COMP (CA): Student, Faculty & Alumni Spotlight
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Mayting Chen, DO2027 Student DO of the Month
鈥淢ay deserves SDOM for all the work she puts in for the rest of the class. Orienting to 3rd year has been stressful and there are so many resources scattered in various documents, powerpoints, and links and I have to search all over to find the information I am looking for. May does the work to organize the information, summarize, and include it in our class discord, so that we only have to look in one place for all the information we need. She truly goes above and beyond and the entire class benefits as a result. Whenever I have a question, May will go out of her way and do an immense amount of work just to make sure that my question is answered without anyone asking or expecting her to do so. May is generous, takes initiative, and is a role model for the rest of the class. It is an honor to have her as a friend and colleague.鈥�
鈥淢ay is the kind of person who not only goes the extra mile but the extra 100 miles to help those around her. Her dedication and drive as a medical student are truly remarkable, but what stands out even more is her exceptional character. May is a high achiever in every sense鈥攏ot just in her studies, but as a friend, colleague, and human being. Her kindness, generosity, and unwavering support make her someone you can always count on, and I feel incredibly fortunate to know her.鈥�
Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Pumerantz, DO, MPH
As Professor of Population Health Science, Internal Medicine, and Infectious Disease, Dr. Pumerantz has reached across disciplines and institutions to meld the fields of osteopathic medicine and public health for COMP and COMP-NW students. In 2021, he and his faculty colleagues from the public health program in the School of Community and Global Health at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) launched a uniquely designed DO/MPH Dual Enrollment Program that embodies population health science thinking. Professor Pumerantz designed the new dual enrollment program so that students could concurrently enroll in online MPH courses at CGU upon entering COMP and COMP-NW and then be able to complete both degrees in four years without the need to delay their timeline to residency. The dual enrollment program has enrolled more than 50 students since its inception and is forming its fourth cohort for this summer and fall. Dual enrollment students may choose to concentrate their MPH in either Health Promotion, Education, and Evaluation; Leadership and Management; or Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology. The first four DO/MPH graduates in 2024 are heading to their top-choices at university-based residency programs in such diverse specialties as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, and family medicine. Pumerantz believes that concurrently studying osteopathic medicine and public health leverages vital trans-institutional connections and networks and promotes the synthesis of transdisciplinary learning that is essential for 21st century physicians. His vision for the DO/MPH dual enrollment program is to forge the next generation of population health scientists to become leaders and changemakers dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations.
Alumni Spotlight: Niloofar Khatibi, DO & Chris Arnold, DO 鈥�01
In honor of the month of love, we are featuring one of our many alumni couples who met and fell in love at COMP!
“After 24 years of marriage that was filled with raising 2 beautiful children and practicing family medicine, we often reminisce over our time spent at Western University of Health Sciences. We met at the romantic anatomy lab and grew to love one another while studying in the library 鈥� also, so very romantic! This beautiful relationship led us to our big day in June 2000 as we both completed our 3rd year of medical school.
The journey that we take in life is not meant to be easy or comforting at all times. The challenges that we encountered at Western University allowed us to grow and reach our potential as physicians and parents. We are so grateful to Western University for showing us the importance of compassion, the value of grit and the lifelong reward achieved by caring for one another, our families and our patients.”