May 2025
Dean's Note
Dear VTCSOM Family,
In just a few days, we’ll gather to celebrate one of the most special moments in our academic year — the graduation of the Class of 2025! On May 10, 43 students will cross the stage at the Jefferson Center during our 12th annual commencement ceremony and officially become doctors. It’s a proud and joyful milestone for them, their families, and our entire Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine community.
This class has come a long way. From day one, they’ve shown resilience, curiosity, and a deep commitment to learning. They tackled the highs and lows of medical school with compassion and determination, qualities that will serve them and their future patients well.
These students contributed to our school in meaningful ways — from advancing student leadership and advocacy to helping shape improvements in our curriculum. Watching them grow into the physicians they are now has been a privilege.
I hope we can all take a moment to appreciate what it took to reach this point. Thank you to the faculty, staff, mentors, and loved ones who walked alongside them on this journey.
While some of these alumni will remain close to VTCSOM in outstanding residency programs with Carilion Clinic or elsewhere in Virginia, others are departing to join amazing programs across the country. My great desire is that all their paths will lead back to this community they have been intrinsically connected to over the past four years.
We’ll share photos and a highlight video after the big day, but for now, please join me in celebrating the Class of 2025. They’re ready to bring empathy, purpose, and excellence into the world of medicine — and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
Warmly,
Lee A. Learman, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean
Events
- May 2nd-4th - Class of 2015 Reunion
- May 10th - Graduation
- October 26th - Homecoming
Publishing
Nick Rider, professor in the Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science (HSIS), worked with colleagues on "Expert-based, institutional approaches for reducing the diagnostic odyssey of patients with IEIs," published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Practice.
David Musick, Senior Dean of Faculty Affairs, collaborated with colleagues on the study titled "Studying Moral Distress and Moral Injury Among Inpatient and Outpatient Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic," which was published in PubMed.
Michael Nolan and John McNamara, faculty in the Department of Basic Science Education (DBSE), published "Collaborative Preclinical/Clinical Efforts Aimed at Strengthening a Neurology Residency Program: Challenges, Activities and Outcomes" in Medical Science Education.
Medical students Aysha Alani, Justin O'Leary, and Andrew Stieb, class of 2027, collaborated with McNamara and Nolan on "Incorporating Clinical Examination Skills Into a Preclinical Anatomy Course: A Method for Facilitating Engagement and Interest" in Clinical Anatomy.
Serkan Toy, associate professor in DBSE, and research partners published "Debriefing Is Germane to Simulation-Based Learning: Parsing Cognitive Load Components and the Effect of Debriefing" in Simulation in Healthcare.
Sarah Harendt, assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, along with Mariah Rudd and Natalie Karp, faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sarah Parker, associate professor and chair of HSIS, and Shari Whicker, assistant dean for faculty development and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, published "Building a health systems science bridge between medical school and the clinical learning environment via a pilot faculty development cohort program" in BMC Medical Education.
Haseeb Goheer, class of 2025, Zachary Johnson, class of 2026, and a team of researchers including mentor Jonathan Carmouche, vice chair and professor of orthopaedic surgery, published "Developmental delay increases risk for complications within 30 days of pediatric spinal fusion surgery" in Spine Deformity.
Goheer and Carmouche, with Zachary Lyon, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, and other researchers, collaborated on "Racial Disparities in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: An Analysis of 67621 Patients" in The Spine Journal.
Jacqueline Urdang, class of 2026, Stephanie Masters, class of 2022, Nneoma Edokobi, class of 2024, and mentor Megan Whitham, class of 2015 and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, worked with a research team to publish "Text phrase-mining in identifying and classifying maternal proteins and genes across preeclampsia and similar pathologies" in Physiological Reports.
James Kwok, class of 2025, along with VTCSOM surgery faculty Katie Bower, Joshua Stodghill, Bryan Collier, and mentor Jacob Gillen published with other investigators "Small Bite Fascial Closure Technique Associated With Reduction in Fascial Dehiscence" in the Journal of Surgical Research.
Varun Mishra, class of 2026, and mentor Justin Weppner, assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, teamed with other researchers on "Factors impacting mortality and withdrawal of life sustaining therapy in severe traumatic brain injury" published in Brain Injury.
Evan Sandefur, class of 2025, worked with Maxwell Vest (fellow), Nicholas Peterman (resident), and mentor Peter Apel, associate professor, all from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and additional research partners to publish "Changes in Management at the Postoperative Visit After In-Office Wide Awake Local Anesthetic No Tourniquet Carpal Tunnel Release" in the Journal of Hand Surgery.
Alumni Update
Do you have any news to share?
Are you moving on to private practice or a fellowship? Did you get married? Have a baby? Get published, receive an award, or promoted? Tell us about it! Please fill out our survey: https://virginiatech.questionpro.com/a/TakeSurvey?tt=vgzDQZL8WMUECHrPeIW9eQ%3D%3D
Carilion Recruitment
Interested in returning to Roanoke or the surrounding areas to work and play? Carilion Clinic has outstanding employment opportunities available in many specialties. Visit Carilionclinic.org, scroll to Careers and then Physician Careers for more information. You may also reach out to Andrea Henson, director of physician recruitment & onboarding (ahenson@carilionclinic.org) or 540-224-5241.
Little Lily Perry, daughter of Dr. Ryan Perry ’21, is back in Progress Notes to show off her VTCSOM school pride! Thank you to the Perry family for sharing your new addition news and photo with the VTC community!
Remember- if you have a new addition to the family, we'd love to hear about it and send them a VTCSOM onesie! (Please contact Brittany Guill May, at may@vt.edu for more information)
Spotlight on Giving
Give $25 to the VTCSOM Annual Fund and get your very own HokieBird Blocks!
Supplies are limited! Make your gift today!
Take Note
VTCSOM and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC present: "Virulence: A Matchless Web of Dynamic Interactions Between Microbes and Host Cells", part of the Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Series.
- Reception at 5 pm, Lecture at 5:30 pm
- Speaker: John C. Alverdy, M.D., M.P.H.
Sarah and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor
Executive Vice Chair and Vice Chair for Research Dept. of Surgery
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
- Event page: https://lnkd.in/ezqxigDc
- Zoom: https://lnkd.in/espH2kXQ
Dear VTCSOM community,
On behalf of the selection committee for the Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Seminar Series, we invite nominations for speakers for the 2025-2026 academic year. To make a nomination, please complete the form at bit.ly/MedScholarNominee. Six speakers will be invited to visit throughout the academic year. When considering nominees, please take diverse professional and personal backgrounds into account.
In making selections, the committee seeks individuals who:
- Hold an MD or MD/PhD degree or equivalent medical degree
- Carry out and publish high-quality and impactful biomedical research (basic, translational, clinical, population health, and health systems science)
- Are outstanding scientists and clinicians
- Are nationally recognized leaders in their field
- Have excellent communication skills
The Medical Scholars program introduces the first-year medical students and the first-year Translational Biology, Medicine and Health (TBMH) graduate students to physician scientists and scientist physicians who are actively advancing the frontiers of biomedical science as well as contributing to innovations in health care delivery. The program is also a great opportunity to showcase our students, the VTCSOM medical program, and the TBMH graduate program to national leaders in academic medicine. We encourage VTCSOM faculty, FBRI faculty, staff, medical students and TBMH students to submit nominations for this seminar series.
To nominate a speaker, please complete the survey at the accompanying link by Monday, May 12th.
You will be asked to include nominee contact information, a brief description of the nominee’s area of expertise and major contributions, and whether you would be willing to serve as host during the visit (meeting and having a meal with the speaker, suggesting other VTC, VT and/or CC faculty for meetings).
We would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the program. We look forward to your suggestions!
Sincerely,
Mike Friedlander (friedlan@vtc.vt.edu)
Leslie LaConte (lacon001@vtc.vt.edu)
Nikki Worthington (nikworth@vt.edu)
Shannon Farris (farrissl@vtc.vt.edu)
Last Note
As a medical student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Varun Mishra has spent the past three years navigating demanding coursework, grueling hospital shifts, and the everyday trials of clinical training. Yet, before he steps into his white coat each morning, he ties on his running shoes. And when the day winds down for most, Mishra is often just hitting his stride.
For him, running is far more than a hobby—it’s a discipline that mirrors his journey to becoming a physician.
“I wasn’t very good at running in the beginning,” he admitted. “But I really enjoyed it. Eventually, it became more than just a way to stay fit. It gave me clarity, a sense of connection, and taught me discipline.”
