Thank you to the more than 200 physicians, residents, fellows, and students who attended the 2026 NC-ACP Annual Scientific Session in Raleigh! Particularly we would like to thank NC-ACP Governor Marion M. McCrary, MD, FACP, and the Program Chairs from Campbell University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM) for their hard work in designing the event: James Cappola, III, MD; Christopher W. Stewart, MD, FACP, FHM; and David Tolentino, DO, FACOI, FACP.
The 2026 NC-ACP Annual Scientific Session opened Friday with a packed welcome reception followed by several rounds of a spirited Residents Doctor’s Dilemma competition, where residents from the Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center prevailed.
Saturday featured the main educational programming, including sessions on maintaining certification, concurrent inpatient and outpatient clinical updates, and presentations on topics such as hypertension, endocrinology, neurology, ventilator management, and osteopathic treatments. Saturday also heralded the arrival of the Campbell University Community Care Clinic (CUCCC) bus, a mobile unit dedicated to improving access to care. The CUCCC was the focus of the NC-ACP’s community service project; donations are still welcome to support the CUCCC services here. Saturday also included networking with exhibitors, mentoring sessions for students and residents, chief resident presentations, and a highly competitive poster session featuring more than 100 posters. Evening events included the Students Doctor’s Dilemma and the Governor’s Dinner, where poster winners were announced; Paul R. Chelminski, MD, MPH, FACP, received the Laureate Award; and Sarah B. McCullough, MD was presented with the Dr. Gary Greenberg Memorial Award for community service. On Sunday, attendees participated in sessions on advocacy, physician wellness, point-of-care ultrasound cases, and treatment of alcohol dependence, concluding with a story slam and meeting wrap-up.
Residents Doctor’s Dilemma Winners:
Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center
- Justin Shaw, MD
- Lauren Harmon, DO
- Christopher Jue, DO
Poster Competition Winners:
- 3rd Place Clinical Vignette – Ghazal Abu Salim, MD (Resident at Novant Health)
- From Mouth Ulcers to Arterial Dissections: Connecting the Dots in Beh?et’s Disease
- 2nd Place Clinical Vignette – Sonum Tharwani, MD, MBA (Resident at Duke Health)
- From Persistent Hiccups to Pericardiocentesis: The Value of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound
- 1st Place Clinical Vignette – Hoyoung Lee, DO (Resident at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center)
- Caught in a Carotid Web: A Source of Ischemic Stroke
- 1st Place Research – Ashley Foulkrod, MD (Resident at Womack Army Medical Center)
- Clostridioides difficile in the U.S. Military Active-Duty Population, 2016-2024
- 1st Place High Value/Quality Improvement – Brandon Conner, MD (Resident at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center)
- A Day in the Life of Our Patients: Reinvigorating High-Value Care and Health Equity Education for Residents
- 1st Place Student – Joshua Zachariah – (Medical Student at UNC)
- 10-Year Trends in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) Patient Characteristics: Insights from a Large Academic Medical Center
- 1st Place Early Career Physician – Luisa Paredes Acosta, MD (Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist)
- Promoting CRC Screening Through Culturally-Centered Conversations
