Before the COVID-19 pandemic changed life as we knew it, DMU’s osteopathic manual medicine (OMM) Fellows presented a research poster that won second place in the 2020 research presentation competition of the Louisa Burns Osteopathic Research Committee and the National Undergraduate Fellows Association, held on March 12 during the annual convocation of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) in Colorado Springs, CO.
DMU OMM Fellows Thomas Mehner, Krista Hoevemeyer, Ryan McMunn and Kai Yuan Teng, members of the Class of 2021, presented “The Effect of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) on Proprioception in Adults: A Pilot Study” in original research by students category. Co-authors of the poster were Jose Figueroa, D.O., FAOCPOMR, FAAPMR, assistant professor of osteopathic medicine and a physician in OMM and physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University, and Chunfa Jie, Ph.D., associate professor and biostatistician in biochemistry and nutrition.
An abstract of the poster is linked on the AAO website.
Of 95 abstracts submitted for the competition, the committee accepted 58 submissions, and 44 posters were presented by students, residents and practicing physicians in three categories: case study, education and public health, and original research.
DMU’s OMM Fellows complete a 12-month experience divided nearly equally in clinical and academic duties. They work with attendings in the University’s on-campus OMM Clinic, teach in OMM lectures and labs, and proctor practical exams, among other duties.
“Presenting at convocation was a great opportunity to share the results from our project and have engaging discussions with other students and physicians,” says Thomas Mehner. “The OMM Fellow research project gave me the experience of developing a study from the beginning stages through making a poster and writing a manuscript. I wanted to participate in research to help increase the knowledge base of OMT and to provide groundwork for future studies.”
Also at this year’s AAO convocation, Ryan McMunn received fourth place in the A. Hollis Wolf Osteopathic Case Presentation.
This was the third consecutive year that DMU’s OMM Fellows have placed in the AAO convocation’s student research competition. In 2018, Ashley Bedi, D.O.’18, won the Ram’s Head Trophy for first place in the education and public health category in the competition for the poster she presented on her research analyzing OMM fellowship programs across the country. She produced the poster, titled “A Survey of Predoctoral Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) Fellowships,” with her mentor Drew Lewis, D.O., FAAO, FNAOME, FAOCPMR, FAAPMR, interim OMM department chair at DMU, and with the assistance of Dr. Jie.
In 2019, DMU’s four OMM Fellows, Samantha Tyler, Anna Johnson, Kody Kasten and Erika Kolakowski, members of the DMU Class of 2020, received first place in the competition for original research for their poster, “The Immediate, Intermediate, and Long-Term Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Pulmonary Function in Adults with Asthma.” In addition, Anna Johnson received fifth place that year in the A. Hollis Wolf Osteopathic Case Presentation for her timed case presentation, titled “Psoas and Dyspnea: How OMM Discovered an Unexpected Correlation.”
