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ACOM is proud to announce Richard R. Thacker, DO, MACOI, board-certified internist, was recently selected president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

Dr. Thacker was elected to this prestigious position at the AOA’s annual meeting in Chicago. He will serve as AOA president-elect this year before assuming the president’s role in July 2026.

The AOA represents more than 197,000 osteopathic physicians and students in the US, promoting public health, scientific research, and the distinctive osteopathic approach to medicine.

Dr. Thacker, who joined the ACOM faculty in 2018, is associate dean of Clinical Sciences, a member of the dean’s cabinet and associate professor of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Thacker is board certified in hospice and palliative medicine, and he is a master fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists. Prior to being selected president-elect, Dr. Thacker served on the AOA board of trustees.

He is the 2024 recipient of the ACOM Student Advocate Award, which is voted on by the student body.

Dr. Thacker, DO, MACOI, is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine in Davie, Florida and he is a past president of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. He is a longtime advocate for the profession with decades of legislative experience.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Thacker for his dedication to advancing osteopathic medicine through this leadership role.

The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) is proud to announce the faculty promotions of Thomas J. Fotopoulos, DO, to professor of Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP) and Richard R. Thacker, DO, MACOI, to associate professor of Internal Medicine. Both serve in the Clinical Sciences division.

Dr. Fotopoulos joined the ACOM faculty in 2021 and he serves as chair of the Department of OPP. He is board-certified in neuromusculoskeletal medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine.

A second-generation osteopathic physician, Dr. Fotopoulos enjoys teaching students to better understand and utilize OMM. Dr. Fotopoulos is the recipient of the 2024 Ronald S. Owen Legacy Award.

Dr. Thacker has been a member of the ACOM faculty since 2018 and he serves as associate dean of Clinical Sciences and as a member of dean’s cabinet.

Dr. Thacker is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine, and he is a master fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists. Dr. Thacker serves on the board of trustees for the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

He is the 2024 recipient of the ACOM Student Advocate Award, which is voted on by the student body.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Fotopoulos and Dr. Thacker on these well-deserved recognitions and in celebrating their continued leadership and service to ACOM.

DOTHAN, Ala – The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) and Special Operations Forces to School of Medicine (SOFtoSOM) are proud to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement offering priority status to qualified military veterans.

The three-year MOU agreement was signed and implemented at the beginning of this academic year. The agreement guarantees SOFtoSOM veterans who have been vetted academically and who have achieved a minimum MCAT score will receive an admissions interview, and it waives the admission fee. It also provides admission at no cost into the Anatomy Boot Camp, which takes place prior to the first semester of medical school.

“We are excited about this opportunity to provide these military heroes an opportunity to realize their dream of becoming physicians,” said Christina Kennedy, PhD, director of Community Partnerships. “This agreement allows us to recruit some of the military’s brightest soldiers to ACOM.”

Dr. Kennedy is confident that this MOU not only reflects the collaboration of ACOM and SOFtoSOM, but it will also provide a strong platform for future initiatives.

The SOFtoSOM expressed its honor in partnering with ACOM in the shared mission of supporting our nation’s most elite veterans as they transition from the battlefield to the bedside. This organization believes the agreement represents more than just an admissions pathway. It is a testament to ACOM’s commitment to recognizing the unique strengths, discipline, and service-driven mindset that Special Operations veterans bring to medicine. SOFtoSOM believes this collaboration will not only open doors for our candidates, but it will also enrich the ACOM community with future physicians forged through years of selfless service and leadership.

SOFtoSOM began as a grassroots initiative, uniting Special Operations Forces service members through social media to support one another on the path to medical school. What started as informal MCAT study sessions quickly evolved into a thriving community of SOF veterans and students, providing mentorship and resources from pre-med preparation to medical school success. In 2023, driven by a shared commitment to making a lasting impact, these veterans formally established SOFtoSOM, which is the first nonprofit organization dedicated to guiding Special Operators in the transition from the battlefield to health care, carrying forward the same integrity, leadership, and resilience that define their service.

For more information about the SOFtoSOM program at ACOM, visit  www.acom.edu.

ACOM, for the sixth time since 2017, has claimed the national American Medical Student Association (AMSA) simulation competition championship.

The recent competition was at the AMSA Future Physicians for Change conference in Washington, D.C.

ACOM team, Smooth Obturators, defeated four other teams, including Yale School of Medicine and Baylor University College of Medicine. A second team from ACOM also made it to the semifinals.

The winning team was comprised of Carly Stuppiello, Autumn Stevens, Hart Williams, Sydney Sheppard and Sabrina Belizaire.

“I’m incredibly proud of this team and the way they competed,” said Jim Nolin, PhD, FNP-C, CHSE, Director of Clinical Simulation. “Earning this championship is a testament to our students and the strength of ACOM’s simulation program and the tradition of excellence we’ve cultivated. Our simulation lab bridges the gap between theory and practice, giving students hands-on experience that reinforces what they learn in the classroom.”

“We are proud of the continued success our simulation teams have experienced on the national level,” said James C. Jones, DO, FACEP, ACOM Dean. “Our simulation program represents the strong foundation of medical education all of our students receive.”

Along with Dr. Nolin, the simulations faculty includes Greg Jacobs, DO, FACEP, FAAEM, interim medical director of Clinical Simulation, Nancy Brown, MEd, BSN, simulation curriculum coordinator and Justin Bonds, simulation technology specialist.

The Sim Fellows include Sandra Fanous, Hannah Mixon, Dana Parker, and Mikaylah Rutledge.

Andrew Vogel (OMS IV) has been selected by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) as the 2025 National Student Researcher of the Year.

Andrew was chosen from a field of 49 highly qualified applicants representing 60 colleges of Osteopathic Medicine from across the country. The National Selection Committee noted a particularly high caliber of applicants for thie year’s award. This marks the second year in a row that an ACOM student has been chosen as recipient of the award.

Created in 2015, the Student Researcher of the Year award is intended to recognize osteopathic medical students with highly competitive experiences and advancement in clinical, translational, or basic science research. The recipient is selected based on their contributions to osteopathic research as it aligns with the mission of the Osteopathic profession and its governing bodies.

Recognition for this award will be included in the programming for the upcoming 2025 AACOM Educating Leaders Conference.

The state-funded Alabama Medical Education Consortium (AMEC), incorporated in 2004 as a 501C3, with a mission to increase the number of physicians in rural and underserved areas of Alabama. The AMEC Pipeline successfully brought third- and fourth-year medical students to Alabama for their last two years of medical school. Core sites were developed throughout the state for clinical training to provide community-based education. The core teaching sites were later committed to the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) for placement of its third- and fourth-year medical students for clinical clerkships.

A second mission was undertaken in 2017 to assist hospitals with startup State funding and consultation to develop new residency programs. Recognizing that many physicians tend to practice near where they train, AMEC began conversations with Alabama hospitals about developing residency programs.  AMEC and ACOM have successfully worked to develop and enrich the growing number of teaching hospitals in Alabama. In 2025, 10 Alabama hospitals had established Graduate Medical Education programs affiliated with the ACOM. The specialties of these 18 accredited programs include Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, a Transitional Year, Psychiatry, Sports Medicine, and Geriatric Medicine.

We are pleased to share the data below about the programs and the resident/physician population generated by AMEC/ACOM efforts