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Sports Medicine Fellowship

Thank you for your interest in the Sports Medicine Fellowship sponsored by Piedmont Columbus Regional (Midtown) and its Family Medicine residency in Columbus, GA, partnering with the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine at Auburn University (VCOM-Auburn). On ERAS the Sports Medicine program is listed as Piedmont Columbus Regional (Midtown). The ACGME program code is 1270112145. Applications are only accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The program earned ACGME continuing accreditation status in January 2025 and has received Osteopathic Recognition.

The program's mission is to provide sports medicine fellows with the appropriate training to evaluate and optimize the athletic patient's performance while mitigating the effects of acute and chronic disease and injury on health and performance.

This fellowship program is one year in length and approved for two positions. The program includes clinical training and didactic opportunities in collaboration with the Piedmont Columbus Regional (Midtown), VCOM-Auburn Campus, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, The Hughston Clinic and local high schools.

Primary care Sports Medicine is a dynamic and rapidly growing sub-specialty in the medical profession. The practice of sports medicine is applying the physician's knowledge, skills, and attitudes to those engaged in sport and exercise. Primary care Sports Medicine specialists recognize the need for a unique skill set in providing care for athletic patients of all ages.

Those skills extend across a vast population of patients:

  • Pediatric athletes

  • High school athletes
  • University athletes
  • Professional athletes (College Athletes D1, D2, NAIA)
  • Disabled athletes
  • Geriatric athletes
  • The general population of recreational community-based athletes who participate in sporting activities for health and fitness.

The program provides opportunities for Sports Medicine fellows to acquire general orthopedic and medical knowledge in addition to learning to apply osteopathic practices and principles in the evaluation and treatment of athletic patients.

Working with athletic trainers, orthopedic surgeons, and other providers, the fellows learn to create a holistic, comprehensive, and team approach to the management of the patient. An evidence-based approach is used to benefit the athlete patient and promote wellness and provide a supportive rehabilitative environment. The fellows also participate in a variety of clinical and biomedical research programs and acquire clinical skills in the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound through participation in our designated curriculum.

Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Campus

Since 1972, the Family Medicine Residency Program at Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Campus has trained more than 600 family physicians. The 583-bed, level II trauma center (with the top “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade) provides a deep experience platform for residents.

Family Medicine Residency Program Info

The program will provide the educational experiences necessary for the fellow to achieve the necessary knowledge, psychomotor skills, interpersonal skills, professional attitudes, and practical experience required of physicians specialized in the care of athletes. The clinical faculty at Piedmont Columbus Regional (Midtown) and VCOM provide didactic and clinical opportunities as integral parts of the required curriculum for the program. The educational and clinical opportunities will be designed to allow the fellow to assume progressive responsibility for patient care. Fellows will be mentored and assisted in developing and completing their respective research projects over the course of the fellowship year.

Applying for Sports Medicine Fellowship

To apply for the VCOM Sports Medicine Fellowship, please use the ERAS system.

Applying for Audition Rotations

Audition rotations are offered to residents who have applied to the Sports Medicine Fellowship. A limited number of two-week audition rotations are available from May through November. Audition rotation applications are accepted beginning in February. Interested applicants should email the Program Administrator, Lakiesha Young Hicks, lyounghicks@auburn.vcom.edu. Applicants will need to provide the following information:

  • Certificate of Insurance (COI) and malpractice coverage

  • Copy of your medical license
  • A brief explanation of your interest in rotating with us (minimum one paragraph)

Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) US Dept of Veterans Affairs

 

Amount: Tuition and approved fees + monthly stipend

The purpose of the HPSP Physician Scholarship program is to provide financial assistance to individuals pursuing a program of study leading to a degree of doctor of medicine or equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic or osteopathic medicine.

NOTE: Pediatrics is not eligible for this scholarship program.

Benefits and Stipend

The HPSP award pays a participant's school tuition and approved fees through direct payment to the school. HPSP assistance includes topping off any existing grants and scholarships to ensure 100% of tuition and required/mandatory fees are paid.

HPSP will pay a monthly stipend directly to the participants. The payment is made for each month a participant is enrolled in coursework, beginning with the first month of the school year. If the participant is a full-time student, the stipend continues through the summer months, provided the participant has not yet completed the participant's degree requirements and is enrolled in coursework. The stipend payment is discontinued the month of a participant's degree completion.

Service Obligation

Recipients are obligated to complete a minimum of 18 months of service, for every year sponsored, at a VA facility after graduation, licensure and residency.

Sponsored by US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Renewable
Contact Name: Rodney Black, Placement Coordinator

Available to Auburn
Available to Carolinas
Available to Louisiana
Available to Virginia
Available to 1st Year Students
Available to 2nd Year Students
Available to 3rd Year Students

Specialty Education Loan Repayment Program (SELRP)

 

Amount: $40,000 a year loan repayment with a maximum of $160,000

The Specialty Education Loan Repayment Program (SELFRP) provides financial assistance to physicians in the form of a loan repayment to recent graduates of an accredited medical or osteopathic school and are currently enrolled or matched to a residency identified as a shortage by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The loan repayment is $40,000 a year with a a maximum of $160,000. In return the recipient would agree to serve in a clinical practice at a VA facility for a period of 12 months for each $40,000 of loan repayment with a minimum of 24 months of obligated service.

Sponsored by US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Renewable
Contact Name: Heather Lupkey

Available to Auburn
Available to Carolinas
Available to Louisiana
Available to Virginia

William Burton

William Burton portrait photo
William Burton, MA
Medical Education Specialist
Office: 253B
Department/Discipline: Medical Education
Campus: Auburn
Fax: 334-442-4095
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Melinda Carter

Melinda Carter
Melinda Carter, MD, PhD
Associate Professor for Anatomical Sciences

Dr. Carter is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, where she studied human osteology with Dr. William Bass, known for his research on decomposition of the human body to help crime investigations. Her graduate research at the University of Chicago was on chimpanzee skeletal pathology and stable isotopic bone chemistry of primates in Kibale National Park, Uganda. She first studied and taught human anatomy, histology, and embryology at Pritzker School of Medicine during graduate school. She also spent many years working in archaeology and was a Certified Human Osteologist in Illinois, where she worked on cemetery relocation projects and assisted with forensic cases. She taught anatomy and cadaveric dissection at numerous medical schools, prompting her to get her medical degree in 2012. In lieu of residency, Dr. Carter returned to academic medicine and taught anatomical sciences at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan for many years. Now at VCOM Auburn Campus, she continues to serve as a consultant on skeletal forensic cases through the Montgomery Medical Examiners Office, overseen by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. She is passionate about death and mortality in medical education and research.

Education

Year University Degree
2012 Southern Illinois University School of Medicine MD
2001 University of Chicago PhD in Anthropology
1991 University of Chicago MA in Anthropology
1989 University of Tennessee, Knoxville BA in Anthropology and Organismal Biology

Research Interests

  • The effects of aging and health on cranial base morphology and clinical pathology
  • Variability in the human skeleton and its relevance to osteopathic manipulative medicine
  • Death investigation and US state laws
  • Sources of bias in mortality data reported to the Department of Public Health
  • Forensic anthropology and clinical forensic medicine
Download CV
Office: 247
Department/Discipline: Anatomical Sciences
Campus: Auburn

Awards

  • Phi Beta Kappa, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1988

Activities

  • Member, American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)
  • Member, American Society of Bone and Mineral Research
  • Member, Board of Directors, Society of Forensic Anthropologists
  • Member, American Association of Biological Anthropologists
  • Member, Mountain, Swamp & Beach Forensic Anthropology Organization
  • Professional Affiliate Member, National Association of Medical Examiners
  • Member, Anthropology Standards Board Consensus Body (ASBCB), Academy Standards Board, AAFS
  • Member, Age Estimation Best Practices Working Group, ASBCB, Chaired by Sara Getz, PhD, D-ABFA
  • Member, American Association of Anatomists
Fax: 334-442-4096
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Kari Dugger

Kari Dugger portrait photo
Kari Dugger, PhD
Discipline Chair and Assistant Professor for Microbiology

Education

Year University Degree
2018 NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI),  Mitchell Cancer Institute and UAB Departments of Radiology and Cancer Biology CURE Research Fellow
2010  University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Physiology and Biophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship
2010 University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) Lung Biology Training fellowship
2009 University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Department of Immunology Immunology Training fellowship
2007 University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Department of Microbiology/Immunology Ph.D.
2001 Centre College, Danville, KY, Bachelor’s in chemical sciences B.S.

Research Interests

My research interests focus on the mechanism in which exercise and/or chronic depression changes the immune function in context of asthma and cancer immunity. I am pursuing projects that have branched from initial findings in my lab: exercise (physical stressor) communicates with immune cells by the activation of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SNS). All immune cells express adrenergic receptors and can, therefore, respond to sympathetic nervous system (SNS) stimulation. Further, chronic mild depression (psychological stressor) has the capacity to affect adrenergic signaling resulting in its dysfunction of immune cells. Both stressors (physical and psychological) have been shown to affect cancer risk and/or progression (positively and negatively, respectively) although mechanisms of action remain unclear. Further, it will be important to define how these lifestyle factors may impact the newer generations of cancer immunotherapies.

Download CV
Office: 115
Department/Discipline: Microbiology and Immunology
Campus: Auburn

Activities

  • Member, Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics (APHMG)
  • Member, Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs (AMSMIC)
  • Member, America Society of Microbiology (ASM)
  • Member, Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
  • Member, ASCB – American Society for Cell Biology – STEM Education Research
  • Member, SACNAS – Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
Fax: 334-442-4100
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VCOM Auburn White Coat Ceremony Fall 2021

VCOM Auburn White Coat Ceremony Fall 2021

The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage for first-year osteopathic medical students and signifies a commitment to the osteopathic profession and patient care. Immediate family can coat a student if they are a Doctor of Osteopathic medicine and join them to help celebrate. It is a psychological contract that stresses the importance of compassionate care for the patient and professionalism and scientific proficiency. The ceremony symbolizes the trust between physician and patient, compassion, and the purity of the medical profession’s purpose.

Campus: Auburn
When: October 10, 2021 1:00pm to 3:00pm EDT

VCOM Auburn Virtual Open House

VCOM Auburn Virtual Open House

Tags: open house

Find out how we are inspired to make a difference in our communities and beyond.

Please join us to:

  • Learn about our innovative and integrated curriculum, and the osteopathic profession
  • See Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) in practice
  • Meet and talk with current students and faculty

REGISTER

A link and schedule will be sent to registered participants.

Campus: Auburn
When: October 1, 2021 1:00pm to 4:00pm EDT

Heath Parker

Heath Parker portrait photo
Heath Parker, DO, FACP
Dean for Auburn Campus
Office: 218
Department/Discipline: Administration
Campus: Auburn
Fax: 334-442-4095
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