For the first time in program history, all third‑year residents in The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, submitted scholarly abstracts to national and regional conferences during the 2025-26 academic year.
Nine third‑year residents and two second‑year residents had abstracts accepted for presentation at national conferences.
Residents shared their work through posters, oral presentations and roundtable sessions at prominent professional meetings, including those hosted by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians (FMX), the Southern Society for Pediatric Research and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.
Their work addressed a broad range of timely topics, including health disparities, family medicine career choice, HPV vaccination, communication skills, intimate partner violence and sports medicine case reports.
“We are proud of the scholarly accomplishments of our second‑ and third‑year residents,” said Dr. Louanne Friend, associate director of research for the residency and CCHS associate professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine. Health. “This year represents the highest number of residents in our program accepted to present at national conferences. We are also deeply grateful to the faculty mentors whose guidance and support helped make these achievements possible.”
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires family medicine residents to complete at least two scholarly activities during training, including at least one quality improvement project. Residents are also expected to collaborate with interdisciplinary colleagues, faculty mentors and peers and to disseminate their work through presentations or publications at local, regional or national venues.
The Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency meets these expectations through a structured approach to scholarship that promotes teamwork, academic inquiry and dissemination.
Faculty work closely with residents throughout the research process, from project development and data analysis to abstract submission and presentation preparation.
The Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency is one of the oldest and largest family medicine residencies in the United States. The three-year residency has a long tradition of working to improve the health of individuals and communities, particularly rural communities, in Alabama and the Southeast.
Residents’ research projects and the venues at which they have presented or plan to present their scholarly work:
Dr. Zeel Adeshra, third-year resident, with research project “Investigating Patient Perspectives on Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities at UMC Tuscaloosa,” at the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Medicine Experience Conference (Oct. 2025; Anaheim, Calif.) and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference (May 2026; New Orleans). Faculty mentor: Dr. Sara Phillips, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics.
Dr. Kavena Sivakumar, third-year resident, with research project “Investigating Patient Perspectives on Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities at UMC Tuscaloosa,” at the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Medicine Experience Conference (Oct. 2025; Anaheim, Calif.) and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference (May 2026; New Orleans). Faculty mentor: Dr. Sara Phillips, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics.
Dr. Celia Asinor, third-year resident, with research project “Identifying Factors that Determine Family Medicine Resident Practice Choice,” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference (May 2026; New Orleans). Faculty mentor: Dr. Louanne Friend, CCHS associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health
Dr. Katie Carr, third-year resident, with quality improvement project, “Improving HPV Vaccination Rates,” at the Southern Regional Society for Pediatric Research Conference (Feb. 2026; Atlanta). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brian Gannon, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Cheree Melton, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Randi Henderson-Mitchell, CCHS assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health.
Dr. Ricky Sekhon, third-year resident, with quality improvement project, “Improving HPV Vaccination Rates,” at the Southern Regional Society for Pediatric Research Conference (Feb. 2026; Atlanta). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brian Gannon, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Cheree Melton, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Randi Henderson-Mitchell, CCHS assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health.
Dr. Lucas Tarvainen, third-year resident, with quality improvement project, “Improving HPV Vaccination Rates,” at the Southern Regional Society for Pediatric Research Conference (Feb. 2026; Atlanta). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brian Gannon, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Cheree Melton, CCHS clinical associate professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Randi Henderson-Mitchell, CCHS assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health.
Dr. Paris Cooke, third-year resident, with research project, “Communicating with Compassion: A Workshop on Delivering Bad News for Family Medicine Residents,” at the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Medicine Experience Conference (Oct. 2025; Anaheim, Calif.). Faculty mentors: Dr. Louanne Friend, CCHS associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health; Dr. Anne Halli-Tierney, CCHS associate professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Jackie Lucker, CCHS clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine.
Dr. Marwan Mahmoud, third-year resident, with case project, “Locking in on the Cause: A Case Report; Pop, Lock and Drop It: A Case Report,” at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (April 2026; Kansas City, Mo.) and the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Medicine Experience Conference (Oct. 2025; Anaheim, Calif.). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brett Bentley, CCHS clinical associate professor of sports medicine in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Russ Guin, CCHS clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine.
Dr. Justine Vella, third-year resident, with research project, “Integrating Education on Intimate Partner Violence,” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference (May 2026; New Orleans). Faculty mentors: Dr. Louanne Friend, CCHS associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health; and Dr. Tamer Elsayed, CCHS clinical associate professor and chair of the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine
Dr. Andrew Longanecker, second-year resident, with case project, “Transient Neurological Deficits Following Cervical Trauma in an Adolescent Football Player,” at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (April 2026; Kansas City, Mo.). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brett Bentley, CCHS clinical associate professor of sports medicine in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Russ Guin, CCHS clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine.
Dr. Brandon Chiedo, second-year resident, with case project, “Stopping the Flow of the Game: Recurrent Shoulder Pain,” at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (April 2026; Kansas City, Mo.). Faculty mentors: Dr. Brett Bentley, CCHS clinical associate professor of sports medicine in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; and Dr. Russ Guin, CCHS clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine.