Carolinas

Alaina Hrysikos

ebailey — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:54:25 +0000

Alaina Hrysikos ebailey Mon, 08/18/2025 - 09:54

Alaina Hrysikos

Research Lab Assistant

Department/Discipline: Biomedical Affairs and Research

Campus: Carolinas

Email: ahrysikos@carolinas.vcom.edu

Carolinas Via Research Recognition Day 2026

ebailey — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:32:40 +0000

Carolinas Via Research Recognition Day 2026 ebailey Mon, 08/18/2025 - 09:32

Carolinas Via Research Recognition Day 2026

Tags: Research

Location: VCOM-Carolinas, 350 Howard Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303

��TV (VCOM) – Carolinas Campus will hold its Twelfth Annual Via Research Recognition Day on Friday, February 20, 2026. Research Day is a significant event for VCOM and supports the mission of the College to provide medical education and research that prepares globally minded, community-focused physicians and improves the health of those most in need.

Registration

Registration is FREE but required for all participants, including students and poster presenters. Registration opens on November 10, 2025, and the deadline to register is February 2, 2026.

Hotel Accommodations

With registration for this event, you get:

Program materials
Lunch will be provided during the event
Full access to all event activities

For any problems with registration, please email researchday-cc@carolinas.vcom.edu.

Agenda

Coming Soon

Speakers

Coming Soon

How do I participate?

Attendees are invited to submit their research abstract via the email below and, if accepted, will be invited to share their research during the poster session that will be held on Friday, February 20, 2026. Submission categories will include Biomedical Research, Clinical/Educational Research, and Case Reports.

Research Day Abstract Submission Form (PDF)

Research Day Abstract Guidelines (PDF)

Abstracts must follow all guidelines outlined in the link above to be considered for acceptance. Abstracts must be submitted electronically to researchday-cc@carolinas.vcom.edu using the Abstract Submission Form at the link above. The deadline for abstract submission is 12:00 noon on Monday, November 24. Please adhere to any additional deadlines set by your mentor.

In the interest of professionalism and fairness, no extensions for abstract submission will be granted.

For questions about abstract submissions or participation in the poster competition, please email the Research Day Committee at researchday-cc@carolinas.vcom.edu.

When an abstract is accepted, the submitting author will receive further instructions on poster submission via email. Three presentations from each category will be considered for a cash prize.

VCOM provides free poster printing for any participant with an accepted abstract. Details will be sent to submitting authors with the abstract acceptance email.

Free VCOM Poster Printing Deadline is 5:00 PM, Monday, January 26, 2026.

What will this conference offer?

The Via Research Recognition Day is a forum for health professionals and scientists at academic institutions, teaching hospitals, and practice sites to present or benefit from new research innovations and programs intended to improve the health of all humans. By attending the oral presentations and poster sessions, participants will have the opportunity to learn cutting edge information in the physiological bases of osteopathic manipulative therapy efficacy, new trends in physician-based research networks, and how to develop innovative research projects with high impact for human health. Participants will also learn about the biomedical, clinical and educational research activities at VCOM and partner institutions will have an opportunity to identify new collaborative research opportunities.

Who should attend?

Medical students, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, public health professionals, medical residents, other health professional students, and others interested in primary care issues and research.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of the VCOM Medical Education Department to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its educational programs. All participating faculty are expected to disclose to the participants any real or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentations.

Campus: Carolinas

When: February 20, 2026 All day

Carolinas Graduation Class of 2026

ebailey — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:27:14 +0000

Carolinas Graduation Class of 2026 ebailey Mon, 08/18/2025 - 09:27

Carolinas Graduation Class of 2026

Tags: graduation

Location: Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium
Dress: Business casual attire

Graduates, Faculty, Stage Party, and Family Hooders arrive by 9:15

Campus: Carolinas

When: May 15, 2026 10:00am to 12:30pm EDT

VCOM-Carolinas White Coat Ceremony Fall 2025

ebailey — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:18:25 +0000

VCOM-Carolinas White Coat Ceremony Fall 2025 ebailey Mon, 08/11/2025 - 14:18

VCOM-Carolinas White Coat Ceremony Fall 2025

Tags: whitecoat

Location: Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

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: Carolinas

When: October 18, 2025 9:00am to 11:00am EDT

From Zambia to VCOM: A Heart for Public Health

ebailey — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 18:33:02 +0000

From Zambia to VCOM: A Heart for Public Health ebailey Thu, 08/07/2025 - 14:33

From Zambia to VCOM: A Heart for Public Health

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“You can’t spend two months in Zambia and come home the same,” says Abby Logan, a first-year VCOM-Carolinas student from North Augusta. Before starting med school, she joined a student research team studying the environmental health effects of mining in Zambia, an experience that cemented her love for public health and her desire to serve both global and rural communities as a future physician.

Abby and her team studied pollution caused by mining, the heavy metals left behind in huge dump zones called tailing sites. Tailing sites are massive manmade mounds where waste from copper and mineral mining is dumped, the leftover material after valuable metals are extracted. These barren, otherworldly landscapes can stretch for miles, leaching heavy metals into nearby soil, water, and air, with serious consequences for the health of surrounding communities.

“Our focus was phytoremediation, which is the process of using plants to extract and absorb heavy metals from contaminated soil. It was really cool. We were the very first student group to go, so we were laying the groundwork for future teams. We were taking soil samples, meeting officials, figuring out what might work.”

The experience deepened Abby’s passion for public health and opened her eyes to the global impact of environmental conditions on human well-being. It inspired her to pursue a career that bridges both global and local needs by serving underserved communities abroad and one day opening a rural clinic in the American South.

“I’m obsessed with public health, and I think I want to go into family medicine. So many counties around here don’t have anyone. People have to drive hours to see a doctor. I want to take care of whole families, get to know a community, not just numbers.”

Living in Zambia for two months didn’t feel like a trip; it felt like life. “We weren’t in hotels,” Abby explained. “We stayed in hostels, shared bunk rooms, walked to the mall for meals, and got to know so many other travelers. Our hostel became home.”

Through daily routines, soil sampling at mining sites, and long conversations with locals, she formed meaningful relationships. “We met so many families. Family culture is huge there. Every time you met someone, you got introduced to their entire family — and they’d bring you food and say, ‘You have to eat it!’ I was like, okay, I’m eating! I’m not even hungry anymore, but I’m still eating.”

At the end of the trip, Abby and her team carved out time to experience Zambia’s wild beauty. They went on safari in Chobe National Park, camped in tents while lions roamed nearby, visited Victoria Falls, and rafted the roaring Zambezi River. “It was the first time I’d ever done whitewater rafting — they were category fours, and we completely flipped the raft. I was hooked.”

At one point, they leapt into the river to float a gentle rapid, only to be rushed back into the raft when a crocodile was spotted nearby. “You’re kidding!” she remembered thinking. “We just didn’t even know.”

From near-capsizes to zip-lining above river gorges, Abby leaned into every moment. “I’m an adrenaline junkie! I’ve always loved that stuff. I wanted to bungee jump, too, but the school said no. Next time.”

Abby’s two months in Zambia made a lasting impact that she has carried with her into the long hours of study as a first-year medical student. “That trip changed my life. It showed me how big the world is and how much one person can still do. Every time I talk about it, I realize how much I want to go back, but next time, with my medical degree in hand.”

Carolinas

By Lily Collins -

Chelsea Porter

ebailey — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:02:04 +0000

Chelsea Porter ebailey Wed, 07/30/2025 - 16:02

Current Practice Location: West Africa

Other: Dr. Porter is currently working in West Africa where she is receiving training in obstetric fistula repair to help in her practice there. She works at a health center that specializes in caring for women with obstetric fistulas and people with leprosy. The center also provides obstetric care, child vaccinations and long term care for complicated wounds and burns. Dr. Porter’s passion is caring for vulnerable people and empowering them with education.

Personal: Dr. Porter enjoys a good run, experimenting in the kitchen, dancing, singing and telling people about the hope they can find in Jesus.

Advice for a student aspiring to study medicine: The road is long but worth it! Don’t forget why you started on the journey. Remind yourself often that it is a privilege to be a doctor and to receive the education necessary to care for people at their most vulnerable moments. Pray often. Laugh often. Don’t give up.

Advice from Dr. Porter

Chelsea Porter, DO

Graduated: Class of 2016

Campus: Carolinas

Prior School: Samford University

Degree: BS – Biology

Hometown: Plant City, FL

Alumni

Residency: Via Christi Family Medicine

Specialty: Family Medicine

Rajavi Parikh

ebailey — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:48:57 +0000

Rajavi Parikh ebailey Wed, 07/30/2025 - 15:48

Fellowship: Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC

Advice for a student aspiring to study medicine: “Be enthusiastic and engaged. Be prepared for anything and ask insightful questions. Treat everyone you meet with kindness and respect. Even if you think something is not possible, better to try and fail than to never try and always wonder ‘what if?’. “

Advice from Dr. Parikh

Rajavi Parikh, DO

Graduated: Class of 2015

Campus: Carolinas

Prior School: University at Buffalo, SUNY

Degrees: BS – International Women’s Health, MS – Biological Sciences

Hometown: West Seneca, NY

Alumni

Residency: Chief Resident of her class at New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Specialty: Vascular Surgery

Jamie Beckman

ebailey — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:09:25 +0000

Jamie Beckman ebailey Wed, 07/30/2025 - 08:09

Advice: To “Always study for the patient, not the examination.”

Personal: Dr. Beckman enjoys spending time with his dog, Maverick, watching Minor League Baseball, cooking, and practicing woodwork in his free time!

Check out the video below for advice from Dr. Beckman!

Jamie Beckman, DO

Graduated: Class of 2020

Campus: Carolinas

Prior Schools: South Dakota State University, University of Arizona

Degrees: BA - Music, MS in Physiology

Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD

Alumni

Residency: Ophthalmology at Beaumont Health in Detroit, MI.

Specialty: Ophthalmology

VCOM-Carolinas Fall Open House

ebailey — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 17:28:02 +0000

VCOM-Carolinas Fall Open House ebailey Tue, 07/29/2025 - 13:28

VCOM-Carolinas Fall 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

Campus: Carolinas

When: October 10, 2025 12:00pm to 3:30pm EDT

Gentry Watson

ebailey — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 19:22:57 +0000

Gentry Watson ebailey Mon, 07/14/2025 - 15:22

Gentry Watson

Information Technology Technician

Department/Discipline: Information Technology

Campus: Carolinas

Email: gwatson@carolinas.vcom.edu