At its most recent commencement ceremony, LSU Health Shreveport recognized three standout faculty members with the university system’s most prestigious teaching honor in Medicine, the Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award.

This annual award, established in 1997 is named after the late Dr. Allen A. Copping, former Chancellor of LSU Medical Center and President of the LSU System. These awards celebrate the educators who are uniquely gifted in imparting knowledge, possess a lifelong quest for discovery and who lead by example in fostering a sense of caring and compassion into the next generation of healthcare providers. These recipients represent the very best of LSU Health Shreveport’s three schools: Medicine, Graduate Studies and Allied Health Professions. All were nominated by students and are chosen by a committee of colleagues and students strictly based on their academic teaching. The award is a hallmark of the LSU System, awarded annually at both LSU Health Shreveport and LSU Health New Orleans.

Glenn Mills, MD - School of Medicine Recipient

Dr. Glenn Mills, Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology and Emeritus Director of Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, was recognized for transforming the way students see medicine and life. One student nominator wrote, “His passion for travel and zest for life showed us that being a doctor could be an adventure, not just a profession. The explanation of intricate concepts was delivered with such simplicity that even the most challenging subjects became understandable.” Dr. Mills is widely regarded as a master clinician and educator whose influence at LSU Health Shreveport spans decades, shaping cancer care and internal medicine training across the region.

Kevin S. Murnane, PHD - School of Graduate Studies Recipient

For Dr. Kevin Murnane, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience, as well as Associate Professor of Psychiatry, the classroom is just the beginning. “One of the hallmarks of his teaching is his ability to engage students with a thoughtful manner at the level of the student,” a student nominator shared. “His teaching philosophy is centered on the belief that education extends beyond the classroom. As Director of Basic Science Research for the Louisiana Addiction Research Center, Dr. Murnane fuses cutting-edge science with compassionate teaching to help us firmly grasp the concepts being taught and their impact in caring for our patients.”

Sandra Hayes, SLPD, CCC-SLP - School of Allied Health Professions Recipient

Dr. Sandra Hayes, Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor of Communication Disorders, is known for her deep compassion and unparalleled commitment to her students. “It’s obvious that she loves her job, her students and her clients,” stated one of her student nominees. “She is kind, she listens intentionally, and she is eager to guide others in how to be the best clinician they can be.” Her influence reaches far beyond lectures. As a leader in speech-language pathology, Dr. Hayes is molding clinicians who are not only technically skilled but also cognizant of the importance of their personal approach to delivering care.

For more information on the Allen A. Copping Excellence in Teaching Award.

LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) has received continued accreditation with no citations from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME is an independent organization that sets and monitors professional education standards essential in preparing physicians to deliver safe, high-quality medical care and oversees the accreditation of residency and fellowship programs in the United States. Residency and fellowship, or graduate medical education (GME), refers to the period of education and training in a particular specialty or subspecialty after a physician’s graduation from medical school.

The ACGME requires institutions to comply with regulations such as providing residents and fellows with financial compensation, supportive training services and a collaborative work and education environment where residents and fellows engage with patient care, quality improvement, supervision, accountability and more. Institutions must meet these requirements annually and those that do not meet the provided standards may receive citations or lose accreditation.

James D. Morris, MD, FACG, FACP, AGAF, FASGE, Designated Institutional Official expresses the following statement: “Thank you to all who teach, heal, and discover to train our residents and fellows in graduate medical education, the formative years of training following medical school.  Thank you to the staff in the GME Office, Program Directors, and Program Administrators for their commitment to ensuring a quality training environment for our trainees.”

LSU Health Shreveport has 44 ACGME accredited programs as well as the soon-to-be separately accredited Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine Residencies. There are more than 600 residents and fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year. There are also more than 5,000 LSUHS resident and fellow alumni. LSU Health Shreveport is the largest provider of graduate medical education in North and Central Louisiana. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the ACGME accredited 13,393 residency and fellowship programs of which 5,866 were specialty programs (which includes medically related programs) and 7,527 were subspecialty programs. There were 905 sponsoring institutions housing accredited programs and 162,644 active residents and fellows in ACGME accredited programs.

Shreveport, La. – LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) is set to host its largest commencement in the institution’s history with 242 students receiving a Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD or Doctorate degree. Commencement for the Schools of Allied Health Professions, Graduate Studies and Medicine will take place in a combined ceremony held at the Municipal Auditorium on Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. Esperanza “Espe” Moran, a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, will assist in the conferring of degrees at the school’s 52nd commencement. With many of the graduates staying to train, practice and continue their research in Louisiana, these doctors, scientists and allied health professionals are supporting and enhancing Louisiana’s healthcare and research workforce.

Here is an in-depth look at the degrees earned:

• Doctor of Medicine: 155
• Doctor of Philosophy in Basic Science: 4
• Doctor of Physical Therapy: 34
• Doctor of Occupational Therapy: 12
• Master of Medical Science: 11
• Master of Biomedical Science: 1
• Master of Communication Disorders or Public Health: 10
• Master of Public Health: 1
• Master of Physician Assistant Studies 4
• Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory: 6
• Bachelor of Cardiopulmonary Science: 3

LSU Health Shreveport alumnus and faculty member, Steven Conrad, MD, PhD, MS, MSE, MBA, MSST, MSc will serve as the commencement speaker. Dr. Conrad graduated from LSU Health Shreveport’s School of Medicine, then known as the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport in 1978. He completed his residency here, training in Internal Medicine. He currently serves as a Professor of Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery and Pediatrics. He holds the Ike Muslow Endowed Chair in Healthcare Informatics, is the Division Chief of Clinical Informatics and the Director of Extracorporeal Life Support Program. Dr. Conrad has led or contributed to a long list of clinical trials that have resulted in the approval of numerous therapies that have gone on to benefit patients locally, nationally and internationally.

“I celebrate alongside these graduates who have achieved a key milestone in their career preparation. I have enjoyed my time tremendously in serving as the Chancellor and Dean of the School of Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport and look forward to continued involvement with LSUHS as I transition to my new role as Chief Research Officer for the LSU Enterprise.” stated David Guzick, MD, PhD.

LSU Health Shreveport’s 2025 Commencement will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@LSUHealthShreveport/streams.

LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) in partnership with the LSU Health Sciences Foundation hosted the inaugural Rasberry Lecture on Thursday, May 1, 2025 featuring visiting lecturer Michael A. Curran, PhD, a Professor of Immunology from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Through the generosity of W. Clinton “Bubba” Rasberry and his family, the Rasberry Family Endowed Lecture Series was created in 2024. It aims to bring world-renowned biomedical leaders to LSU Health Shreveport to share the latest medical knowledge, science and technology with our community.

The lecture series was born out of a desire to showcase the new Center for Medical Education’s state-of-the-art auditorium, which has been named the Rasberry Auditorium in Bubba’s honor. A special ceremony was held ahead of the lecture to recognize the Rasberry family and former state Senator Greg Tarver, another longtime supporter and LSUHS advocate.

"Our family is honored to support LSU Health Shreveport in bringing world-class biomedical leaders to our community,” said Rasberry. “We believe that knowledge drives innovation, and innovation saves lives. It is our hope that the Rasberry Lecture Series will inspire future breakthroughs and foster meaningful discussions that lead to better healthcare outcomes for all."

More than 100 attendees arrived on campus to hear Dr. Curran’s lecture: “Cancer Immunotherapy: Today’s Breakthroughs, Tomorrow’s Possibilities.”

Dr. Curran earned his PhD in Immunology from Stanford University, receiving the McDevitt prize for best graduate thesis.

As the first recipient of the American Cancer Society Levy Fellowship, he pursued postdoctoral studies under Dr. James P. Allison at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he pioneered research on T cell co-inhibitory receptor blockade—laying the foundation for today’s most effective FDA-approved immunotherapy. Now a Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, he leads research on immune resistance in “cold” tumors like pancreatic and prostate adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma. In 2019, he founded ImmunoGenesis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company developing novel immunotherapies to improve treatment for these difficult-to-target cancers.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Rasberry family, we are bringing world-class biomedical leaders to Shreveport, inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals and researchers,” said Oren Rom, PhD, RD, Associate Dean for Basic and Translational Research at LSU Health Shreveport. “Dr. Curran’s groundbreaking work in cancer immunotherapy embodies the spirit of discovery that drives our mission, and we look forward to the profound impact this series will have on the future of medicine."

LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) has been selected as the newest site of the DoD National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot Program. A Congressionally authorized program led by the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) in an effort to enhance interoperability and expand capability and capacity within the National Disaster Medical System. LSUHS is one of only eight strategically located pilot sites in the United States and one of the two sites in the southern U.S.

The selection of LSUHS was based on numerous factors including strategic location, proximity to Barksdale Air Force Base and serving as a regional academic medical center. Also contributing to the LSU Health Shreveport’s selection as a Pilot site is the institution’s robust research, technology and educational capabilities, along with expert faculty and staff, established partnerships throughout the community and state, and strong motivation and community support.

The NDMS Pilot Program will be conducted over five years and will address the requirements of a large-scale combat operation (LSCO) or catastrophic event. To achieve this goal, LSU Health Shreveport will be focused on establishing new partnerships while strengthening existing partnerships with public and private organizations to include healthcare providers, all of which will be in coordination with the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health which is the Office of Primary Responsibility for the program.

The inaugural planning meeting occurred April 14-16 with community stakeholders and leadership of the Uniformed Services University, National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Veterans Health Administration Office of Emergency Management.

 “LSU Health Shreveport is honored to have been selected as a site for the NDMS Pilot Program. We take this privilege and responsibility seriously and will work tirelessly to prepare and execute a disaster response which delivers an optimal outcome for those injured in a war or natural disaster,” John Vanchiere, MD, PHD.

LSU Health Shreveport is also a member of the National Center’s Joint Disaster Medicine and Public Health Ecosystem, a national resource comprised of leading organizations across the U.S. that have demonstrated excellence in disaster medicine and public health. LSUHS was one of the first Ecosystem partners and the only partner in Louisiana.

More information about the NCDMPH and the NDMS Pilot Program can be found at ncdmph.usuhs.edu/ndms-pilot.

Today, 152 LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine students learned where they will go to complete their residency training during the annual Match Day celebration. Each year, on the third Friday in March at 12 p.m. ET, all fourth-year medical students throughout the United States discover where they have “matched” to for their residency training. For applicants, Match Day signals the transition from undergraduate to graduate medical education.

LSU Health Shreveport is proud to announce that 96.1% of the School of Medicine’s applicants matched through the National Resident Matching Program® (NMRP®) proving that LSUHS remains a strong competitor at the national level.

Of the 2025 class, 44% have matched in primary care residencies comprised of Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Family Medicine and Medicine-Pediatrics.

22% will be staying at LSU Health Shreveport for their residency with a total of 46% of the 2025 graduates staying in Louisiana. 76% of those staying in Louisiana for a residency will be doing so at an LSU medical school. Retaining students in Louisiana for their residency is critical for addressing Louisiana’s projected physician shortfall. According to the American Medical Association, Louisiana is projected to have the third-worst physician-shortage ratio in the U.S. by 2030, with an undersupply of 100 doctors for every 100,000 people.

The five-year match rate for the LSUHS School of Medicine is 98.24%.

LSU Health Shreveport medical students matched to highly competitive residencies and will train in prestigious programs around the country including Stanford, University of Alabama-Birmingham, UT Southwestern, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Baylor, University of Tennessee/Memphis and several others. The LSU Health Shreveport Class of 2025 will receive their Doctor of Medicine degrees on Saturday, May 10.

“We are pleased that so many of our students achieved the milestone of matching allowing them to progress in their goal of becoming practicing physicians. I offer these students my heartfelt congratulations. I also want to express deep appreciation to our faculty and staff who invested in these future physicians as their guidance and support are essential to student success.” stated David Guzick, MD, PhD, Chancellor & Dean of the LSUHS School of Medicine.

Match Day also reveals the number of newly minted physicians coming into the Shreveport-Bossier area to begin their post graduate training. The LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine successfully filled all 138 residency positions. This new group of trainees (residents and fellows) will be warmly welcomed to Shreveport in July, where they will train at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - Academic Medical Center, St. Mary Medical Center, Monroe Medical Center, and Rapides Medical Center along with other partner hospitals.

View the livestream recording of the Match Day event at www.lsuhs.edu/matchday.

Shreveport, La. – The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the official accrediting body for MD programs in the United States, has granted full accreditation to the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine. The next accreditation review will occur in academic year 2029-2030.

Accreditation by the LCME is a rigorous, multi-year process that evaluates medical schools based on comprehensive standards in areas such as curriculum quality, faculty qualifications, student support services, and institutional infrastructure. Full accreditation ensures that students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for a successful residency match and career in medicine.

“Receiving full accreditation from LCME is a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff and students,” shared David Guzick, MD, PhD, Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport and Dean of the School of Medicine. “I offer special thanks to Kelly Pagidas, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Administration, for her tireless efforts and passion in providing an exemplary educational experience for our students.”

This accreditation milestone reaffirms LSU Health Shreveport’s commitment to excellence in medical education and strengthens its ability to attract top-tier students and faculty. It also assures current and prospective students that their education meets the highest national standards.

“Preparing for an LCME site visit is a process that requires countless hours of planning and teamwork at every level. The substantive changes made to our curriculum coupled with the opening of the new Center for Medical Education and bolstered student services resulted in dramatically improved scores in every measured aspect of student satisfaction. While we are very pleased with our continued accreditation, our goal has never been to meet the LCME standards, but to exceed them,” stated Guzick.  

For more information about LSU Health Shreveport and all the institution’s program accreditations, visit www.lsuhs.edu/about/accreditations. A full list of LCME-accredited programs in the U.S. can be found at lcme.org/directory/accredited-u-s-programs/.

LSU Health Shreveport Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residents earned top honors at The Triological Society’s 2025 Combined Sections Meeting recently held in Orlando, Fla., winning first place in the Resident Bowl that was held at the annual meeting. Dr. Mallory Peters, Dr. Joel Badders and Dr. Mark Landry made up the resident trivia team that represented LSUHS in the competition.

The Resident Bowl, a signature event of the Triological Society’s annual meeting, is a quiz bowl style game that showcases the clinical knowledge, quick thinking, and teamwork of otolaryngology (ENT) residents from programs across the country. Twelve teams from across the country to include representation from prestigious universities participated in this year’s Resident Bowl. This victory highlights the exceptional training and dedication of LSU Health Shreveport's residents and faculty in advancing excellence in the field of Otolaryngology.

The Triological Society is one of the most respected and prestigious organizations in Otolaryngology, and its annual meeting serves as a platform for innovation, education, and collaboration within the specialty. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery faculty members and residents, as well as several LSU Health Shreveport medical students, attended this year’s meeting and had the opportunity to present their clinical and research posters as a part of the scientific program.

On Wednesday, January 22, LSU Health Shreveport hosted North Louisiana Area Health Education’s (AHEC) “Day with Doctors” program for 50 high school students from Caddo and Bossier parishes that have a 3.0 GPA and above and have expressed an interest in pursuing a medical career. Hosting the program at LSU Health Shreveport allows participants to experience the medical field firsthand by touring the campus and learning suturing, clinical skills, splinting, intubation, and more. LSUHS faculty, staff, and medical students volunteered to help teach these skills to the participants, providing an opportunity to give advice about applying to medical school in the future.

The purpose and mission of the North Louisiana AHEC program is to improve health status, increase access to care, and ensure that the future and current health care workforce is properly trained for medically underserved communities. This is done through community-based training, recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals and workers, developing and implementing continuing education programs to meet the needs of healthcare professionals in rural and underserved areas and to plan and respond to community health needs through population-based health system development and public education. “Day with the Doc­tors” is jointly sponsored by North Louisiana AHEC, Central Louisiana AHEC and the AHEC program office at LSU Health Shreveport.

LSU Health Shreveport has named Ashley Krukowski as the Executive Director of Sponsored Programs and will lead the newly established Office of Sponsored Programs, where she will play a critical role in supporting the research goals and ambitions for the institution and facilitate how the office manages grant awards funded by external sources. Prior to coming to LSU Health Shreveport, Ashley served as the Associate Vice President for Research Administration at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She was previously a Grant and Contract Officer and Assistant Director of the Grants Team at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Leadership in the Public Sector from North Carolina State University and completed her Master of Public Administration degree at Valdosta State University in Georgia. She completed the New Leadership Development program at the University of Oklahoma in 2022 and is credentialed by the Research Administrators Certification Council as a Certified Research Administrator. She participates in a variety of professional organizations, such as the Federal Demonstration Partnership and the Society for Research Administrators International.

Krista Queen, PhD, has been named as the Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs. The Office of Regulatory Affairs encompasses research compliance, research integrity, export controls and data sharing, post approval monitoring, and administrative oversight of the institutional assurance committees. With this role, Dr. Queen also serves as the Responsible Official for the Federal Select Agent Program and the Research Integrity Officer for the institution. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from LSU Shreveport. She completed her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology and her Postdoctoral Fellowship at LSU Health Shreveport. Dr. Queen went on to be an ORISE Fellow for five years with the Pathogen Discovery and Detection Team in the Gastroenteritis and Respiratory Viruses Lab Branch of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)/Division of Viral Diseases (DVD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She then went on to be a Microbiologist with the Genomics and Discovery Team in the Respiratory Viruses Branch of DVD/NCIRD at the CDC before returning to LSUHS in 2021 to join the Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats as the Director of Viral Genomics and Surveillance.

LSU Health Shreveport is pleased to announce Wendy K. Bernstein, MD, MBA, as the new Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Bernstein comes to Shreveport from the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, where she was a Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, and Director of Faculty Development.

In addition to being a dedicated educator and seasoned clinician, Dr. Bernstein brings extensive leadership and team building experience. Highlights of her distinguished career in academic medicine include serving as a Professor and Vice Chair of Education at the University of Rochester, where she developed new training opportunities for residents and fellows, including the creation of a new Acute Pain Fellowship and a rural residency tract for the anesthesiology residency program. She also served as the Division Chief for Cardiac Anesthesia and Program Director for the Cardiac Anesthesia Fellowship Program at the University of Maryland for 18 years, where she played a pivotal role in expanding the cardiac service line and increased the fellowship program from 2 to 3 fellows. Dr. Bernstein demonstrated her expertise in multidisciplinary simulation and team training, for which she is nationally recognized, at the University of Maryland through the creation of simulation program. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA) and a Fellow of the American Medical Women's Association (FAMWA).

She has made numerous contributions to anesthesiology, reflected by the publication of more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, 19 book chapters, and 54 invited presentations at national and international conferences. Dr. Bernstein has also served in leadership roles for national organizations, including two terms on the Board of Directors for American Medical Women’s Association, an American Board of Anesthesiology examiner for the APPLIED Exam, and several terms on the Editorial Board for the American Society of Anesthesiologists Computer Based Education Program.