Editor's Pen
Denise Flock-Williams
Every issue, I save writing this particular article until I can't procrastinate any longer, even though it is the first one readers see. I struggle with what to say about each issue and how to best summarize the School's successes over the previous three months. This particular quarter, when I took a step back to review all of the headlines in this issue, a singular theme became immediately apparent: the LSU School of Medicine's role in developing our future healthcare providers and those who will go on to advance medicine through research.
In just the past 12 weeks, you have:
- Graduated 173 new doctors;
- Welcomed five local high school teachers to conduct research throughout the summer in our state-of-the-art labs;
- Provided stipends and a summer of critical research experience to nearly 50 high school, undergraduate, and first-year medical students;
- Accepted four new PREP Scholars for intensive year-long training; and
- Celebrated LaMiah Hall who is completing a clinical rotation with the New Orleans Saints.
I would be remiss in not congratulating all of the newly appointed deans, but especially School of Medicine Dean Richard DiCarlo who, in keeping with this issue's unplanned theme, spent 14 years as the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education prior to his four years as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Institutional Affairs before taking on his new leadership role. Dr. DiCarlo graciously shared his time with me for a Q&A about his insights and plans for the future.
Please continue to tell me about your work! You can email me at dflock@lsuhsc.edu anytime with an idea for a story, information or pictures that we can share. As always, I extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Judy Crabtree, Todd LaGrange, and Dr. Stephanie Taylor who all work behind the scenes to get each issue published.