INSIDE WVSMA
Editor’ s Letter
Medical Student Editors: A 2026 Update
Linda S. Nield, MD
GUEST AUTHORS:
Layla Abbud, BS Ian Leighton, MPH Emma Nesselrodt, BS
The West Virginia Medical Journal
( WVMJ) is saying farewell to its second batch of volunteer medical student editors who have served for the last two years. Despite their exceedingly busy schedules, our student editors donated their time and expertise to proofread each issue and perform other publication tasks. Skylar Cooper has graduated from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University( JCESoM) after earning her Doctor of Medicine( MD) degree and matching in neurology at the Detroit Medical Center of Wayne State University. Kent Marshall, an MD / PhD graduate of the West Virginia University School of Medicine( WVU SoM), has matched in neurosurgery at the University of Florida. Lucas Wohler, who earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine( DO) from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine( WVSOM), will be remaining in the state as a surgery resident at the WVU SoM. Cooper, Marshall, and Wohler will be missed, and their contributions to the editorial process will be long remembered.
Simultaneously accompanying this farewell is a welcome to our new medical student editors, one volunteer from each of the state’ s three medical schools. These students, Layla Abbud, Ian Leighton, and Emma Nesselrodt, have an interest in research or literary and scholarly works and have been specially chosen by their deans and research leaders at their respective institutions.
Originally from Richmond, Virginia( VA), Abbud is an MD candidate at the JCESoM. She earned her Bachelor of Science( BS) degree in biotechnology and honors interdisciplinary studies from James Madison University in 2023. After graduating college, she worked as a medical assistant at an endocrinology clinic in VA. Abbud is currently contributing to a research project in the Department of Family Medicine at the JCESoM studying the resilience of West Virginia high school students. Her other service roles include president of The Giving Palm, mentoring students at Fairfield University, and volunteering at Marshall Medical Outreach and Hoops Family Children’ s Hospital. research then centered on factors reversing oncogenic epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Following graduation, he joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease( NIAID) as a postbaccalaureate fellow. His work focused on the interplay between metabolite intermediates and the adaptive immune response utilizing Francisella tularensis as a model of vaccine-induced immunity. Moreover, he assessed the role of the serum lipidome during SARS- CoV-2 infection and dietary effects on disease severity. In 2022, Leighton began his Master of Public Health at George Washington University with an interest in public policy and infectious disease management. He is now pursuing an MD / PhD at the WVU SoM, focusing on immunology and microbial pathogenesis research. Leighton has authored seven publications indexed in PubMed and received the NIAID Merit Award for wide-ranging scientific research in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Nesselrodt is a second-year medical student at WVSOM. She is originally from Mount Crawford, VA, and graduated summa cum laude from Bridgewater College with a BS in biochemistry and a minor in leadership. While at Bridgewater College, Nesselrodt served as the captain of the women’ s tennis team and conducted research through the Department of Chemistry. In addition to her current medical training at the WVSOM, she is involved in exercise medicine research, serves as a member of the Student Admissions Leadership Team, and is a student mentor. Nesselrodt has also served her hometown community for four years with the Bridgewater Rescue Squad, where she continues to volunteer as an emergency medical technician( EMT) and driver and assists in training fellow EMT volunteers.
Our three new volunteer student editors are highly commended for their past and ongoing accomplishments and their willingness to support the WVMJ of the West Virginia State Medical Association.
Leighton graduated from Washington and Jefferson College, earning his Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry in 2019. His
6 • www. wvsma. org