News


Kareem Hamadani, OMS III at A.T. Still Univeristy - SOMA, Awarded $2,500 Founders' Scholarship

March 25, 2019

At UCLA, Kareem was able to accomplish a fair amount both on the individual level and as a member of a variety organizations. Kareem served as Vice President of Recruitment of UCLA's chapter of Phi Delta Epsilon, a pre-medical fraternity. His proudest accomplishment was serving a pivotal role in organizing the fraternity's first ever Anatomy Fashion Show, which helped raise the fraternity over $20,000 for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. As an undergraduate member of the Mobile Clinic Project, Kareem worked with UCLA medical students and attendings to provide healthcare services to downtrodden individuals in West Hollywood once a week, dispensing much needed supplies and medications, while also helping individuals find the resources they needed to get back on their feet. Under the direction of Dr. Emeran Mayer and Dr. Jennifer Labus in the Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, Kareem was able to serve in a variety of roles including but not limited to the roles of clinical research assistant, MRI technician, and data analyst. While demonstrating his versatility, Kareem was able to add six presentations and two publications to his research resume. Kareem’s focus thus far, as a medical student, has been on academics. Through his first two years, he has consistently achieved at a high level, performing in the top three of his class. Kareem has passed the first set of board examinations for both the USMLE and the COMLEX. Now in his third year, Kareem is aiming to shine during rotations and will continue to seek opportunities to further himself both academically and professionally.


Jennifer McKenna, OMS II at Midwestern University - AZCOM, Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship

March 25, 2019

Jennifer was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona. Her family had moved there for agriculture. While both of her sisters continued the tradition of agriculture related careers, Jennifer was drawn to the medical field since her first anatomy class in high school. Without any physicians in the family, Jennifer took advantage of volunteering and shadowing opportunities in college to learn more about the career. The first doctor she shadowed was a family physician at a community health center; she was so inspired by his genuine attitude and the unique way he interacted with patients. Later she learned that he was a DO! Since being at Midwestern, Jennifer has enjoyed playing flag football with a travel league, volunteering with organizations like Project C.U.R.E., and participating in a variety of clubs. However, the most rewarding experience came with a leadership opportunity. Jennifer has been working alongside a small cohort of Midwestern students and faculty to bring attention to primary care medicine. After attending two national conferences and undergoing a leadership training seminar, their hard work culminated in the form an elective course at AZCOM. This elective course offers an early clinical experience within the primary care setting at Midwestern's multispecialty clinic. The first quarter has recently concluded, and students were excited to be interacting with patients in the Medicare and Medicaid system. They learned about social determinants of health, figured out what areas were not being met for patients in high risk populations, and compiled local resources that might meet some of their specific needs.


Michael Ament, OMS II at A.T. Still University - SOMA, Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship

March 25, 2019

Michael Ament became interested in medicine when he was very young. When Michael started high school, he became fascinated with emergency medicine. He started an EMT course 3 days before graduating high school, then began to volunteer with the Whispering Pines Fire District in Payson, Arizona. This fire background lead him to joining the Arizona Air National Guard in Tucson, Arizona. Michael has served the ANG in Tucson as a firefighter/paramedic for 14 years. After completing basic training for the military, Michael received a full-time position as a firefighter/ EMT with the Superstition Fire and Medical District in Apache Junction, Arizona. While working in this position, he realized that he really enjoyed the medical side of the fire department the most. Michael put himself through paramedic school on his off days while working 56+ hours a week. As a paramedic, Michael realized that practicing medicine is what he wanted to do in life. Michael worked on completing his bachelor’s degree and taking pre-requisite courses for medical school. In 2016, just four months after his twins were born, Michael was deployed to the Middle East. He wanted to be competitive for the next school year, so while working 84 hours a week as a firefighter/paramedic in the Middle East he studied for the MCAT. The military then flew him to Qatar where he was able to take the MCAT. Michael then returned to his deployed location and filled out applications for the medical schools he dreamed of attending.


Kathryn Johnson, OMS III at A.T. Still University - SOMA, Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship

March 25, 2019

Kathryn Johnson was born in San Diego, California and raised in Prescott, Arizona. She attended the University of Arizona where she received a BA in Studio Art and BS in Biology with a biomedical concentration. She worked on two research projects at the University of Arizona Medical Center, one involving cardiothoracic surgery and the other major depressive disorder. After graduation, she was a scribe in an emergency department as well as a tissue procurement technician for LifeLegacy where she took tissues from cadavers for research. In July 2016, Kathryn began medical school at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. She has concurrently volunteered at Yavapai Regional Medical Center Emergency Room in Prescott, Arizona, as well as continued her interest in research through a community project entitled Opioid Excess - Educating Portland Citizens on the Importance of Proper Disposal of Excess Opioid Prescriptions. Other medical school activities include her role as president of the ATSU-SOMA chapter of the American Medical Student Association. She attended the AMSA National Conference in Washington DC where she lobbied for women's health rights. Kathryn is an editor/team member for the SOMA Pulse, the newsletter for SOMA. Her specialties of interest include emergency medicine and anesthesia, but she is keeping an open mind as she continues rotations in her third year of medical school.


Deadline for Trustee Award Applications is March 1!

February 13, 2019


Exhibit Opportunities Available for 28th Annual Southwestern Conference on Medicine!

October 23, 2018

Exhibit opportunities are available for the 28th Annual Southwestern Conference on Medicine! Mark your calendar now for the 28th Annual Southwestern Conference on Medicine, May 2 - 5, 2019 at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson, AZ.


Alana Augur, OMS II at Midwestern University – AZCOM, Awarded $5,000 Founders’ Scholarship

March 1, 2018

Alana Augur, from Scottsdale, graduated from The University of Arizona where she majored in biology and minored in mathematics. This OMS II at Midwestern University – AZCOM loves Arizona and all it has to offer including outdoor activities and urban culture. Her favorite thing to do in her limited free time is cooking. Augur has also had the exciting opportunity to work as a medical volunteer in Thailand and Cusco, Peru. Read on to learn more about Alana Augur’s passion for medicine!


Mei Song-Lin Goh, OMS III at Midwestern University – AZCOM, Awarded $2,500 Founders’ Scholarship

February 28, 2018

Growing up in Seattle, Washington around people and a culture that was very embracing of integrative medicine and alternative medicines, osteopathic medicine seemed like the perfect fit for Mei Song-Lin Goh. She is currently an OMS III at Midwestern University - AZCOM. Of particular interest to Goh is, "the diversity of ways to practice medicine, even within a single discipline." Read on to learn more about Mei Goh's advice to students considering the medical field.


Matthew West, OMS II at A.T. Still University – SOMA, Awarded $5,000 Founders’ Scholarship

February 26, 2018

Having the ability to give back to his community through practicing medicine is what really excites Matthew West about becoming a physician. This OMS II at A.T. Still University - SOMA was impacted by shadowing a DO while living in Tucson, which led to his decision to pursue medicine. "He showed me that he practiced medicine like allopathic physicians, but that he also had the added value of osteopathic manipulation for improving health. My lifelong journey into osteopathic medicine stems from his kindness of accepting me to shadow him for an entire month without even knowing me." Read on to learn more about Matthew West's thoughts on the medical field and his journey as a medical student.


Shovna Mishra, OMS III at A.T. Still University – SOMA, Awarded $5,000 Founders’ Scholarship

February 25, 2018

Shovna Mishra, OMS III at A.T. Still University – SOMA, has been a resident of Arizona since 2006. She pursued a dual degree in Business Management (Entrepreneurship) and Business Sustainability at ASU and graduated in 2014 as one of the top five students in her class. One of her major accomplishments during her undergraduate and medical school years has been starting a preventive pediatric nutrition education program as a non-profit organization. To date, she has led teams in raising $28,000 in grant funding to support this program, which allowed for the education of over 1,200 elementary students at over 15 community sites since 2010. She has also led and assisted in the completion of three research projects to validate this program, one of which resulted in a recent publication in JAOA. This year, she received the ACP Medical Student of the Year award. Read on to hear more about Shovna's days as a medical student and what inspires her to further her skills in OMT, nutrition education, and integrative medicine.


Tiffany Ziegler, OMS II at Midwestern University – AZCOM, Awarded $5,000 Founders’ Scholarship

February 24, 2018

Tiffany Ziegler has acquired several roles in her tenure as a student. As an academic, she was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa undergraduate honor society, she was awarded the title of Outstanding Graduate Student upon completion of her Master's degree, and has earned placement in the top half of her medical school class. As a researcher, she is working with Midwestern University - AZCOM, HonorHealth system, and the Scottsdale Fire Department to improve patient outcomes in cardiac arrest and sepsis calls. She is also working with Arizona State University's School for the Science of Health Care Delivery and the University of Arizona Cancer Center - St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center to study the social determinants of health outcomes in Arizona. As a student leader, she started as the Class of 2020 Class Representative in her first year, and is now serving as the Midwestern University - AZCOM Student Government President as an OMS II. She is also a General Council Member of the National Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents and serves on the following committees: Legislative Affairs, Women in Medicine, National Osteopathic Student Caucus Task Force, and Resolution Task Force. Read on to find out what influenced Tiffany Ziegler's decision to pursue a career in the medical field.


Spencer Eberhard, OMS III at A.T. Still University - SOMA, Awarded $2,500 Founders' Scholarship

February 23, 2018

In 2013, Spencer Eberhard graduated from BYU-Idaho with a B.S. in Biology - Neuroscience. During his undergraduate years he was a chemistry tutor, and a neurobiology and neuroanatomy teacher's assistant. As a neuroscience research Team Leader for a project examining neurogenesis in crayfish, he guided and taught students how to conduct the research, which led to their poster presentation winning 2nd place at a BYU-Idaho conference. Eberhard has been a dedicated musician for most of his life and was the Music Club President as a 1st year OMS at A.T. Still University - SOMA and is now an OMS III. Read on to find out more about how his love of neuroscience led to his pursuit of becoming an osteopathic physician.

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