VCU news

Matthew Lohman, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, VCU School of Medicine

Following a year-long application process, Lohman received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award fellowship in July. The title of Matt's research is "Frailty and Depression: A Latent Trait Analysis."

The award, from the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, will support Lohman’s research – totaling $40,000 per year – for the next two years. His study focuses on evidence that suggests geriatric conditions such as frailty may signal elevated vulnerability to adverse health outcomes such as falls and hospitalization. He will look at achieving a better understanding of frailty and how it is related to depression. The project aims to guide clinicians and researchers toward more accurate definitions and identifications of frailty and timely interventions to prevent adverse health events among older adults.

“It is tremendously validating to know that my research and training are considered worthy of support by the National Institute on Aging,” Lohman said. “Receiving this award will allow me to carry out my research objectives with a focus and depth not otherwise possible, and hopefully to make valuable contributions to science and knowledge of aging.”

Abdulkhaliq Jassem Alsalman, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, VCU School of Pharmacy

Alsalman’s research was chosen this spring as one of the four highest-ranking submissions at the 29th annual meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Alsalman received his Ph.D. this spring and will serve as a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Pharmacy.

Seeking to shed light on the biopsychosocial and spiritual effects of taking prescribed opioids to treat noncancer pain, Alsalman gathered data from 21 African-American adults with sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is an inherited blood disorder, and pain is a primary symptom. The research found that taking opioids had many and diverse consequences for patients in terms of biological, psychological, social and spiritual functioning.

“From my research in pharmacotherapy, I realized that there was a paucity of research available about pain management and the chronic use of opioids in SCD," Alsalman said. "Also, I have personal experiences with family and friends who have chronic pain. I saw the impacts of their pain and concomitant opioid use. I saw the need to describe not only multiple individual effects of opioid use, but also a holistic picture of opioid use on patients' daily lives."

“Prescribed opioids may be overused in the eyes of some physicians or underused in the eyes of others," said Wally Smith, M.D., professor of medicine and scientific director of the VCU Center on Health Disparities. Smith served as Alsalman’s faculty adviser on the research. "We uncovered the need to describe and anticipate both underuse and overuse linked to biopsychosocial-spiritual effects. We believe our research will facilitate better doctor-patient communication, raise providers' cultural sensitivity to patients' preferences, center prescribing behavior around patients' rather than providers' needs and, ultimately, improve quality of life for patients."