Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, professor and chair, told the 16-member class to be prepared for elevated responsibilities that come along with their white coats.
“This is the time our students transition from foundational academic education into clinical practice and doctoral work; it is a time when professionalism becomes paramount as does the healthcare for the patients that will be in their hands,” Dr. Gupta said. “My message to our doctoral class is as follows: Recognize that the commitment you have made to obtaining a doctoral degree and the hard work you put into your education will benefit you for years to come. I also want you all to recognize the contributions of all faculty to you becoming an occupational therapist.”
Wendy Hildenbrand, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, president of the American Occupational Therapy Association and clinical assistant professor in the Occupational Therapy Education department at the University of Kansas Medical Center, delivered the keynote address, commenting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertain times, and how to embrace those challenges.
“I encourage you to embrace the uncertainty as an opportunity for you, for your profession, for your community, and for the people we serve through occupational therapy,” Dr. Hildenbrand said. “I support you in considering the possibilities as you think about how you might step into your new career.”
Ann Lee Burch, PT, EdD, MS, MPH, dean and associate professor, remarked on occupational therapy’s (OT) focus on whole person healthcare and its close ties to ATSU’s mission.
“Occupational therapy, the profession you have all chosen to ultimately step into, is one which was committed to the concept of ‘whole person healthcare’ very early on. OTs have attended to the physical, psychological, emotional, social, and cultural issues. Perhaps more than most health professions, OTs can be found in nearly every healthcare setting,” Dr. Burch said.
Nov. 24, 1896, is an important date in osteopathic medicine’s history. Join A.T. Still University’s Jason Haxton, MA, director of the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, to learn about the critical role Vermont played in advancing osteopathic medicine.
“This is a long awaited White Coat Ceremony for the class of 2024,” said Robert Trombly, DDS, JD, ATSU-ASDOH dean and professor. “If you go into Webster’s Dictionary and look up ‘patience,’ they’ve now added ‘class of 2024.’”
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the ceremony 491 days from when it would have taken place in 2020, but that delay did not diminish neither the mood nor meaning of a momentous occasion for ATSU-ASDOH students.
“You care about others, and that’s who we are here at ASDOH. That’s who we are at A.T. Still University,” Dr. Trombly said. “So, your white coat today adcknolwedges the road that you took, your accomplishments, your unique experiences, and your heart. Your ability to contribute to your classmates, to our program, to teach as well as learn. For that, we thank you for being a part of the class of 2024.”
Morgan Feldpausch, D4, vice president of the class of 2022, called it a highly anticipated day and commended the class of 2024 for meeting the pandemic’s unique challenges.
“Your class has had an experience unlike any other in the history of not only this school, but of dentistry as a profession,” Feldpausch said. “While some may have shied away from the challenge, you rose to it. Your poise and your patience do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.”
Delivering the keynote address, Mindy Motahari, DMD, ’08, assistant dean and assistant professor, comprehensive care unit director, interprofessional education, called upon students to become “ultimate healers” in their pursuit of doctor of dental medicine degrees.
“It is now the time for you to move to the next journey of your life as a healthcare provider, and to become an ultimate healer,” Dr. Motahari said. “From here on, no matter which road you choose, no matter how long it may seem, let your heart be your guide along the way. Follow your heart, but as I always say, take your brain with you.”
As an undergraduate student in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Dimitri Mahee took a personality test. Some of what it told him he already knew. Mahee was identified as a “peacemaker,” an attribute he picked up along the way from his grandmother. Under careers, it suggested he become a game ranger. For someone who grew up in the outdoors, it matched his interests, but it wasn’t what Mahee wanted to do with his life.
Another career option noted by the test was dentistry. Mahee was intrigued. His father had suggested he pursue the career several years earlier and he’d kept it in the back of his mind, but the road seemed daunting. Mahee was already trying to become the first member of his family to graduate from college. Becoming a dentist? That might be a bit of a reach.
Mahee kept that test result, though, as a reminder of what could be possible. There were other subtle signs along the way that gave him a push, his interest grew into a passion, and in 2015 he applied to dental schools across the country. One by one, they responded with rejection.
“I just had to tell myself to keep going,” Mahee said.
Mahee, married and a father of two, is now a first-year student at A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH). And that’s not all. Earlier this semester, Mahee was elected president of ATSU-ASDOH’s class of 2025, becoming the first person of American Indian and African American descent to ascend to that position in the School’s history.
“I shouldn’t have made it here to this point,” Mahee said, “but God has sustained me, and I’m here. I’m blessed and ready to go do what I need to do in this lifetime to help others.”
Dimitri Mahee, D1, poses with his wife, Jasmine, and daughter Giselle at the ATSU-ASDOH class of 2025 White Coat ceremony.
Mahee, D1, grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation tribe. That heritage was the foundation of his upbringing and shaped much of Mahee’s life.
“My tribe has always been my backbone, culturally,” Mahee said. “Native Americans have their language, their food, all of the different stories. That’s the reason I have my ‘man bun,’ my long hair, because we take pride in our Native culture.
“Some of the leaders would reach out to me and say they are proud of me. Having those people in my life, just to be able to motivate and surround me, I know they are praying for me and my family. In the Native culture, we talk a lot about the elders. They are praying for me as well. All of the ancestors and elders, they are always with me. I can just feel it. It’s a very beautiful thing.”
Those relationships were critically important, Mahee said, as he continued on a path no one in his family had gone down before.
“Mentorship is a huge thing,” Mahee said. “I couldn’t have gotten here without mentors in my life, and it took a lot of them. Clinton coached me. And I’m so thankful for Dr. Blue Spruce. He has been a great mentor to me. Any time I need him, he’s there, through it all.”
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mahee continued to prepare himself to apply, studying for the Dental Admission Test (DAT) scheduled for July 2020. But like most things that year, the pandemic forced a change of plans, delaying the test.
Meanwhile, Mahee applied, was interviewed, and earned conditional acceptance to ATSU-ASDOH – the condition being he receive at least a certain score on the DAT. He moved to Mesa, Arizona, “on faith,” he said, took the test, and beat the score. He was in.
“Thank God,” Mahee said. “This is my dream.”
Dimitri Mahee, D1, works during an ATSU-ASDOH lab.
ATSU was also a natural fit. The University’s mission struck a chord with Mahee, who grew up in an underserved community and saw firsthand the importance of accessibility to quality and affordable healthcare providers.
“It’s a huge accomplishment to get into a school that puts that in their mission statement,” Mahee said.
Mahee is motivated, a trait apparent to his fellow students. Soon after the semester began, several began suggesting he run for class president. Mahee reflected on his experiences as a young adult leader in church and, knowing he had something to offer, he entered the race.
Candidates delivered presentations, voting took place over two days, and on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, Mahee was declared the winner. Only afterward did he learn of his election’s historic nature as the first American Indian/African American student in ATSU-ASDOH history to become class president.
“It was kind of overwhelming at first, in a good way,” Mahee said. “I thought somebody before me would have already blazed the trail, if you will, but it’s really awesome and I’m just glad to be in the position I’m in, to help bridge the understanding between administration and the class of 2025.”
Normore said the election was yet another step in Mahee completing his journey.
“Clearly, being the first has some historic value that is not without pause, given the fact we are in the 21st century and still realizing firsts like these,” Normore said. “However, Dimitri’s election is affirmation that his ATSU-ASDOH peers appreciate and respect his leadership and collaborative approach to building community.
“Dimitri’s selection supports the idea that opportunities should not be constrained by zip code, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, or any other characteristic that has been historically marginalized. It also means ATSU is transforming its environment so that celebratory opportunities like his election are possible. Most importantly, it means that a young man beat the odds to realize his dream and is on his way toward completing that journey.”
He’s already looking to help others on their journeys, too. In addition to his roles in the Society of American Indian Dentists and Arizona Student Dental Association, Mahee is a member of the Pre-Admissions Workshop, or “PAW,” part of ATSU’s National Center for American Indian Health Professions. PAW’s goal is to help American Indian and Alaska Native students navigate the path to health sciences schools and the healthcare workforce, ultimately addressing the healthcare disparities facing American Indian and Alaska Native populations.
“It’s part of my life’s mission to help people who have been in my shoes,” Mahee said.
Dimitri Mahee, D1, right, poses with ATSU-ASDOH Dean Robert Trombly, DDS, JD, after the ATSU-ASDOH White Coat ceremony.
Mahee is scheduled to complete his degree in May 2025, and as a recipient of a scholarship through the Indian Health Service (IHS) he will then be placed in an IHS facility or hospital to serve four years.
From there, Mahee wants to eventually have his own practice, but as is his nature, it’s not to personally enrich himself.
“I want to be able to have funds or finances to go on mission trips,” he said. “I love humanitarian dentistry, and to be able to serve an underserved community, whether that is in the U.S. or abroad. I want to be able to provide a level of care and restore the smiles of, hopefully, tens of thousands of people, and bring back positivity. There are a lot of statistics out there about smiling, and how that’s so contagious, and brings positive vibes to that person’s life.”
Lofty goals? Perhaps, but certainly not out of Mahee’s reach. Not with his personality, his drive, his tenacity.
Mahee has stuck to a simple script to get to this point. It has served him well, and there’s no reason to expect that to change now.
“You have to tell yourself it’s a test, it’s a trial. There’s going to be bumps, bruises, scrapes, that you’re going through. That’s why it’s called ‘life.’ You’re trying to get where you’re trying to go, and there are going to be obstacles that come up. You just have to hurdle them. You can’t avoid them all, but you can get past them,” Mahee said.
“There’s one word I keep in the forefront: persistence. I’m not a rocket scientist. I’m not the smartest person in the world by any means, but I know persistence. I’ve looked at a lot of successful people, whether it’s someone in my family, or someone else with a lot of success in their career, and the underlying factor is persistence. I’ll always tell pre-dental students or anyone trying to get into school for healthcare fields, be persistent. If this is what you want to do, don’t make a plan ‘B’ or a plan ‘Z,’ this is your plan. Stick with it. It’s going to happen for you.”
“A Rare Complication of HELLP in a Pregnant Homeless Woman: A Case Report”
Max Gutensohn Award
Baydon Hilton, DO, ’19, ATSU-KCOM, dermatological resident at Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville, Missouri
“Foreign body formation due to transepithelial elimination of hernia mesh”
Best Oral Presentation
Lizzie Cremer, senior pre-medical biochemistry and molecular biology major, Truman State University, center, won Best Oral Presentation at A.T. Still Research Institute’s 13th annual Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Symposium. Cremer is pictured with Brian Degenhardt, DO, director, ATSRI, left, and Jeremy Houser, PhD, associate professor, anatomy.
Lizzie Cremer, senior pre-medical biochemistry and molecular biology major, Truman State University
“Computational Drug Design to Inhibit the Zika NS2B/NS3 Protease”
IBRS photo gallery
A.T. Still University’s student ambassadors in Kirksville, Missouri, each month select a faculty or staff member to interview for the Student Ambassador Faculty/Staff Spotlight.
On a brisk afternoon atop a hill in Kirksville, Missouri’s Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery, members of A.T. Still University’s (ATSU) MEDleys a cappella group filled the autumn air with the solemn words of “Amazing Grace.”
“We speak for all the students at A.T. Still University when we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Chantel Eckland, D2, ATSU-MOSDOH’s SGA president and co-chair of the Professional Pride, Service, and Ceremonies committee. “The gift of learning from the beautiful donations your family members have made will echo through the years as we go off and help those in need across the country and the world.”
Chantel Eckland, D2, ATSU-MOSDOH’s SGA president and co-chair of the Professional Pride, Service, and Ceremonies committee, at left, and Rachel Maibach, OMS II, ATSU-KCOM SGA president, at right
With family members of those who donated their bodies present, several ATSU students representing different organizations took turns expressing their thoughts.
“I believe your loved ones who donated their bodies extended a gift and blessing far beyond what any individual might accomplish in their lifetime,” said Vereena Messieha, first-year biomedical sciences student and president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. “By relinquishing their bodies for the betterment of our learning, they have deepened our understanding of the intricacies of the human body that will serve as a foundation to bring healing and comfort, and better quality of life to our future patients.”
Vereena Messieha, first-year biomedical sciences student and president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association
“As medical students, we have chosen to be healers, and these wonderful people chose to help us learn,” said Jeffrey Diamond, OMS II, president of Latter-Day Saint Student Association. “They didn’t know us, but they gave one of their most prized Earthly possessions to us – their body. Their sacrifice will always be remembered, especially by the class of 2024. These individuals live on in us. They live on in the knowledge we retain in our minds as we examine the beauty of the human body.”
Jeffrey Diamond, OMS II, president of Latter-Day Saint Student Association
“In a way, what we celebrate today is love,” said James Bussey, OMS II, president of the Catholic Medical Association. “The decision to donate is an active decision, and a conscious choice, with the intent of furthering our education. With this education, we can in turn facilitate our own acts of love to the world, and go out into the world as healers.”
James Bussey, OMS II, president of the Catholic Medical Association
As the ceremony concluded, students, faculty, staff, and family members took turns placing white roses at the foot of a gravestone inscribed, “In memory of those who have donated their bodies to medical science,” a gift to the silent teachers whose lessons will reach decades into the future.
“Just for a moment today, let us look around this world and appreciate how our legacy can live on past our time on Earth,” said Rachel Maibach, OMS II, ATSU-KCOM SGA president. “People choose to leave their mark on the world in a variety of different ways, and through this difficult time of losing a loved one we hope you find comfort in knowing their vibrant legacy will shine on through our work as healthcare professionals.”
A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus and Missouri Air National Guard member Lt. Col. Matthew Pieper, DO, ’06, a Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills instructor at St. Louis University, received the Distinguished Flying Cross Sept. 12, 2021.
Dr. Pieper and his team would normally operate on the platform of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with more room. During this particular mission, the Chinook wasn’t able to get there due to logistical concerns.
With the Chinook unavailable, arrangements were made with the medical evacuation crew. Any patients with minor injuries would be picked up and brought back to Dr. Pieper and his team. If there were patients with traumatic injury, Dr. Pieper’s four-man team would split into two groups and each accompany one of the HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
When a situation arose, the medical evacuation crew was already prepared to take off due to previous reports of patients with minor injuries.
“I talked to their ground commander and said, ‘Hey, I think our team should be on these helicopters because the last patient report showed some people were badly injured,’ and he agreed,” said Dr. Pieper.
The Black Hawks were already taking off as the medical personnel came outside. Dr. Pieper jumped in but the rest of his team didn’t make it onboard.
While taking on continuous enemy fire with small arms and rockets, the Black Hawks approached and landed to collect the injured. There was an American soldier with a head injury and a partner-force soldier who was shot through the chest. Dr. Pieper had the American soldier sent to the front helicopter and the partner-force soldier brought to him. Two other injured partner-force soldiers got in with Dr. Pieper.
“The man that I was taking care of was passing out,” said Dr. Pieper. “There was a young medic with me and I asked him to start an intraosseous line.”
An intraosseous line is when a catheter is placed directly into the bone marrow.
As his patient continued to decline, Dr. Pieper secured the soldier’s airway and then noted an unequal chest rise, warranting him to do a bilateral chest needle decompression by inserting a needle into his chest. He assessed the patient again and he had no pulse. Dr. Pieper immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“Then I grabbed the hands of one of the other Afghan soldiers and I showed him, ‘Like here, you do CPR,’” he said. “I reached back and grabbed my equipment and I cut his chest open. It’s an emergency thoracotomy. There was a lot of blood in his chest, so I clamped his aorta and twisted his lung so that it wouldn’t bleed anymore. I pumped his heart for about five minutes and then he came back.”
Dr. Pieper then radioed for his team to meet him when the helicopter landed about 15 minutes away from where the fighting was. There they had a tent and more equipment.
“We stapled off the bottom half of his lung which was bleeding, gave him eight units of whole blood, washed out his chest and put on a temporary dressing,” he said.
The patient was then transported to an air base where he was taken to surgery, washed out, closed up and has done well since, said Dr. Pieper.
“I felt lucky to have been able to be there when the guy needed me to,” he said. “I can’t take credit for creating the idea of the surgical resuscitation team, but I did train for a long time to be able to do it and I felt lucky to find myself in the situation where I could help a person. Sometimes you can’t get there and sometimes you can and you still don’t have a great outcome.”
The Distinguished Flying Cross was authorized by an Act of Congress July 2, 1926. President Coolidge presented the first Distinguished Flying Cross to Capt. Charles A. Lindbergh of the Army Corps Reserve, June 11, 1927. The medal is awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the U.S. armed forces who distinguishes themselves by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight in support of operations.
“I’m thankful that the generals above me thought it was something as significant as I did,” said Dr. Pieper. “I thought it was something special.”
Story by Airman 1st Class Whitney Erhart, 131st Bomb Wing, published by the Air National Guard
Dr. Park, research team receive 2021 Biomedical Research Award from AAOF
Their award, entitled “Accuracy, Reliability and Clinical Feasibility of AI-assisted Remote Orthodontic Tooth Movement Monitoring Technology,” totals $30,000.
The two specific goals of this project are to validate Dental Monitoring’s ability to monitor artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted crown movement and explore the clinical viability of AI-assisted tooth root movement tracking.
Dr. Park will work as a principal investigator. Co-principal investigators are ATSU orthodontic residents Drs. Janet Kim and Andy Liu. Curtis Bay, PhD, ATSU-Arizona School of Health Sciences professor, biostatistics, and Institutional Review Board chair, will also work as a consultant.
Dr. Park also noted support from Kathy Rushlo, MHA, director of sponsored programs on ATSU’s Mesa, Arizona, campus.
Dr. Park’s article selected to receive 2021 CDABO Case Report of the Year Award
The award is given annually to authors of the best Case Report published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJO-DO) during the previous year.
CDABO is composed of orthodontic clinicians who have passed all phases of the American Board of Orthodontics examination. The College established the award to recognize excellence in clinical orthodontics.
The award was scheduled to be presented at CDABO’s business meeting. Winners were also to be recognized at AJO-DO’s editorial board meeting. Both were to be held during the American Association of Orthodontists’ Annual Session, June 25-27, 2021, in Boston, and online. However, due to the pandemic, the in-person award ceremony was canceled.
This year’s National Medical Librarian Month was a success. Celebrated on all three campuses, the Library had a number of student contests. Congratulations to our “Guess the Candy Jar” winners!
AZ Campus: Adiary Munoz in Occupational Therapy
MO Campus: Chris Thorndal in KCOM
CA Campus: Stefan Howard in CCPA
Mesa students also enjoyed the Halloween Trick or Treat table, and were able to take home some freebies.
The Kirksville students name the Library’s small skeleton “Bones.”
Besides the fun activities we had, the Library was also able to educate students and faculty on various Library Services. Faculty learned about the Library’s research support, Data Services, and best practices for Open Access. Students learned about the Library’s reserve collection, research support, and Endnote assistance.
