By Brooke Bunch

This is the first of three stories featuring presenters at OU-COM’s 3rd Annual Continuing Medical Education Conference and All Class Reunion, to be held this weekend. Today’s story features Karen Thomas, D.O. (’96). Later in the week are featured Mitchell Silver, D.O. (’89), and Bernie Siegel, M.D., the keynote speaker for this year’s conference. The CME/All Class Reunion brings back alumni to Athens for three days of continuing medical education seminars, reunites classmates and makes new colleagues and friends. For more information, call (740) 593-2176 or e-mail Sharon Zimmerman, director of alumni affairs.

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Old memories and former classmates await Karen Thomas, D.O. (’96), as she steps back onto Ohio University’s campus Oct. 1 for the college’s 3rd Annual CME Conference and All Class Reunion.

Thomas, the associate director of the Movement Disorders Division at Ohio State University’s Department of Neurology, will be speaking to OU-COM alumni on Parkinson’s disease and the treatment of motor complications. Thomas believes there is a real need for medical professionals to be educated on newer treatment options. She will give a 30-minute lecture Sunday morning in Irvine Hall.

In addition to the arrival of new drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s, Thomas wants to inform colleagues on how to handle the difficulties that inevitably arise when using drug therapy.

“It has difficulties in its use,” she said. “And I think a lot of people don’t understand what to do with the complications of using that therapy.

“Parkinson’s is a very common disorder; it’s the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world. And the most frustrating part about treating the disorder is when you’re faced with the motor complications that develop in almost all the patients.”

Thomas, a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, is no stranger to speaking at the alumni conference. She made a trip to Athens in the fall of 2002, at which she also presented.

“As an OU-COM graduate, I enjoy coming down here and sharing in the experience of being back on campus,” said Thomas. “I enjoy being with the other alums and being reconnected with OU. It’s fun.”

Thomas boasts an impressive past at the Ohio State Department of Neurology, where she serves as an assistant professor and movement disorders specialist. Her experience includes a fellowship in movement disorders at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, as well as several research studies published in five medical publications.

Thomas completed her residency in a four-year program at the University of South Alabama, Department of Neurology, where she received the Parke-Davis Resident’s Award for excellence in Epilepsy Care in 1999 and 2000. Prior to her residency, Thomas completed an internship at Firelands Community Hospital in Sandusky.

Thomas, a member of the American Academy of Neurology, was also honored with a 2002 teaching award for commitment to the education of residents. The award was presented by the residents and Department of Neurology at Ohio State University.

Thomas currently serves as a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the Ohio Osteopathic Association, the Parkinson’s study group and the Huntington’s study group.

The OU-COM grad resides in Columbus with husband, William Serett. Thomas’ niece, Jessica Price, is a third-year student at OU-COM. Her nephew, Dustin Thomas, is a graduate student at the University.