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Heath A. Parker, DO, has been named as the new campus Dean for the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Auburn Campus (VCOM-Auburn). John Lucas, DO, the current senior vice president for institutional advancement and administration at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) has been serving as interim campus dean during the national search for a permanent Auburn campus Dean. Parker will begin his role at VCOM-Auburn on June 1, 2021. 

Congratulations to Dr. Blaise Costa, MPharm, PhD, Associate Professor for Pharmacology, on receiving the award for VCOM-Virginia's Researcher of the Year!

VCOM-Louisiana celebrated its second-annual Accepted Students Day on Saturday, March 27, for the incoming class of 2025. A half virtual, half in-person format, this year’s Accepted Students Day marked the first event at the new SWAG��Ƶcampus that was open to outside visitors.

SWAG��ƵPresident and Provost, Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, FACOFP, is the 2021 Lisa Miller Distinguished Leader Award recipient from the ULM Women’s Symposium.

Congratulations to Student Doctor Jeanne Nwagwu, Class of 2022, on being awarded the inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Award. Since arriving at VCOM-Virginia, Jeanne has served as the President of VCOM’s SNMA chapter, co-founded the Beyond the Medicine series, and is currently serving as a regional director for SNMA’s national organization; her impact continues to grow.

The northside community in Spartanburg is home to a new COVID-19 vaccination clinic, the latest community-inspired idea in the state’s ongoing efforts to ensure all South Carolinians have fair and equal access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Scientists recently published their findings of plagiarism and the use of duplicate publication in journal manuscripts and scientific conferences in the research paper, “Estimating the prevalence of text overlap in biomedical conference abstracts.” 

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) requires students to log their patient encounters electronically. The data is used to monitor the student's training progress but also used as a source of public health data. The data started to show a strange trend beginning in November 2019, of a higher rate of an unspecified Influenza-like illness.

A new guaranteed admissions interview agreement between Indian River State College (IRSC) and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) makes it easier for IRSC Bachelor’s Degree in Biology students to train to be a physician. Under the terms of the partnership, qualified IRSC students who demonstrate high achievement are guaranteed an admissions interview to SWAG��Ƶafter successfully following a distinct academic protocol.

First-year medical student and member of the inaugural class of VCOM-Louisiana, Stephanie Lazo, in collaboration with colleagues at the National Institute of Health (NIH), recently published research findings on cell-free mtDNA.

The Frank B. Rocovich Wellness Scholarship was set up in memory of Frank B. Rocovich, who served as VCOM-Virginia’s Activities Coordinator and worked closely to support the Via Wellness program to promote healthy minds, bodies and spirits for everyone at VCOM.

A second-year medical student at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) -Carolinas) is not letting the anxiety-producing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the election, and the economy cloud his ability to remain grateful and optimistic. Instead, he discovered a proactive way to practice gratitude after the passing of his grandfather and it is having a powerful impact on his mental health and well-being.

VCOM-Carolinas Discipline Chair for Preventive Medicine and Public Health Alexis Stoner, PhD, has been awarded a grant from a community foundation in the Spartanburg area for a Vaccination Clinic, providing flu vaccinations to Upstate children on school grounds using the Mobile Medical Unit. This is a one-year project with a $10,000 budget.

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) has received the 2020 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.