February 3, 2025

Written by Francisco Ibarra, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biomedical Education, CHSU-COM

The 2025 Western Medical Research Conference (WMRC) took place January 16-18, 2025 in Carmel, CA. The WMRC attracts students, residents, fellows, and faculty from over a dozen US states to present their research, network, and gain CME.

The WMRC is hosted by the American Federation for Medical Research in partnership with the California Thoracic Society, Western Association of Physicians, Western Society for Pediatric Research, and Western Student Medical Research Forum and Residents Forum.

At this year’s WMRC, five CHSU-COM projects were featured, representing the school’s largest presence to date at the WMRC. 

Taejung (“TJ”) Song (Class 2026) delivered a poster presentation on his group’s project titled, “Managing severe hyponatremia with 8.4% sodium bicarbonate: a feasibility study.” All authors: Ibarra, F., Garcia, M., Deshpande, S., Song, T., Hsu, J., Miglani, I., Jassal, A.

Shriya Deshpande (Class 2026) delivered an oral presentation on her group’s project titled, “8.4% sodium bicarbonate versus 3% sodium chloride in the management of severe hyponatremia.” All authors: Ibarra, F., Garcia, M., Deshpande, S., Song, T., Hsu, J., Miglani, I., Jassal, A.

Evan Cheng (Class 2026) delivered an oral presentation on his group’s project titled, “Comparison of two different fixed-dose factor eight inhibitor bypassing activity (FEIBA) regimens in the management of warfarin-associated coagulopathies.” All authors: Ibarra, F., Mendoza, M., Cheng, E., Falkenstein, B.

Alexander Arzoo (Class 2026) delivered an oral presentation on his group’s project titled, “Comparative effectiveness of three potassium exchangers in the acute management of hyperkalemia: sodium zirconium cyclosilicate, sodium polystyrene sulfonate, and patiromer.” All authors: Ibarra, F., Fu, V., Mau, C., Rivera, D., Arzoo, A.

Layla Mazdeyasnan (Class 2026) delivered an oral presentation on her group’s project titled, “Pharmacological options for managing burning mouth syndrome.” All authors: Mazdeyasnan, L., Shabbir, Z., Ibarra, F.

All research abstracts were published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine and can be found online.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Rosemary Sanchez, on the outstanding achievement of earning her Doctorate in Education. Rosemary Sanchez, EdD, MM/HRM, serves as the Director of Academic and Student Affairs at the CHSU College of Biosciences and Health Professions.

"This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to Dr. Sanchez’s dedication, perseverance, and commitment to lifelong learning. Her passion for education and student success continues to inspire those around her, and we deeply appreciate her contributions to our academic community," Sree Pattipatti, MPharm, PhD, Interim VP of Research; ALO; Associate Dean and Professor, College of Biosciences and Health Professions.

We are fortunate to have Dr. Sanchez as part of our team, and we look forward to the continued impact of her expertise in advancing our institution’s mission, said Dr. Pattipati.

We are proud to share that Nanami Yoshioka, Director, Simulation Center and Adjunct Instructor of Medical Simulation, was recently nominated for the 2025 Excellence in Clinical Simulation Advocate Award. Nanami was nominated by the Customer Service Team at Education Management Solutions (EMS), who provides the AV for the COM, as well as the SIMULATIONiQ software used in the Simulation Center.

The Advocate Award honors an individual or team actively engaged in advocating learning through simulation at their center. Since Nanami started in 2019, she’s been amazed to see the overall growth of the Simulation Center, from the completion of the physical space itself, the development of a very active standardized participant (SP) program, to earning full accreditation from the Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).

She’s proud to have been a part of each milestone and says her favorite part of her job is “working with students, watching them as novice first-year students eventually growing into confident and experienced fourth-year students.”

Please join us in congratulating Nanami on this honorable nomination!

Nicole Njike Bobga, MSBS Class of 2025 President, has announced the release of her first book titled, “True Self: Thriving Through Adversity.”

Nicole is holding a book signing on Sunday, February 9th from 12:00 - 3:00 pm at the University Presbyterian Church in Fresno.

Contact Nicole via email with any questions.

The Office of Student Affairs is thrilled to announce the 2025-26 Student Government Election results for the CHSU-COM Student Government Association (SGA), Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), and the student chapter of Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons of California (OPSC). 

2025-2026 SGA Officers

President: Philip Pham

Vice President: Vrushabh Ulhaskumar

Secretary: Paramveer Brar

Treasurer: Trish Le

2025-2026 SOMA Officers

President: Matthew Ellis

Vice President/NLO: Shringala Chelluri

Treasurer: Hunain Ahmad

Pre-SOMA Coordinator: Gabriela Seto

OPC Coordinator: Brooke Guenther

2025-2026 OPSC Officers

President: Hannah Streiff

Vice President: Sarah Shehata

Treasurer: Audrey Kao

Education Coordinator: Savanna Lee

Thank you to every candidate who showed interest and courage in participating in this election. Your dedication is truly commendable, and we appreciate you all individually. We also extend our appreciation to everyone who participated in this election.

We want to give a special shoutout to all current outgoing SGA, SOMA, and OPSC Officers for their time, dedication, and energy serving the COM students. Your efforts have made a significant and lasting impact in shaping the campus culture here at CHSU-COM. Thank you for your service!

Yoga Class at CHSU is offered on Tuesday evenings at 5:15-6:15 pm in the Simulation Center Classroom 179.

Hope to see you there as we move toward new year goals!

Email Lisa James, LMFT, at ljames@chsu.edu with any questions.

Stay hydrated with less refills! Get your limited-edition, white Stanley 40oz The Quencher H2.0 Flowstate™ Tumbler with CHSU or COM logo.

The cost is approximately $60 with tax and shipping to CHSU.

Place your orders for yourself, friends or family by 11:59pm PT on February 16, 2025.

The store will close after February 16th and all orders will be processed and shipped to CHSU. You will be notified when your order is available for pick up in approximately 4 weeks.

If you have any questions about your order, please contact Richele Kleiser at rkleiser@chsu.edu.

Upcoming Events and Observance Awareness

• February: Black History Month, National Cancer Prevention Month, American Heart Month
• National Women Physicians Day - Feb 3
• World Cancer Day - Feb 4
• National Day of Women and Girls in Science - Feb 11
• President's Day (Campus Closed) - Feb 17
• Ramadan - Feb 28 - Mar 29

Find information on our website about multicultural events and traditions, gender identity, religious and faith-based holidays and traditions, and awareness observances of diverse members of our campus community.

COM Office of Admissions Events

• COM Interview Day (Invite Only) - Feb 4, 5, 11
• Clovis North Sophomore Parent Night - Feb 6
• Scribe Night - Feb 7
• SUMMA Pre-Health Conference - Feb 8
• Campus Tour - Feb 14
• MAPSS Pre-Health Conference - Feb 15
• Accepted Students Day (Virtual) - Feb 22
• COM In-person Interview Day (Invite Only) - Feb 24
• Bakersfield College Spring Transfer Day - Feb 26
• Financial Aid Info Session - Feb 27

• MSBS Valentine's Day Celebration - Feb 14
• MSBS Interview Day - Feb 26

Health and Wellness

February is Heart Health Month

Good nutrition and lifestyle play big roles in keeping your heart healthy. You can decrease your risk of heart disease by making smart food choices. Read on to learn more about ways to protect your heart.

Fruits and Vegetables

Including plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes can provide a great benefit to heart health, especially blood pressure maintenance. They are a great source of dietary fiber, are low in calories, and provide antioxidants.

Potassium is a mineral to highlight from fruits and vegetables, as it is clinically proven to reduce blood pressure levels and risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease. Try including tomatoes, bananas, spinach, squash, and beans to your plate!

Fats

Be mindful of saturated fats when choosing what foods to eat. Foods known to be higher in saturated fats are red meats, bacon, butter, full-fat dairy, and ice cream. They should be eaten in moderation to maintain your body’s ultimate health. Swapping for unsaturated fats such as avocados, olive oil, walnuts, and almonds can be effective and beneficial toward heart health. 

Get Moving!

Incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle. A goal of 2 hours and 30 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity is recommended along with a variety of strength training, stretching, and balance exercises. Even simple daily activities such as walking, biking, or dancing can be effective in maintaining your heart health!

Column courtesy of Maria Torres, MS, RDN; Culinary Medicine Instructor, Biomedical Education (COM).

The CHSYou Wow Program gives you the opportunity to show your appreciation for employees, students, and colleagues and acknowledge them for their hard work.

Dr. Perryment, Dr. Sidhu and PRHS faculty

THANK YOU Dr. Perryment, Dr. Sidhu and PRHS faculty for being the leading force behind the work done so far on direct assessment of GLO Communicator (written communication). You not only assessed OMS2 reflections with the newly developed rubric for evaluation of written communication, but you provided valuable feedback on how we can improve student assignments to allow them to demonstrate better their ability to write and reflect. Cannot wait to analyze the results from the assessment of OMS1 at the end of Spring 2025 semester. Thank you!

Submitted by Milla Zlatanova

Dr. Pemminati, Dr. Khadka and Dr. Keshishian

THANK YOU Dr. Pemminati, Dr. Khadka and Dr. Keshishian for administering the “How skilled am I at learning?” questionnaire in your OMS1, OMS2 and MSBS classes allowing students to self- assess their learning skills. Collected data will allow us to further analyze students approach to learning and to help them if needed to become better learners.

Submitted by Milla Zlatanova

Dr. Pattipati, Dr. Keshishian and Dr. Rao

THANK YOU Dr. Pattipati, Dr. Keshishian and Dr. Rao for implementing extremely thorough process for direct assessment of students’ achievements of MSBS PLOs. FROM developing individual rubrics for assessment of every PLO, creating signature assignments for students to complete, and scoring their achievements on every criterion TO analyzing the results, creating action plans for improvement of deficient areas, and implementing them… you did it all! And in addition to all that you also started to directly assess with specific rubrics the CHSU GLOs through the work and performance of your students. Thank you for the extensive assessment work done so far. You have managed to directly assess all of your PLOs within just a year! 

Submitted by Milla Zlatanova