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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.
* * *
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.
News for the week
of Sept. 27 – Oct. 2
News for the week
of Sept. 20 – 25
News for the week
of Sept. 13 – 18
News for the week
of Sept. 6 – 11
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