USA Health represented in 40 Under 40

By Carol McPhail
cmcphail@health.southalabama.edu

Five representatives from USA Health were named to Mobile Bay’s 2020 40 Under 40. Each year, Mobile Bay magazine recognizes 40 individuals under the age of 40 who demonstrate leadership, professional excellence and a commitment to the Mobile Bay area.

Philip Almalouf, M.D. (second from left) is a pulmonologist at USA Health and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. A native of Damascus, Syria, Almalouf came to Mobile as a pulmonary critical care fellow in 2009. A Red Sash faculty member, he has won many awards, including four John Bass Awards for Teaching and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Almalouf serves as medical director for Homedica and St. Joseph Hospice. He volunteers at Victory Health Partners and is active in community education efforts.

Nicolette Holliday, M.D. (far left) is an obstetrician-gynecologist at USA Health and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USA College of Medicine. Holliday earned her medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, where she also completed her residency training. She was the first OB-GYN in the Mobile and Baldwin county region to receive her Focused Practice Designation in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and has recently opened up a division at USA Health to care for these patients. Holliday also serves as the OB-GYN clerkship director, where she mentors future healthcare providers.

Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A. (second from right) is a neurosurgeon and chief of complex spine surgery at USA Health, director of the USA Health Spine Institute, and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the USA College of Medicine. Menger graduated with honors from Cornell University and Georgetown University School of Medicine. After a seven-year neurosurgery residency, he went on to complete the Advanced Pediatric Spinal Deformity Fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. He also was awarded the Hale Champion Public Service Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he earned a master of public administration. Menger, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, was deployed to New York this past spring during the first wave of COVID-19.

Benjamin Niland, M.D. (center) is a gastroenterologist and interim program director of gastroenterology at USA Health, and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine. Niland was instrumental in building the motility program at the USA Health Digestive Health Center, which aims to improve the lives of many patients in our region. His interests include esophageal disease, GI physiology and functional disease and inflammatory bowel disease. An active member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Niland volunteers his time to help those in underserved communities during medical mission trips.

Katrina Weaver, M.D. (far right) is a pediatric surgeon at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the USA College of Medicine. Since joining USA Health in January 2020, Weaver has made significant advances in the pediatric burn and pediatric trauma departments. She created the area’s only pediatric and adolescent bariatric program, which provides new surgery options for young patients dealing with obesity. Weaver also volunteers on international medical mission trips, and collects and ships medical supplies to underserved people around the globe.