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School of Medicine Columbia

  • Doctors pointing at a model of a lung

Internal Medicine

Our faculty members strive to achieve excellence in medical education, patient care and scholarly activity. We have affiliations and partnerships with the Prisma Health hospital system, the Dorn Veterans Hospital and several other local health care institutions. 

Medical Education

The department is involved in medical student education during all four years of medical school. Faculty members contribute heavily to both classroom and bedside teaching during the first two years, in clinically oriented areas such as physical diagnosis, ultrasound and clinical correlations.

During the third and fourth years, the department is responsible for a 12-week third-year clerkship, an acting internship experience and a wide variety of fourth-year electives.

 

Residency and Fellowships

The department also offers an internal medicine residency (with categorical and primary care tracks) and several subspecialty fellowships, in partnership with the PrismaHealth hospital system. Internal medicine faculty members play a key role in USC’s nationally recognized curriculum in point-of-care ultrasound for medical students and residents. 

 

Research

Research in the department is focused on improving patient care through application of biomedical, clinical and public health research to important clinical questions. Faculty members collaborate with researchers from other medical school departments and from other colleges and schools within the University of South Carolina. Research ranges from small-scale independent projects to larger-scale projects supported by government, foundations and industry. The School of Medicine has experience in FDA Phase II, III and IV clinical trials.

 

Patient Care

Patient care is provided through the PrismaHealth USC Medical Group, which offers primary care and subspecialty services at multiple sites in the greater Columbia area. 

 

Divisions

We offer comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of immunological diseases in children and adults. Dr. David Amrol specializes in treating asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, medication allergy, anaphylaxis, urticaria and immunodeficiency. Skin testing, allergen immunotherapy, spirometry and immunodeficiency evaluations are all performed in the clinic.

Faculty

The Division of Cardiology is leading the charge to advance heart health in South Carolina by complementing existing programs with pioneering research, progressive technology and skillful medical intervention.

This expertise allows faculty to offer advanced training and health care in all sub-specialty areas within the clinical practice to include:

  • Non-invasive Cardiology
  • Invasive Cardiology
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Electrophysiology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology

Teaching the next generation of cardiologists is our mission. The General Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship is a comprehensive three-year program designed to provide the skills required for a successful career in both academic and clinical practice. 

A comprehensive training program is offered for the Prisma Health USC School of Medicine residency programs. This includes inpatient consultative services, cardiac intensive care unit training as well as outpatient cardiovascular clinic experience.

The Cardiovascular Division is engaged in multiple clinical trials as well as primary investigator led research. This provides multiple opportunities for students, residents and fellows to engage in scholarly research.  

The Division of Cardiology is part of the Prisma Health system, which also includes the Prisma Health Heart Hospital — the state’s only freestanding hospital dedicated solely to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

We provide consultative, diagnostic and therapeutic services for endocrine and metabolic disorders. This program includes diabetes and its complications, osteoporosis, endocrine tumors, endocrine hypertension, thyroid disorders, adrenal disorders, male and female reproductive problems, lipid disorders, growth hormone disorders, hirsutism and neuroendocrinology.

As a medical student, you'll have the opportunity to pursue the Endocrinology Fellowship at Prisma Health.


Faculty
  • Brooke McAdams, M.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor, Assistant Program Director
  • Subhashini Yaturu, M.D. - Clinical Professor, DVAMC
  • A. Julian Munoz, M.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor, DVAMC VA Site Fellowship Director 
  • Ambika Rao, M.D. - Clinical Associate Professor, DVAMC VA Endocrine Division Chief 

Greetings from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Prisma Health-Midlands. We are part of Prisma Health and are closely aligned with The Schools of Medicine, The Arnold School of Public Health and The College of Pharmacy among others at The University of South Carolina in Columbia. Our vision is to be the premier source for care and information for patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases throughout the Midlands region of South Carolina. Working together as an interdisciplinary team, we will continue to provide outstanding care to patients and advance the field of gastroenterology and hepatology through education and research with collaboration with The University of South Carolina schools and colleges. We hope to enrich the lives of patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases by utilizing our skills in clinical care, education, and research. 

Our staff currently practices at Prisma Richland, Baptist, Tuomey, and Parkridge hospitals. Additionally, we have clinics at Richland and Parkridge. We have currently opened an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) at Parkridge. 

Our division offers clinical care in general gastroenterology, inflammatory bowel disease, motility, advanced endoscopy, and general and transplant hepatology. We are developing centers of expertise to provide coordinated care for patients with specific diseases. Over the upcoming year, we anticipate working closely with the Prisma campus at Greenville to develop a liver transplant program for patients with life-threatening acute and chronic liver diseases. 

We support education and work closely with The University of South Carolina School of Medicine and the ACGME- sponsored programs within the Prisma Health System. We anticipate beginning an ACGME-accredited program in gastroenterology and hepatology over the next 1 to 2 years. 

In addition to our work at the School of Medicine, our division is working closely with the School of Public Health on a variety of funded projects addressing metabolic dysregulation in colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and fatty liver disease among others. 

We are proud of our division, and we are excited about helping our community through clinical care, education, and research. 

Thomas W. Faust, M.D., M.B.E. 
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 
Clinical Professor of Medicine 
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine 

Faculty

  • Thomas W. Faust, M.D., M.B.E., Division Chief
  • Devendra S.K. Enjamuri, M.D.
  • Nizar P. Hallak, M.D.
  • Aniqa A. Kohen, M.D.
  • Nuri Ozden, M.D.
  • Zachary P. Gitto, M.D.
  • Joseph D. Meserve, M.D.
  • Balbir S. Minhas, M.D.

The division of General Internal Medicine plays a central role in medical education for the internal medicine residency and for each of the four years of medical school. In addition to teaching clinical medicine in the inpatient and outpatient settings, our faculty members teach a variety of topics, such as evidence-based medicine, critical review of the literature, medical ethics and physical diagnosis.

Members of the division serve as directors of the internal medicine residency, third-year and fourth-year student clerkships, and they assume leadership roles in several other educational activities in the medical school, including the nationally-known curriculum in point-of-care ultrasound. Division members see patients in the faculty practice, which is located adjacent to the academic offices and is certified as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Research in the division focuses primarily on medical education and primary-care oriented clinical questions.

Faculty

We enjoy a long-standing collaborative relationship with the Prisma Health Division of Geriatric Services. Motivated by a deep commitment to develop programs which serve older adults in South Carolina, the collaboration received the prestigious Leader in Geriatric Innovations award from the SAGE Institute’s Geriatric Best Practices in 2004.

The Geriatric Fellowship Program, started in 1997, is the only program in the state to train fellows in geriatric medicine. It provides for one-year fellowships. The Senior Primary Care Practice serves as a clinical training site and provides care for over 3,500 area seniors. PrismaSenior Care, one of the first 5 PACE demonstration sites in the nation, also serves as an important training site for residents and fellows.

Our mission is to meet the needs of older South Carolinians, their families, their communities and health care providers through coordinated service, education and research.

 Faculty

  • Rachelle N. Gajadhar, M.D.
  • Bruce M. Easterling, M.D.
  • Stephanie Curry, M.D.
  • Prexa Naik, M.D.
  • Shilpa Srinivasan, M.D.
  • Christian Steen, M.D.
  • Margaret Matthews, M.D.
  • Craig Maylath, M.D.
  • Lisa Wilson, M.D.

We offer comprehensive services in the diagnosis, treatment and management of infectious disease problems, including hospital-acquired infections, bone and joint infections, antimicrobial stewardship, hepatitis C and disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Faculty also provides instruction for medical students and for residents at affiliated hospitals. In addition, the division offers an ACGME accredited two-year infectious disease fellowship training program. We also offer a combined 3-year infectious diseases/critical care fellowship training program. Medical students can rotate in general Infectious Diseases as well as electives in LGBTQ health care and Interprofessional Experience.

The Infectious Diseases division serves as the lead agency for the Immunology Clinic, providing general infectious diseases ambulatory consults as well as the care of patients infected with HIV/AIDS, through a federally funded Ryan White Part B grant. The IC is the state’s largest HIV care service center, and since 1993, the Infectious Diseases division has coordinated a partnership of over 20 member agencies that deliver care across an eight county area.

Research interests include hospital epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship and prevention of antimicrobial resistance, bone and joint infections and clinical aspects of HIV disease.

Faculty

  • Sharon Weissman, M.D. - Department Chair, Clinical Professor of Medicine
  • Kamala Sanasi-Bhola, M.D. - Program Director Infectious Disease Fellowship
  • Edwin B. P. Hayes, M.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor; Associate Program Director of Infectious Diseases Fellowship
  • Divya Ahuja, M.D. - Clinical Associate Professor, Medical Director Immunology Center, Director of SC HIV/AIDS Training Center, Columbia
  • Majdi Al-Hasan, M.D. - Clinical Professor, Infectious Diseases Division Chief, Vice Chair of Medical Specialties and Research
  • Joseph Horvath, M.D. - Clinical Associate Professor
  • Rajeev Bais, M.D. - Founder/Director of Carolina Survivor Clinic, Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Sangita Dash, M.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Pamela Bailey, D.O., M.P.H. - Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Sarah Elizabeth Battle, M.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor
  • William Wooten, D.O. - Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Helmut Albrecht, M.D. - Distinguished Professor

We are board-certified physicians who hold faculty appointments at the USC School of Medicine while teaching residents and fellows at Prisma Health Richland and the Dorn VA Medical Center. Our goal is to provide comprehensive pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine to residents of the Midlands.

We provide inpatient services at Prisma Health Richland hospital including pulmonary and ICU consultations and are skilled at various therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. We offer superior general pulmonary outpatient care and have set ourselves apart by creating a variety of subspecialty clinics to care for South Carolina’s most complicated pulmonary patients.

In our accredited fellowship training program, we are educating future pulmonary physicians. We strive to improve the future of medicine by participating in clinical research and several partners have published in their various fields of interest within the past few years.

We are a group of young, energetic physicians excited to assist in the management of a wide range of pulmonary diseases. Please let us assist in the care of your patients as we strive to build a regional center for excellence in pulmonary medicine.

The Division of Rheumatology offers consultative, diagnostic and therapeutic services and educational programs in the area of rheumatic diseases. The program includes autoimmune disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, vasculitis (as well as crystalline arthropathies) and common disorders resulting in musculoskeletal pain such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, tendonitis and bursitis.

Faculty 

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