8th Annual USA Health Neuroscience Symposium

Save the Date!
Friday, April 14 – Sunday, April 16, 2023
Pensacola Beach Hilton — 12 Via De Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach, FL 32561
This program is open to all physicians and healthcare professionals and will provide comprehensive reviews and updates on important neurologic topics.
Download our brochure [PDF] for full details and a print registration form.
Target audience
This program is appropriate for all healthcare professionals and nurses.
CME Credits
In support of improving patient care, USA’s College of Medicine Office of CME is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Provider Number: 4008198
JA - This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 12.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education credits for learning and change.
CME - The University of South Alabama College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 12.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
ANCC - This program has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 12.25 nursing contact hours
ACPE - This course has been approved for 4.75 hours of pharmacy continuing education credit. The approval number issued is: JA4008198-0000-20-008-L04-P.
Statement of Purpose
This program provides an update on important topics in neurology and addresses clinical competencies of knowledge, performance, and improving patient outcomes.
Professional Practice Gap
The professional practice gap was identified by use of faculty/staff surveys, IOM data, ACGME competencies, Core Measures, Hospital Infection Control rates and National Patient Safety Goals. The format of this activity will be lecture, PowerPoint, and question and answer sessions.
Activity Director/Planners Disclosure
Dr. Jose Sanchez, Tommye Mangrum, Vicky Lim, and Sharrie Cranford, LGSW, have disclosed that, as conference chair and planners they have no affiliations, arrangements or financial agreements which could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest.
Faculty Disclosures
The following planners, reviewers, and faculty have declared they have no relations with commercial interest that would present a conflict: William Kilgo, MD; Robert Kobelja, MD; Rebecca Sugg, MD; Elizabeth Minto, MD.
It is the policy of University of South Alabama Continuing Medical Education (USA CME) to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its sponsored educational activities. All faculty members participating in continuing medical education activities sponsored and facilitated by USA CME are required to disclose to participants any real or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentations. Disclosure of faculty commercial relationships will be made known at the activity. Faculty are also expected to openly disclose any discussion of off-label and/or investigational uses of drugs in their presentations.
Course Director
Jose Sanchez, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
University of South Alabama
Guest Speakers
Christopher H. Gottschalk, M.D., FAHS
Professor; Chief, Division of General Neurology
Director, Yale Headache Facial Pain Program
Yale School of Medicine
James F. Howard Jr., M.D. FAAN
Professor of Neurology, Medicine & Allied Health
Director, Myasthenia Gravis Clinical Trials and Translational Research Program
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
James Rini, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Ochsner Medical Center
John Soltys, M.D.
Oxford University
University of South Alabama Faculty
Hanna Czarkowska, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Daniel Dees, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
Hanan El Shakankiry, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
William Kilgo, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Robert Kobelja, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Taha Nisar, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Adeel Saleemi, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Jai Thakur, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Program Schedule
Exhibits will be open throughout the entire symposium.
Friday, April 14, 2023
2 p.m.: Registration - Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments
4:25 p.m.: Welcome - Jose Sanchez, M.D.
4:30 p.m.: “Peering Through the Cerebrovascular flow with Advance Imaging” - Taha Nisar, M.D.
5:15 p.m.: “Typical Absence Seizures: When are they not so Typical?” - Hanan El Shakankiry, M.D., PhD
6 p.m.: “Rational Approaches to the Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis” - James F. Howard, Jr., M.D., FAAN
7 p.m.: Welcome Reception - Hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and cocktails
Saturday, April 15, 2023
7 a.m.: Registration and Breakfast
7:45 a.m.: “Tics and Twitches in Movement Disorders” - Hanna Czarkowska, M.D.
8:30 a.m.: “Tools for Preventing Strokes” - Adeel Saleemi, M.D.
9:15 a.m.: “Roundtable: Neuromuscular diseases” - James F. Howard Jr., M.D., FAAN., Robert Kobelja, M.D., Jose Sanchez, M.D.
10 a.m.: Break
10:30 a.m.: “Headaches: What to do and When to Worry” - Christopher H. Gottschalk, M.D., FAHS
11:15 a.m.: “Advances in The Treatment and Diagnosis of ALS” - Robert Kobelja, M.D.
12 p.m.: Lunch and Clinical Cases - Residents, James Howard, M.D., William Kilgo, M.D., Jose Sanchez, M.D.
1 p.m.: Workshops
- Hands-on Workshop on Neuromuscular Ultrasound of the Upper Extremity Entrapment Neuropathies - Jose Sanchez, M.D.
- Botulinum Toxin Injections for Migraine - A Practical Hands-on Training Session from Dilution to Injection - Daniel Dees, M.D.
2 p.m.: Adjourn
7 p.m.: Reception - Dinner, live music, refreshments, and cocktails
Sunday, April 16, 2023
7 a.m.: Registration and Breakfast
7:45 a.m.: “Keyhole Approaches for Surgical Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemifacial Spasms” - Jai Thakur, M.D.
8:30 a.m.: “The Use of Emerging Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration” - James Rini, M.D.
9:15 a.m.: “A Rational Approach to Treatment Decision Making in Multiple Sclerosis” - William Kilgo, M.D.
10 a.m.: Break
10:15 a.m.: “Overview of a Paraneoplastic Consult” - John Soltys, M.D.
11 a.m.: Clinical Cases II - Residents, Christopher H. Gottschalk, M.D., FAHS, William Kilgo, M.D., Jose Sanchez, M.D.
12 p.m.: Adjourn - End of Symposium
Pensacola Beach Hilton
12 Via De Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach, FL 32561
The Hilton Pensacola Beach hotel is located directly on the beach in Pensacola Beach, Florida and has been ranked as high as No. 5 of all U.S. beaches by TripAdvisor. All of the stylish and comfortable rooms come with a view, because there's water in every direction. Relax. Dine. Swim. Shop. Explore. Pensacola Beach and the inland City of Pensacola are home to beautiful scenery, exciting arts and culture, interesting history, boundless outdoor adventure, and culinary delights to please any palate. Pensacola Beach awaits.
The Hotel is currently undergoing renovations. Guests will have access to the heated pool next door with a Lazy River; restaurant offerings will be available in the White Sands Room. Rooms are available until March 14, 2023, at a special meeting rate of $219.00 per night. Call 866-916-2999 and mention the USA Neuroscience Symposium Group Code: SAM to receive the discount. Any special requests regarding rooms are based on availability at time of arrival.
Tommye Mangrum
Department of Neurology
University of South Alabama
2451 University Hospital Drive
Mastin Building - Room 614
Mobile, AL 36617
Phone: 251-445-8262
Fax: 251-445-7249
tmangrum@health.southalabama.edu