for health sciences, during a recent ECU Board of Trustees meeting. “She and her colleagues have built one of the very best colleges in the nation.”
Established through the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation and the College of Nursing, the Sylvia T. Brown Scholarship Endowment honors Brown’s tenure in ECU nursing and the transformation she brought to the school by way of scholarships, funding programs, new degree programs, state-of-the-art facilities and space for more students.
Brown helped create funds and programs over the years that open doors and provide opportunities for students. She was instrumental in establishing the Nursing Student Emergency Fund in 2007 and the Nursing Hall of Fame program in 2011.
Brown’s namesake endowment was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its upward trend already serves as an analogy for Brown’s impact on the College of Nursing, ECU and the region. It also comes at a time when the critical need for nursing is evident all over the world and when the importance of the nursing profession is better understood by communities and countries alike.
The Sylvia T. Brown Scholarship Endowment will provide scholarships for future Pirate nurses who will one day fill crucial roles in health care settings. The scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate nursing students from North Carolina who demonstrate financial need.
Brown said the endowment’s success is a nod to the strength of the school and those who believe in its mission and work.
“I think it says that we are a Pirate nurse family,” she said. “Our faculty and staff are truly committed to this college and to the profession of nursing, as well as our alumni and donors and friends of the College of Nursing, so I think it’s really saying, ‘We want to give back and we want to make sure we have an excellent nursing work force for the future.’”
Watch video in closed-captioning here
Philanthropy
After being limited by the COVID-19 pandemic for the last two years, one of the most popular and successful fundraisers on East Carolina University’s Health Sciences Campus returned to full strength this spring.
And in the process, the sixth annual Pirates Vs. Cancer event — during which dozens of people had their heads shaved or hair cut for charity — raised approximately $16,000 to support pediatric cancer patients at ECU Health Medical Center.
This brings the total raised by this student-led fundraising campaign to more than $140,000 since it was started in 2017 by Brody School of Medicine alumnus Trevor Hunt when he was a first-year medical student.
Pirates Vs. Cancer at the AHSC. (ECU Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Prior to the pandemic, the fundraiser grew in popularity each year. The goal of this year’s group of student organizers — who hailed from all four of the ECU Health Sciences Campus colleges and schools — was to start building the momentum again.
“Most of the people on the committee have never attended a full Pirates Vs. Cancer event before, so we weren’t really sure what to expect,” said Hayley Behm, a first-year medical student and one of the event’s organizers.
The students were able to surpass last year’s total raised of $13,000 — thanks to support from dozens of participants, donors and community sponsors — and they are already looking at ways to leverage that success next year.
“It really humbles us that so many people care about the pediatric cancer patients in Greenville. We’re super excited to help these children to get the resources they need to make their stay more comfortable during such a difficult time,” Behm said. “I think the success of Pirates Vs. Cancer every year shows that we have such great support in Greenville and that Greenville really does care about this community.”
To learn more about Pirates vs. Cancer or to donate to the program, please visit https://piratesvscancer.com/donate/.