TouroCOM News

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM)-Middletown invited Middletown locals, families, and friends to its Community Open House this past Sunday, March 22. Residents of the city spent the day on campus touring the facilities, sitting in on medical school presentations, and meeting their new neighbors: the administration, faculty, medical students and staff. Dr. Kenneth J. Steier, founding dean of TouroCOM-Middletown, thanked the community for “a great turnout and tremendous support.”

It was the first day of spring, and it was snowing. But that didn’t stop Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM)-Harlem students from standing outside in the chilly streets of West 125^th Street, holding signs that urged visitors to attend their spring health fair.

On March 5, TouroCOM-Harlem and TouroCOM-Middletown students joined together to participate in D.O. Day on the Hill, a national student advocacy day organized by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA). During the annual event, osteopathic medical students, osteopathic physicians and AOA leaders come together to network and meet with their members of Congress to discuss important health policy issues affecting the osteopathic profession. 

Under the supervision of  Kurt Degenhardt, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Basic Biomedical Sciences, second-year Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine students Daniel Gorman, Greg McWhir, and Westley Reinhart-McMillan (with the assistance of first-year students Pinang Shastri, Hina Khan, and Krystle Garcia) are conducting an experiment on whether diet can suppress tumor growth in mice.

The members of the team have completed the first part of the experiment and are currently working on analyzing the data. 

“As soon as Dr. Pino stands in front of the lecture hall,” describes Julia Brothers, OMS-II, “she has your full attention. You can feel the passion and love she has for pharmacology. And later, when you’re home studying, you can hear her voice echoing in your mind, repeating the concepts,” she adds. 

To take a break from studying for their upcoming exams, practicals, and Boards, TouroCOM-Harlem students were treated to a surprise visit from some cute, furry puppies.

Newly elected as Chair of the Medical Student Section of Medical State Society of the State of New York, Jean is the first TouroCOM student to hold this position, and has a long history of involvement in the American Medical Association during her time at Touro.

On February 13^th, twelve Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Middletown students—Janki Shah, Jacklyn Lee, Matthew McCaffery, Odinachi Moghalu, Nima Rejali, Zinan Cheng, Tylor Connor, Daniel Lee, Anu Gopalan, Brendan Skeehan, Christian Muller, and Manoj Jagtiani—were inducted into the Sigma Sigma Phi (SSP) Honor Society, a national osteopathic medicine honors fraternity that recognizes D.O. students who demonstrate high levels of academic excellence and dedication to community service. 

The course is called “Introduction to Cultural Competence in Healthcare” and it is usually offered to Touro’s first year D.O. students to expose them to challenges in understanding cultural diversity in healthcare. The goal is to turn them into better doctors practicing medicine in underserved communities.

The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Harlem Selection Committee recently announced Celsa Tonelli as their candidate for Student D.O. of the Year.