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Biography

Dr. Sumathilatha Sakthi Velavan is an Associate Professor of Anatomy in the Division of Biomedical Sciences at Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM). Dr. Sakthi Velavan is an experienced clinician and anatomist as an educator of medical students. She primarily teaches anatomy, histology, and pathology to the preclinical osteopathic medical students of MU-COM. She serves as the course director of Essential Clinical Anatomy and Development course at MU-COM.

Dr. Sakthi Velavan is a physician who graduated from a medical institution in India. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Sakthi Velavan also further specialized as an anatomist by completing an academic program of Masters in Surgery in the branch of Anatomy. Apart from providing patient care, she taught various subdisciplines of anatomical sciences in the allopathic medical schools in India for almost ten years. Before joining Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK, she taught Osteopathic Medical students at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York. She is passionate about utilizing innovative teaching methodology to facilitate students' learning. Being a clinician, she effectively impacts anatomy education with her clinically oriented teaching.

As a National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) member, Dr. Sakthi Velavan serves as an item writer and reviewer since 2018. She was named a National Association of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME) Fellow in the category of Teaching and Evaluation in 2020. Dr. Sakthi Velavan was recognized and awarded Frank Gray Teacher of the Year 2017 by Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. She also received the Outstanding Clinical Faculty of the Year 2022 and Advisor of the Year 2022 and 2023 from the SGA of MU-COM. Dr. Sakthi Velavan’s contribution to medical education was recently recognized by the Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators (SOME) of AACOM by SOME Innovation in Medical Educator Award in 2023.

Clinical/Research Interests

Dr. Sakthi Velavan is immensely interested in researching rare yet clinically significant anatomical variations. Accurate knowledge of these variations is essential to improve clinical diagnosis and the quality of medical intervention. She has presented and published her findings in many academic conferences and peer-reviewed specialty journals. Her research output has contributed to the existing knowledge of Anatomy andother clinical specialties, which depend heavily on the expertise of Anatomy. Dr. Sakthi Velavan has guided over fifty medical students of TouroCOM and MU-COM to research clinically significant anatomical variations and directed their scholarly activities. Most of her mentees have presented annual meetings of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists and transformed their work into peer-reviewed research publications.

Dr. Sakthi Velavan is also interested in research on innovative medical education. Her medical education research includes analyzing the effectiveness of integrating virtual microscopy podcasts in Histology teaching in Osteopathic medical education was recognized by the Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators (SOME) of AACOM by SOME Innovation in Medical Educator Award. Dr. Sakthi-Velavan, in collaboration with her peer faculty, is currently involved in a study on integrated learning activity assessments and their impact on students’ learning outcomes.
 

Recent Publications

Dykstra, C., Dwenger, E., Parent, E., Sakthi Velavan, S. Extracranial hypoglossal neurofibroma with a variant ansa cervicalis: a case report. Surgical and Radiological Anatomy, 2023, 45, 297-302.

Kosnik, N., Kowalski, T., Lorenz, L., Valacer, M., Sakthi Velavan, S. (2023). Anatomicalreview of internal jugular vein cannulation. Folia Morphologica, Published online. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36794685/

Sakthi-Velavan S, Zahl S. Integration of Virtual Microscopy Podcasts in the Histology Discipline in Osteopathic Medical School: Learning Outcomes. Anat Sci Educ. 2022 April 2. doi: 10.1002/ase.2181

Bennett K, Vincent T, Sakthi-Velavan S. The patellar ligament: A comprehensive review. Clin Anat. 2022 Jan;35(1):52-64.

Baugher E, Batarseh T, Becker A, Cantu A, Carr E, Sakthi Velavan S, Multiple Osteochondromas Comorbid With Enlarged Parietal Foramina, Elongated Styloid Processes, and Tibiofibular Synostosis: A Case Report and Review of Literature, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2021;aqa a282.

Schmid A, Petrovic M, Akella K, Pareddy A, Sakthi Velavan S, "Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Myocardial Injury, Coagulopathy, and Other Potential Cardiovascular Implications of COVID-19", International Journal of Vascular Medicine, vol. 2021, ArticleID 6693895, 16 pages, 2021.

Duraipandian-Sendiladibban S, Hoban K, Sakthi-Velavan S, et al. (December 30, 2020) A Unique Case of Popliteal Artery Thrombosis in Isolated Prothrombin Gene Mutation. Cureus 12(12): e12376.

Gencheva R, Gibson B, Garugu S, Forrest A, Sakthi-Velavan S, A unilateral pelvic kidney with variant vasculature: clinical significance, Journal of Surgical Case Reports, Volume 2019, Issue 11, November 2019.