Dr. Abigail Gamble, a childhood obesity investigator, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in pediatrics. She will be working in the Office of Rural Health and Health Disparities under the direction of Dr. Bettina Beech.

After receiving a B.A. in elementary education and American studies from Rowan University in 2003, Gamble earned an M.S. in health promotion in 2007 and a Ph.D. in health and kinesiology in 2011 from the University of Mississippi. Her dissertation project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has since received supplemental funding from the foundation to translate the project findings to policy action aimed to increase children’s in-school physical activity time and decrease childhood obesity in Mississippi.

Gamble has served with the Mississippi State Department of Health as the evaluation lead for the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative, an initiative to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke in the Mississippi Delta Region.

The coauthor of more than 20 peer-reviewed national presentations, Gamble is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Public Health Association.

She has served as a manuscript reviewer for the Annals of Behavioral Medicine and the Journal of Rural Health. In January, she was named to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2012 Top 20 Most Influential Research list.

Dr. Holly Howard Hobart, an American Board of Medical Genetics-certified clinical cytogeneticist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of pathology.

After receiving a B.A. in economics from Rice University, Houston, Texas, in 1970, Hobart earned the M.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology in 1984 and the Ph.D. in cytogenetics, genetics, ornithology and evolutionary biology in 1991 at the University of Arizona, Tucson. He did a postdoctoral fellowship in human clinical cytogenetics in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the Indiana University Medical School, Indianapolis, from 1991-93.

After completing his postdoctoral fellowship and attaining board certification, Hobart served as laboratory director at the Palo Verde Laboratory, Tempe, Ariz., from 1993-1999; as laboratory director, locum tenens, of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada, from 2000-01; as research associate professor and laboratory director of the Nevada Genetics Laboratories and of the Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine from 2001-08; as associate professor and laboratory director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory in the Department of Medical Genetics and the Department of Pathology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine from 2008-11; and as technical director of the Immunogenetics Laboratories at Penrose Hospital, Centura Health, Colorado Springs, from 2011-12. He has since served as temporary laboratory director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory at UMMC.

A fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, Hobart is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Human Genetics, the Association of Genetics Technologists, the International Standards for Cytogenomic Arrays (ISCA) Consortium, the Cancer Cytogenomics Microarray Consortium and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the coauthor of 14 articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and has authored or coauthored more than 20 presentations nationally.

Meagan Allen, a local speech-language pathologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in otolaryngology.

After receiving the B.S. in speech-language pathology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2008, Allen earned the M.S. in speech-language pathology at the Mississippi University for Women in 2010.

She has served as a speech-language pathologist for Mid-South Rehabilitation Services from 2010-11 and for Trinity Rehabilitation Inc. from 2011-13.

Dr. Praveen Kumar joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of pediatrics on April 1.

After receiving the M.B.B.S. in 1980, the D.C.H. in 1982 and the M.D. in 1984 from Punjab University, India, Kumar had fellowship training in the Division of Neonatology at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University, Detroit, from 1991-94.

Before joining Batson Children’s Hospital as chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine, he was an attending neonatologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, from 1998-2013.

Kumar joined the faculty of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, in 1998 as an assistant professor of medicine and rose through the ranks, becoming an associate professor of pediatrics there in 2004 and a professor of pediatrics there in 2010.

He is the author or co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, more than 50 abstracts and more than 20 editorials and book chapters.

Kumar has been a strong advocate for infants, their families and physicians and has served in leadership roles at both regional and national levels. As chairperson of the Illinois chapter of the AAP Fetus and Newborn Committee for seven years, he has worked with the IDPH, the March of Dimes and others on issues related to perinatal care.

He was an executive committee member of the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of Illinois, a statewide collaborative that strives to improve pregnancy outcomes in Illinois. He also was a member of IDPH’s Genetic and Metabolic Advisory Committee.

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Kumar is an active member of several professional organizations and serves as a reviewer for numerous journals, including Pediatrics, Experimental Neurology and the Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He is a member of the Perinatal Section and Section on Epidemiology of the AAP and a past member of the AAP PREP Advisory Group.

He is a current member of the AAP Committee on Fetus and the Newborn and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) Steering Committee. As a member of these two committees, he has worked closely on the sixth edition of the Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation and the seventh edition of Guidelines of Perinatal Care.

In 2011, he served on the Workgroup on Screening for Critical Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Diseases in Newborns and Children (SACHDNC), which developed the strategies for implementing screening for critical congenital heart disease. He is a current member of the SPR Member Engagement Committee and chairs the SPR Fellows Research Awards Selection Committee.

Dr. Linda P. Brodell, a longtime ophthalmologist in Warren, Ohio, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of ophthalmology.

After receiving the B.A. from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pa., in 1977, Brodell earned her M.D. at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1981. She did an internship in the Department of Medicine at Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, Mo., from 1981-82 and a residency in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo., from 1982-85. Since 1985, she has been in private practice in Warren, Ohio.

A member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, she has served for 17 years as chief of ophthalmology at Trumbull Memorial Hospital. Included in the Best Doctors in America database, she has coauthored eight articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and one book review.

Dr. Michelle Ann Grenier, a faculty member at seven different academic health institutions during the last 18 years, has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of pediatrics.

After receiving a B.S. in evolutionary biology from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., Grenier earned her M.D. at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Va., in 1988. She did postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Md., where she was a pediatric intern from 1988-89, a pediatric resident from 1989-91 and a pediatric cardiology fellow from 1991-92. She finished her clinical cardiology fellowship at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from 1992-94.

Grenier joined the faculty of the University of Texas-Houston in 1994 as an assistant professor of pediatrics. She then served as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester from 1997-99, at the Emory University School of Medicine from 2002-04, at the Baylor College of Medicine from 2004-08, as an associate professor of pediatrics at the Mercer University School of Medicine from 2002-04 and at the University of Kentucky from 2008-09. Since 2009 she has served as an associate professor in the Department of Cardiology at Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital.

Named to the Best Doctors in America database since 2010, Grenier is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and in the American College of Cardiology. She also is an active member of the American Heart Association, the Heart Failure Society of America and the American Society of Echocardiography. Her research interests include sudden cardiac death in young athletes, cardiomyopathy/heart failure, 3-D and 2-D imaging, and quality assurance.

The lead author and/or coauthor of more than 15 articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and 15 book chapters, Grenier is on the editorial board for the American College of Cardiology and serves as a reviewer for the journal Physician and Sportsmedicine.

Dr. Ian C. Webb, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences since August 2012, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences.

After receiving a B.Sc. with honors from Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada, in 1998, Webb earned an M.A. in psychology in 2002 and a Ph.D. in psychology in 2007 at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

He served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, from 2007-10, and in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 2011-12, before joining the Medical Center.

The coauthor of more than a dozen articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and more than 20 conference presentations in the United States and Canada, Webb serves as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of scientific journals. He is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Neuroscience and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.

Since joining UMMC, he has administered graduate seminars on the hypothalamic control of behavior and neuroscience methods.

Dr. Brianna Kirk, a pediatric HIV specialist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving a B.A. in psychology from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, in 2002, Kirk earned her M.D. at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Medical School, Lubbock, Texas, in 2006. She did a pediatric residency at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Nashville, Tenn., from 2006-09.

Kirk joined the faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine in 2009 as a Pediatric AIDS Corps physician, pediatric HIV specialist and clinical instructor. In 2011, she also became a Global Health Service Corps physician and an assistant professor in the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, Retrovirology/Global Health.

The author or coauthor of four professional articles in peer-reviewed publications and the author of eight abstracts, Kirk’s research interests have centered around pediatric HIV/AIDS care at the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence, Gaborone, where she has served as vice-chair of the Research Committee.

A member of the Alpha Omega Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies, Kirk has been a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.

Dr. Douglas Maposa, a senior pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of anesthesiology, chief of pediatric anesthesiology and medical director, Batson Children's Hospital.

Maposa earned his medical degree (M.B.Ch.B.) at the University of Zimbabwe Medical School, Harare, in 1989. He completed general medicine residency training at Mpilo Central Hospital, University of Zimbabwe, from 1990-91.

He went into general practice at Tshilidzini Hospital, Northern Province, South Africa, from 1991-93. Maposa then completed his residency training in anesthesiology at the Medical University of South Africa, Garankuwa, from 1993-95 and at Johannesburg Hospital, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, from 1995-97. He later completed advanced specialist training (fellowships) in pediatric anesthesia and pain at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2002 and in neuro anesthesia at the University Health Network Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, Canada, in 2003.

Maposa practiced as a consultant and attending anesthesiologist at the Helen Joseph Memorial Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, from 1997-98. This was followed by two years in private practice at Milpark and Rand Clinic, Johannesburg, from 1998-2000. Maposa moved to New Zealand in 2000 and joined the Anesthesia Department at the Lakeland District Health Board's Rotorua Hospital, remaining there until 2002, when he left to pursue pediatric anesthesia and pain fellowship in Toronto.

After the fellowship training, Maposa joined the faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology at the UT Health Science Center at Houston, Texas, in 2003 as an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, becoming director of pediatric cardiothoracic anesthesiology in 2008.

Maposa is a keen educator and a three-time winner of the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at the UT Health Science Center. His areas of interest include pediatric cardiac anesthesia, operating room efficiency, quality improvement and teaching basic sciences for anesthesia.

Dr. Merry L. Lindsey, a cardiac researcher with interest in multidimensional approaches to examine the mechanisms whereby the left ventricle responds to injury, has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of physiology and biophysics.

After receiving a B.A. in biology from Boston University, Lindsey earned a Ph.D. in cardiovascular sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

Lindsey joined the faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she served as an assistant professor from 2002-05. In 2005, she moved to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she was promoted to full professor in 2012.

The coauthor of more than 85 articles in peer-reviewed journals and eight book chapters, Lindsey is principal investigator or co-investigator of four ongoing research projects, three of which are funded by the National Institutes of Health. She is the director of the San Antonio Cardiovascular Proteomics Center, which is one of seven proteomics centers funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

She is an active member of the American Physiological Society, the American Heart Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among other professional organizations. She has served as a journal reviewer or editor for more than 50 journals and has reviewed grants for more than 10 funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and numerous international agencies.

Lindsey comes to UMMC to promote translational heart research, focused on studies that span from bench to bedside.

Dr. Carla G. Monico, a board-certified nephrologist and longtime consultant at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. in biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1989, Monico earned the M.D. at the Creighton University School of Medicine in 1994. She then did an internal medicine internship from 1994-95, an internal medicine residency from 1995-97 and a nephrology fellowship from 1997-2000 at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. She was a Mayo Foundation Scholar from 2000-02 at University College London, UK.

Monico joined the Mayo Clinic in 2002 as a senior associate consultant in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine. In 2005, she earned a joint appointment there as a senior associate consultant in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Since 2005, she has been a consultant in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Internal Medicine and as a consultant in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

While at the Mayo Clinic, Monico has served as an instructor in medicine from 2003-07 and as an assistant professor of medicine and assistant professor of pediatrics since 2007.

An active member of the American Society of Nephrology, the International Pediatric Nephrology Association, the International Society of Nephrology and the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation, Monico serves as a reviewer for three academic journals. Co-investigator or principal investigator of 14 federal, foundation or industry grants, including two current federal grants, her research interest includes inherited forms of pediatric urolithiasis (primary hyperoxaluria types 1, 2 and 3 and other forms of inherited urolithiasis).

She is the coauthor of 15 articles in peer-reviewed professional publications, 25 abstracts and two book chapters.

Dr. Victoria B. Gonzalez, a licensed clinical audiologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of otolaryngology and communicative sciences.

After receiving a B.A. in both psychology and communication sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005, Gonzalez earned an Au.D. at the University of South Florida in 2009. She is also a doctoral candidate and is scheduled to earn a Ph.D. in hearing sciences from the University of South Florida in spring 2013.

Gonzalez served as a graduate teaching associate from 2009-12 in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida, where she also served as a clinical audiologist from 2010-12. In 2011, she was honored with the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching. She is the coauthor of a peer-reviewed journal article in the International Journal of Audiology and has given numerous professional presentations.

An active member of the American Academy of Audiology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Gonzalez serves as assistant section editor of resource reviews for the Ear and Hearing Journal.

Dr. Yieshan Melissa Chan has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology and assistant residency program director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program.

After receiving a B.S. in biology summa cum laude from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, in 1998, she earned her medical doctorate at the Texas Tech Health Science Center, Lubbock, in 2003. Chan completed an internal medicine internship followed by anesthesiology residency from 2003-07 at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. In addition, she completed courses in Managing Technical Professionals and Organizations and Transforming Leadership Strategy at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass.

After finishing residency, she worked in Arizona and Oklahoma as an attending anesthesiologist, and then most recently in Minot, N.D., where, in addition to practicing anesthesiology in a medical center, she was involved in teaching residents, medical students and nurse anesthetists at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences as well as the School of Nursing.

Chan is a board-certified anesthesiologist and an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and has a strong interest in and passion for medical education.

Dr. Madhankumar Sathyamoorthy, also known as Dr. Kumar, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology. He will be working as a pediatric anesthesiologist at Batson Children’s Hospital.

After receiving the M.B.B.S. in 1999 from Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai, India, Sathyamoorthy earned the M.S. in genetics at Mississippi State University in 2001. He did his transitional year of residency training at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center, Mich., followed by residency training in anesthesiology at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y., from 2002-05. Recently, he completed his fellowship training in pediatric anesthesia at the Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, N.Y., from 2011-12.\

Sathyamoorthy worked as staff anesthesiologist at St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, N.H., and was a partner in Granite State Anesthesia practice group from 2005-11. He worked at the Bay State Medical Center, Springfield, Mass., in 2011 before moving on to fellowship.

He had been on volunteer missions to Columbia, China and Bangladesh, where he was involved in treating children with cleft lip and cleft palate. He served as secretary and treasurer for the New Hampshire Society of Anesthesiologists from 2009-11 and served as a member of the ASA committee on young physicians.

He is the author of two articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and three research papers and presentations.

Dr. Niping Wang, a hospital dental fellow and postdoctoral research fellow at UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor. It is a joint appointment between the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences in the School of Medicine and the Department of Periodontics in the School of Dentistry.

After receiving the bachelor’s degree in dentistry in 2000 and the M.S. in clinical pharmacology in 2003 from Anhui Medical University, China, Wang earned the Ph.D. in anatomy at UMMC in 2010. She served as a teaching assistant In the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences from 2006-07 and in 2009, was a hospital dental fellow/instructor in the School of Dentistry’s Department of Advanced General Dentistry from 2010-12 and has been a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior since 2012.

An active member of the American Association of Anatomists, the Society for Neuroscience, the American Dental Educational Association and the Academy of General Dentistry, Wang has authored or coauthored more than two dozen articles in peer-reviewed professional publications. Her research interests include the neuroanatomy of the trigeminal system and the oculomotor system, the molecular mechanism of alcoholism, anti-inflammatory and analgesic pharmacology and educational pharmacology.

Dr. Yan Lu, a postdoctoral research fellow in physiology and biophysics at UMMC since 2009, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in physiology.

Lu received the M.D. from Tianjin Medical University, China, in 2008. He completed a medical residency there from 2007-08 at the Central Hospital of Tianjin Medical University. Lu served as a diagnostic radiologist at the Oral Hospital of Nankai University, Tianjin, China, from 2008-09 before coming to the Medical Center as a postdoctoral research fellow.

An active member of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Heart Association, Lu has coauthored nine professional publications and abstracts.

Dr. Bhawna Gupta, a skilled pharmaceutical scientist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of surgery.

After receiving the B.S. in pharmacy summa cum laude in 1997 and the M.S. in pharmaceutics summa cum laude in 1999 from the College of Pharmacy in New Delhi, India, Gupta earned the Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences summa cum laude in 2006 at Northeastern University, Boston. Gupta then served as a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, from 2008-10.

Gupta was a senior scientist at Schering-Plough Corporation, Summit, N.J., from 2006-08, where she gained valuable experience in product development of drugs undergoing clinical trials. Before coming to the U.S., Gupta was a research associate in the oncology division at Dabur Research Foundation, India, from 1999-2001.

Gupta was affiliated with various pharmaceutical societies, including the Controlled Release Society, the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering. An active member of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), Gupta has attended several writing workshops and is serving as the LinkedIn group manager for the AMWA-Southeast chapter.

Gupta has coauthored more than a half-dozen articles in peer-reviewed professional publications and has served as a reviewer for the International Journal of Cancer. Gupta has presented numerous poster and podium presentations at the pharmaceutical meetings.

Dr. Venkatramreddy Velma, a molecular biologist with an interest in nuclear organization and dynamics in cancer cells, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in the Department of Biochemistry.

After receiving the B.S. in microbiology, botany and chemistry from Osmania University, India, in 1999, Velma earned a master's of science in biotechnology at Bharathidasan University, India, in 2002, and a Ph.D. in environmental science at Jackson State University in 2009. Velma has served as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at UMMC since September 2009.

An active member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the Environmental Mutagen Society and the Society of Toxicology, Velma is coauthor of nine articles in peer-reviewed publications and one book chapter.

Dr. Dominic Jaeger has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine. He has particular interests in pharmacotherapy safety, pharmacoeconomics and perioperative medical care.

Although a native of Bern, Switzerland, Jaeger received his formal education entirely in the United States. He attended Emory University as an undergraduate and earned his M.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990. He completed his internship and residency in primary care internal medicine at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (now Fletcher Allen Health Care) from 1990-93.

Jaeger joined the Department of Medicine faculty at the University of Vermont in 1993 as an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine and became an associate professor there in 2003.

He was the author of numerous teaching modules for medical students and residents used at the University of Vermont and gave a variety of intramural and regional presentations.

In 2003, he moved to Mississippi and served as an attending hospitalist physician at St. Dominic Hospital until joining the Medical Center. He was medical director of the consult service at St. Dominic's since 2009 and was appointed vice chair of the Department of Medicine in 2011. He is a member of the American College of Physicians and Phi Beta Kappa.

Dr. Judd Storrs, a biomedical engineer interested in developing magnetic resonance imaging and image analysis techniques, has joined the Medical Center faculty and the MIND Center as an assistant professor of radiology.

After earning a B.S. in engineering mechanics cum laude at the University of Cincinnati in 2001, Storrs served as a research assistant and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cincinnati Center for Imaging Research, where he performed neuroimaging analysis (e.g. fMRI, DTI) and technical development for the center’s high-field research MRI.

Storrs received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Cincinnati in 2010 for developing an automated technique that improves the accuracy and precision of brain region selection for in vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Storrs has coauthored five peer-reviewed articles and 19 abstracts and presentations. He is co-inventor of a patent for automated MRI of the spine.

Dr. Amir Tirmizi, a hospital physician with board certifications in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine, has joined the Medical Center faculty as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine.

After his medical school graduation from King Edward Medical University, Pakistan, in 1995, Tirmizi had an internship in the Department of Medicine at Mayo Hospital, Pakistan, from 1995-96, residency training in internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, from 2001-02, and residency training in internal medicine at North Shore Medical Center/Massachusetts General Hospital Partners, Salem, from 2002-04.

Tirmizi served as a primary care physician in internal medicine with MidMichigan Physicians Group and as medical director of MidMichigan Hospice in Midland, Michigan. Most recently, he has served as a hospitalist physician in the Department of Medicine at St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital.

An active member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American Thoracic Society, the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Tirmizi authored an article in the Internal Journal of Caridology last April and has served as abstract reviewer for the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American College of Chest Physicians, and Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care. Tirmizi also has poster presentations in international medical conferences, such as ATS 2012, Chest 2012 and SCCM 2013.

Dr. James J. Cox Jr., a family practitioner with an interest in osteopathic manipulative medicine and sports medicine, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of family medicine.

After receiving the B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1972, Cox earned the D.O. at the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Davie, Fla., in 1995. He did a rotating internship from 1995-96 and a family medicine residency from 1996-98 at Palmetto General Hospital, Hialeah, Fla.

While in private practice in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine at Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., from 1998-2007, Cox served as a clinical instructor of family medicine and of osteopathic manipulative medicine and, later, assistant professor of family medicine and of osteopathic principles and practice at Nova Southeastern University. He also served as a clinical assistant professor and attending physician at the Sanford L. Ziff Health Care Center, Davie, Fla.

Cox also has served as a clinical instructor in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bradenton, Fla., from 2008-10. Cox comes to the Medical Center from Jupiter, Fla., where he was in private practice in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine.

An active member of several professional organizations, including the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and the American Academy of Osteopathy, Cox has given two dozen presentations to professional organizations nationwide. He has authored or edited numerous scientific course books and book chapters.

Dr. Simeen R. Pasha, a pediatric endocrinologist with an interest in thyroid disorders, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After earning her M.B.B.S. at the Aga Khan University, Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan in 2003, Pasha completed her pediatrics residency at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, where she also served as chief resident in pediatrics from 2008-09. She recently completed clinical postdoctoral fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology and metabolism at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

The coauthor of six research presentations and one journal article for a peer-reviewed professional publication, Pasha is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association and the Pediatric Endocrine Society.

Dr. Rachel A. Cooper, a pediatric audiologist with an interest in diagnostic evaluation, amplification and cochlear implant management for the pediatric population, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of otolaryngology and communicative sciences.

After receiving the B.A. in speech, language and hearing sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2002, Cooper earned the Au.D. at the University of Louisville, Ky., in 2007. She served as a clinical fellow in the University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, in 2007 before becoming a clinical audiologist in the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, the following year.

In 2010, Cooper became lead audiologist at the Hearing House in Auckland, New Zealand. Before joining the Medical Center, she served as an audiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa.

Cooper holds specialty certification in cochlear implants with the American Board of Audiology and is an active member of the American Speech and Hearing Association.

Dr. Yida Hu, a medical physicist in radiation oncology with an interest in clinical techniques for radiation therapy dosimetry and IGRT, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of radiation oncology.

After receiving the B.S. in mechanical-electronic engineering in 2000 and the Ph.D. in mechanical-electronic engineering in 2006 from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Hu did medical physics research training in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Pennsylvania from 2007-10. Hu completed his clinical residency training with the CAMPEP accreditation in the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, in 2012.

As an active member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Hu serves as a therapeutic physicist certified by the American Board of Radiology. He has authored and coauthored 15 articles in peer-reviewed publications and more than two dozen peer-reviewed proceedings and abstracts.

Dr. Kelley M. Bishop, a family medicine physician with an interest in herbal medicine, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of family medicine.

After receiving the B.A. in chemistry with honors from Mississippi College in 1992, Bishop earned the M.D. at UMMC in 1996. She did a family medicine internship here from 1996-97 and a family medicine residency at Emory Family Medicine, Atlanta, Ga., from 1997-99, where she served as chief resident from 1998-99.

Bishop has more than 12 years of experience as a primary care/urgent care provider in a private practice setting. She was a private practice family medicine practitioner at Athens Associates in Family Practice, Athens, Ga., from 1999-2000 and at MEA Medical Clinics, Jackson, from 2000-2012. She also served as medical director of the Ellis Avenue MEA Clinic from 2007-12.

An active member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Practice and the Mississippi State Medical Association, Bishop’s interests include herbal medicines and exploring the incorporation of ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine into a western medical practice.

Dr. Hao Mei, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University, New Orleans, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of medicine. 

Mei received the Bachelor of Medicine from China Medical University in 1997, and the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics from the University of Washington in Seattle in 2003. He then received a double Ph.D. in bioinformatics and statistics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. in 2007.

Mei has authored and co-authored more than a dozen research articles published in peer-review publications and is involved in on-going research projects. He was recently named one of the principal investigators for a National Institutes of Health P20 grant to study genetic risk factors underlying cardiovascular aging.

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the editorial board of Frontiers in Genetics of Aging, the editorial board of Frontiers in Statistical Genetics and Methodology and the American Heart Association.

Dr. Elizabeth Lutz, an obstetrician with an interest in routine women's care, pelvic pain and minimally invasive surgery, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology. 

Lutz received the M.D. from Emory University in 2008 and went on to complete residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

While at UNC, Lutz received the Golden Tar Heel Teaching Award, and at Emory she earned honors for her Global Health Thesis.

Lutz also is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Sajneet Khangura, a gastroenterologist with training in internal medicine, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

Khangura received her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Government Medical College in Patiala, India, in 2003.

She went on to complete an internship in internal medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, followed by an internal medicine residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. Khangura then completed a three-year fellowship in gastroenterology in a combined program at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Md., and National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease, National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md.

Khangura was involved in clinical research at the NIH, Temple University Hospital Gastroenterology Division in Philadelphia, Pa., and was a clinical research assistant at State University of New York at Buffalo.

She has co-authored several research articles for peer-reviewed publications and is a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Sydney Murphy, a hypertension and kidney disease researcher, joined the UMMC faculty as an instructor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in September.

Murphy earned her B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Mississippi State University in 2006 then came to UMMC where she earned a M.S. in 2009 and Ph.D. in physiology in 2010 under the advisement of the school’s dean, Dr. Joey Granger.

She completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the pharmacology department under the advisement of its chair, Dr. Richard Roman.

Her research focuses on molecular and genetic factors contributing to hypertension and the progression of renal injury.

Murphy has given numerous oral presentations of her work at scientific meetings for which she has consistently won honors. She has first authored or co-authored more than two dozen published papers and abstracts.

She is a member of the American Physiological Society where she is co-chair of the Trainee Advisory Committee for the Water and Electrolyte Section. She is also a member of the American Heart Association and has served as an ad hoc reviewer for the journal Hypertension and the American Journal of Physiology. A grant from the American Heart Association Southeastern Affiliate funds her current research.

Dr. Moeen Panni joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center full time in August as professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and chief of perioperative services for the hospital.

Panni completed the joint medical school and Ph.D. program at the University of Cambridge, England with a doctorate in neuroscience in 1995. Following internship and residency work at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, he completed his anesthesiology residency and obstetric anesthesia training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

From 2002-2005, he was an assistant professor and an attending anesthesiologist at Duke University Medical Center, where he co-directed research in the Department of Anesthesiology Women’s Division.

In 2005, he moved to the University of Texas, Houston Medical School where he served as director of obstetric anesthesia and associate professor of anesthesiology and completed his certification in business administration from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. In 2008, Panni was selected and appointed chair of anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, chief of anesthesiology at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center and director of both the college’s anesthesiology residency and obstetric anesthesiology fellowship programs. He was later promoted to full professor.

During his tenure at Florida, he oversaw significant improvements in the department’s financial performance, clinical operating room efficiency and academic standing, starting both the obstetric anesthesiology fellowship and anesthesiology residency program at the medical center.

Panni has authored a number of publications in the fields of neuroscience and obstetric anesthesia and has won numerous educational awards including the Society of Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology’s (SOAP) Research in Education Award in 2005 and the SOAP 2011 national “Teacher of the Year” award.

Dr. Sarah Abston Sterling, a 2008 alumna of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has joined the UMMC faculty as an instructor in emergency medicine.

After receiving the M.D. from UMMC, Sterling went on to complete residency training in emergency medicine at the Medical Center. She is currently pursuing a fellowship in clinical research.

Before joining the Medical Center faculty, Sterling was chief resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine and recipient of the Department’s Research and Spirit Awards. As a student, she was president of the Carl G. Evers Society and a Gold Humanism Honor Society member. Her research abstracts have been presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting and the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors Academic Assembly.

She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and American College of Emergency Physicians.

Dr. Sophy Mangana, a radiation oncologist specializing in breast and head and neck cancers, joined UMMC in August as an assistant professor.

At Brown University she received her B.S. in Latin American Studies in 2002 and earned her M.D. in 2007. She completed a one-year internship in internal medicine at Roger Williams Medical Center in 2008 and residency training in radiation oncology at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago in June.

Her breast cancer research has focused on the effects of body mass index on cosmetic outcomes as well as survival outcomes of patients who underwent partial breast radiation using brachytherapy.

Mangana is a member of the American College of Radiation Oncologists, the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the Radiological Society of North America.

Dr. Iliana Ramirez-Saldana, an anesthesiologist with additional training in adult cardiac anesthesiology, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology.

After receiving a B.S. in biology and a minor in Spanish from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1999, Ramirez-Saldana earned her M.D. and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan in 2005. She did a preliminary surgical residency intern year at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey from 2005-06, a categorical surgical residency intern year at St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, Mich., from 2006-07, an anesthesiology residency at Boston Medical Center from 2008-11, and an adult cardiac anesthesiology fellowship at Tufts Medical Center from 2011-12.

Ramirez-Saldana is an active member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Aimee S. Parnell, a pediatric cardiologist with an interest in fetal cardiology and echocardiography, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. in zoology from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Parnell earned an M.D. at UMMC in 2004. She also earned an M.S. in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 2012.

Parnell had residency training from 2004-07 and served as chief resident from 2007-08 in the Department of Pediatrics at UMMC. She did a cardiology fellowship from 2008-11 in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). In her final year of training at CHOP in 2012, she completed the Pediatric Hospital Epidemiology and Outcomes Research Training Fellowship at the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness as well as an advanced clinical fellowship in pediatric cardiology in non-invasive cardiac imaging and fetal cardiology.

Parnell has served as a clinical instructor in pediatrics at UMMC from 2007-08 and as a clinical instructor in pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 2008-12.

She is an active member in several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography.

Dr. Kathryn Lindsey McMullan, a 2007 alumna of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has joined the UMMC faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.  

After receiving the M.D. from UMMC, McMullen went on to complete residency training in internal medicine at the Medical Center.

Recently, she completed a fellowship in allergy and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.

McMullan has authored and co-authored several articles for professional publications and has participated in numerous clinical research projects. She is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Brian Borg, a transplant hepatologist in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of medicine.

Borg received the M.D. from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services Medical School in Tehran, Iran, in 1992, and served as a general practitioner in a variety of roles in Iran throughout the 1990s.

In 2003, he completed an internal medicine residency at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, Md., where he was chief resident. Borg followed that with a hepatology fellowship at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

In 2006, he received a master’s degree in clinical research at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and in 2009 he completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.

While at Ochsner Health System, Borg also was an assistant professor with the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Borg has authored and coauthored dozens of journal articles and abstracts for peer-reviewed publications and has participated in a number of clinical investigations. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Gastroenterology Association, the American Association for the study of Liver Disease and the American Society of Transplantation.

Dr. Jung Sy Ryu, a researcher focused on anti-cancer therapies, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in biochemistry.

At Chung-Ang University in Seoul he earned the B.S. and Diploma in Pharmacy in 1995, the M.S. in pharmacology in 1997, and the Ph.D. in pharmacology in 2009.

Ryu spent the past two years completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the UMMC Department of Biochemistry.

Previously he was a postdoctoral research associate in a biochemistry lab at the Chung-Ang University College of Medicine. Prior to that position, he spent 12 years at the Il-Dong pharmaceutical company working in microbiology, pharmacology-toxicology research laboratories.

He has co-authored more than a dozen articles in research publications and holds one Korean patent and applications for four others.

Dr. Catherine C. Zimmerman, a pediatrician with specialty training in the musculoskeletal system of children and a special interest in fitness and bone health in children, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. in biology from the University of Mississippi in 2001, Zimmerman earned the M.D. at UMMC in 2007. She did pediatric residency training here from 2007-10 and a non-operative pediatric orthopedic fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, American Family Children’s Hospital, Madison, from 2011-12. She served as pediatric chief resident at UMMC from 2010-11.

A member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Mississippi State Medical Association, Zimmerman is the coauthor of a peer-reviewed article in a professional publication.

Dr. Michael D. Dallman, a pediatric intensivist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.A. in religious studies from Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., in 2002, Dallman earned the M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, in 2006. He did pediatric residency training at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital from 2006-09 and fellowship training in pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center from 2009-12.

An active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Dallman has made several professional presentations at the University of Maryland Medical Center and is the coauthor of an article in a peer-reviewed publication.

Dr. Jaimin M. Patel, a neonatologist with an interest in medical informatics, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the M.D. from the M. P. Shah Medical College, Saurashtra University, in Jamnagar, India, in 2001, Patel had pediatrics residency training there from 2001-04. He also did a pediatrics residency at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, in Paterson, N.J., from 2006-09 and a neonatology fellowship at Corner Children’s Hospital and NorthShore-Evanston Hospital, University of Chicago, from 2009-12.

Patel also earned an M.S. in medical informatics at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2010.

Patel’s current interest is in the design, implementation and improvement of electronic medical records – Epic MER in the neonatology and pediatrics.

Dr. Kimberlly L. Stringer, a pediatrician with an interest in understanding the relationship between obesity and school performance, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. cum laude and honors in biological research in 1998 and the M.P.H. in epidemiology in 2000 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Stringer earned the M.D. at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, in 2005. She did residency training in pediatrics at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, from 2006-09, and fellowship training in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa., from 2009-12.

She also is a member of the Society of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics.

Dr. James Kenneth Purvis, a pediatric practitioner for 14 years with Children's Medical Group of Jackson, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. in biology from Millsaps College in 1985, Purvis earned the M.D. at UMMC in 1991. He then did a pediatric internship here from 1991-92 and a pediatric residency here from 1992-94.

In 1994, Purvis joined the faculty at the Louisiana State University Medical School, Shreveport, and attained the rank of assistant professor of pediatrics. While a partner in Children’s Medical Group of Jackson, he had hospital appointments at UMMC.

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Purvis is an active member of the Mississippi State Medical Association and the American Medical Association.

Dr. David Josey Jr., a pediatric pulmonologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.S. in biology cum laude from Oakwood College, Huntsville, Ala., Josey earned the M.D. in 2005 at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He had residency training in pediatrics there from 2005-08 and a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital from 2009-12.

He is an active member of the American Thoracic Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics and has had multiple research and clinical presentations at those national meetings.

Dr. Venkat Mannam, a transplantation immunologist with research interests in the mechanisms of transplanted organ rejection, has joined the UMMC faculty as assistant professor of pathology.

He earned the M.B.B.S. in 1999 at Madras Medical College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He received the M.S. in biomedical sciences and the Ph.D. in immunopathology/transplant immunology from UMMC.

Mannam was certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates in 2005 and by the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunologists in 2011. He is a member of the American Society for Investigative Pathology.

Mannam served as a medical officer at Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad, India, from 1998-99. He then took a position as medical officer and research associate at the Tuberculosis Research Center, Chennai, India, followed by a position as medical officer in the Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital and Research Center's Department of Pediatrics.

A house officer in pediatrics at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Trinidad, from 2003-05, he served as a research assistant in the Department of Neuropsychology at the VA Medical Center, Albuquerque, N.M. Since 2009, he has worked in UMMC’s transplant program laboratories.

Mannam has authored or coauthored five publications and two abstracts and has made a number of poster presentations at national and international meetings.

Dr. Truman M. Earl, a hepatobiliary and abdominal-organ transplant surgery specialist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of surgery.

Earl’s clinical expertise includes adult and pediatric liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation as well as treatment of benign and malignant lesions of the liver, biliary tree and pancreas.

Earl earned his B.A. in chemistry in 1998 at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., and received his M.D. in 2002 from the University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he completed a surgery internship, general surgery residency and a two-year surgical research fellowship in the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation. During this time he completed a Master of Science in clinical investigation.

He served as chief resident in general surgery from 2008-09, then moved to St. Louis, where he completed a two-year fellowship in abdominal organ transplant and hepatobiliary surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in 2011. He then served as an assistant professor of surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, where his practice focused on liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery.

Earl authored or coauthored 13 papers which have appeared in professional journals, including Transplantation, the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and Cancer Research. His research has focused on hepatic disease and liver transplantation including mechanisms of colorectal liver metastasis, hepatic steatosis and cost prediction. Currently, his research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of bile duct injury and scarring following cold organ preservation. On the clinical front, Earl is interested in the multi-modality treatment of liver cancer and has written several papers and book chapters on this topic.

Earl has received numerous awards and honors, including election to AOA, the J. Bradley Aust Society Award for Excellence in Surgery, and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award individual training grant during his research fellowship in 2005. He is an invited reviewer for several journals, including the American Journal of Transplantation. He is a member of numerous national and international societies, including the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Society of Transplantation and Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, and has served on national committees.

Dr. Carrie I. Morgan, a pediatrician with research interests in pediatric palliative sedation and end-of-life care and ethics, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology magna cum laude from Centre College, Danville, Ky., in 2001, Morgan earned her M.D. with high distinction at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, in 2005. She then did a pediatrics residency from 2005-08 and served as chief resident from 2008-09 at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tenn., and did a pediatric critical care fellowship from 2009-12 at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

While at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, she served as a transport physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine from 2010-12.

Morgan remains an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her research interests in novel H1N1 influenza in the pediatric ICU and the role of zinc in the innate immune response to airway inflammation have resulted in co-authorship of a scientific study article in a peer-reviewed publication. 

Dr. Jennifer L. Hong, a pediatrician with a research interest in the prevalence of adulterants in urine samples from patients with positive urine drug screen for Benzoylegonine, a cocaine metabolite, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., Hong received the B.A. in psychology from Creighton University, Omaha, Neb., in 2000 and earned the M.D. at the Creighton University School of Medicine in 2006. She did a pediatric internship from 2006-2007 and a pediatric residency from 2007-09 at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, Calif., and a pediatric critical care fellowship from 2009-12 at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tenn.

An active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Hong has authored or co-authored two articles in peer-reviewed professional publications.

Dr. Steven J. Wagner, a physician board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

Wagner earned the M.D. in 2003 at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, after graduating summa cum laude from Illinois State University, Normal. He completed residency training in internal medicine in 2006, an NIH research training grant and a nephrology fellowship at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Minnesota. He also completed a transplant nephrology fellowship in 2012 at Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.

He is a member of the American Society of Transplantation, the American Society of Nephrology and the Renal Physicians Association. He has coauthored several abstracts, a book chapter and publications.

Dr. Iasmina Craici Wagner, a specialist in clinical hypertension, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.  

After graduating from the University of Illinois, Chicago, Wagner earned the M.D. in 2003 from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She completed residency training in internal medicine in 2006, a fellowship in nephrology in 2009 and an NIH research training grant in 2011 at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education.

Before joining UMMC, Wagner was an assistant professor of medicine at Saint Louis University. She is board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology. She has coauthored several abstracts and publications.

Wagner is a member of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Society of Hypertension.

Dr. Veena Shenoy, a cytopathologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pathology.

Shenoy earned the M.B.B.S. at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India, in 1982 and completed a rotating internship and pathology residency at the college’s affiliated hospitals. She spent two years in a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Cincinnati and two additional years at Marshall University, Huntington, W.V.

Following residency, Shenoy returned to Cincinnati for a year-long fellowship in cytopathology. Beginning in 1995, she took a position as a staff pathologist at the Huntington VA Medical Center, where she also served as acting chief of pathology.

She served as a staff pathologist at the Holzer Clinic in Gallipolis, Ohio, before taking a position as a staff pathologist and medical director at the River Region Health System, Vicksburg, in 2004.

A member of the American Society for Clinical Pathologists, she is certified by the Indian Board of Pathology and the American Board of Pathology in cytopathology, anatomic and clinical pathology.

Dr. Jarrod D. Knudson, a pediatric cardiologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics.

After receiving the B.A. in biology summa cum laude from Texas Women’s University, Denton, in 2001, Knudson earned the Ph.D. in 2005 at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, and the M.D. in 2007 at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans. He did a pediatrics residency from 2007-09, a pediatric cardiology fellowship from 2009-12 and a pediatric non-invasive cardiac imaging fellowship from 2011-12 at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He also did extra training in pediatric cardiac critical care, a major part of his clinical work at Batson Children's Hospital.

The coauthor of 20 peer-reviewed reports and articles and six book chapters, Knudson is a peer reviewer for several professional publications. He is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the American Society of Echocardiography.

Dr. Semyon Fishkin, a pediatric anesthesia specialist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology.

After receiving the M.D. with honors from the Russian State Medical University, Moscow, in 1985, Fishkin had residency training in neurosurgery at the Sklifosovsky Hospital in Moscow from 1985-88, residency training in medicine at the University of Buffalo Hospitals, N.Y., and residency training in anesthesia at the NYU Medical Center, New York.

Fishkin completed his fellowship training in pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1999 and fellowship training in pediatric cardiac anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa., in 2006.

Fishkin joined the faculty at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as an assistant professor of anesthesia and served as an assistant professor of anesthesia at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has served as a staff anesthesiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Texas.

He is an active member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Angela Subauste, a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

After earning the M.D. at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru, Subauste completed several clerkships, including pulmonary diseases and intensive care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz., in 1995, two clerkships in hematology and nephrology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 1995 and 1996, infectious diseases at the University of Texas at Houston in 1998, and endocrinology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

She completed an internship and residency training in internal medicine at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, in 2002 and a fellowship in metabolic diseases at the University of Michigan in 2004. She is board-certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.

She has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and publications.

Dr. Maureen Wirschell, a researcher in cell biology interested in mechanisms of cilia as they relate to respiratory illnesses, has joined the Medical Center as an assistant professor of biochemistry.

Wirschell received her undergraduate degree in 1994 in biology from Worcester State University, Mass., and earned her Ph.D. in cell biology in 2004 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

As a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University, she studied the dynein assembly of cilia, which are important in understanding how cilia activity is regulated and relates to respiratory diseases such as Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia and acquired respiratory syndromes in chronic alcoholics. She continued that work as a research assistant professor at Emory.

Wirschell authored or coauthored more than 20 publications and received a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award as a postdoc. This year she received an RO1 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to investigate ethanol-mediated cilia motility dysfunction.

Dr. Kounosuke Watabe, a cancer researcher with interests in solid tumor metastasis, has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of microbiology and biochemistry and associate director of basic science at the Cancer Institute.

At Kyoto University in Japan, Watabe earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and, in 1981, a Ph.D. Later that year, he began work as a research associate, then as a research assistant professor at the University of Arizona's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

In 1985, Watabe took a position at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine as an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. While there, he was promoted to associate professor and, ultimately, full professor in 1997. Watabe served as director for basic science in the university’s cancer institute and also directed the graduate programs in molecular biology and microbiology and biochemistry.

Watabe’s research focuses on signaling pathways, genetic interplay and other mechanisms that promote and suppress tumor metastasis. He has authored or coauthored more than 80 publications that appeared in scientific and medical journals, has five patents and is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and the Metastasis Research Society. He is on the editorial board of several cancer-related journals and has served as a member of study sections of the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense.

He is currently principal investigator on two RO1 grants from the NIH and three grants from the Department of Defense.

Dr. Robert T. Brodell, a board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist, has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of otolaryngology.

Brodell received his B.S. in biology from Washington and Jefferson College, Pa., in 1975 and his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1979. He completed a year of internship and one of residency in the Department of Medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester.

At Washington University in St. Louis, he completed a dermatology residency, serving as chief resident his final year. Brodell also completed a one-year fellowship in Washington’s Division of Cutaneous Pathology from 1984-85. During that time, he served as an assistant in medicine in the Division of Dermatology.

In 1986, Brodell established a private practice in dermatology and an independent certified dermatopathology laboratory in his hometown of Warren, Ohio, where he worked for 27 years. While continuing in his clinical practice, he served as an assistant, an associate professor and a professor of internal medicine and a clinical professor of dermatopathology at the Northeastern Ohio Universities of College of Medicine, where he also served as chairman of the Division of Dermatology for a decade.

He served on the volunteer faculty of Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, as a clinical associate professor for more than 25 years. Beginning in 2006, his volunteer faculty work extended to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he remains clinical instructor in dermatology.

The immediate past president of the American Board of Dermatology, Brodell was recently elected to the board of the American Academy of Dermatology. He has authored or coauthored more than 230 articles, abstracts and papers on a wide variety of dermatology-related topics, including psoriasis, nail fungus, finger pebbles, childhood shingles, genital warts, dermatitis, tattoo removal and acne, and has given more than 1,400 invited lectures.

Brodell is a fellow in the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society of Dermatopathology and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Dr. Suttira Intapad, who recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in physiology and biophysics at UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in physiology and biophysics.

Intapad earned her B.S. in physiotherapy at Mahidol University, Thailand, in 2002 and studied vascular physiology and pharmacology as a graduate exchange student at the Medical College of Georgia’s Vascular Biology Center in 2008. In 2009, she earned her Ph.D. at Mahidol University, where she completed a research fellowship in vascular physiology and pharmacology in 2010.

Intapad has won several awards for research presentations and she has coauthored numerous articles and abstracts published in peer-reviewed journals. She recently received a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the American Heart Association. She is a member of the American Heart Association, the American Physiology Society and the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Michael Steiner, who completed residency training in diagnostic radiology at UMMC in 2011, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of radiology.

Steiner earned his B.A. at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2002, followed by his M.D. at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, in 2006. He did internship training at Baptist Health Systems in Birmingham, Ala. in 2011. He recently completed a pediatric radiology fellowship at Duke University.

Steiner has served on several committees and organizations and has coauthored numerous research articles published in peer-reviewed publications. Steiner also is active in five professional organizations, including the American College of Radiology.

Dr. Kristen Miller, a fellow in the Medical Center's Pediatric Cardiac Imaging Program, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in radiology.

Miller earned her B.A. in anthropology at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1991. She then earned the M.D. at UMMC in 1999 and completed residency training in pediatrics at UMMC in 2002. She followed that by completing a residency in radiology at UMMC in 2010.

Before joining the UMMC faculty, Miller worked as a pediatrician with Children’s Medical Group of Jackson from 2002-04, with UMMC’s Child Development Clinic from 2004-05 and with Rankin Children’s Group in Flowood from 2006-08.

Miller has coauthored a number of articles published in peer-reviewed publications, and she is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the American College of Radiologists.

Dr. Lique Coolen has joined the Medical Center faculty as a professor of physiology and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.

Coolen received her B.S. and M.S. in psychology from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, in 1990, followed by her Ph.D. in neurosciences from the University of Nijmegen, Netherlands, in 1995. In 1996, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, and in 1998 she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Medicine.

Before joining UMMC, she served as a professor of psychology and molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan. She also served as the associate director and interim director of the neuroscience graduate program and had a cross-appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Before joining the University of Michigan, Coolen was a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Western Ontario. There, Coolen was awarded the Canada Research Chair and served as the CRC in the Neurobiology of Motivation and Reward.

Coolen has authored or coauthored more than 80 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. She is a member of the editorial board for several international journals and is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, the Society for Neuroscience and the American Association of Anatomists. In recognition of her research accomplishments, in 1999 she received the Frank A. Beach Award from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and in 2003 the Charles Judson Herrick Award from the American Association of Anatomists.

Dr. Silu Lu, who recently completed postdoctoral training in physiology at UMMC, has joined the School of Medicine faculty as an instructor of physiology and biophysics.

Lu earned his M.D. at the Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China, in 2003. He did residency training in internal medicine at Quanzhou Xiehe Hospital and completed a research fellowship at the Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2004. He then earned his Master of Science in pharmacology at UMMC in 2008, followed by his Ph.D. in 2010.

Lu is a member of the American Physiology Society and has authored or coauthored a number of abstracts and articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Claire Nettles, a 2009 alumna of UMMC who did residency training in pediatrics here from 2009-12, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in pediatrics.

Nettles received a B.S. in chemistry summa cum laude from Mississippi College in 2005.

An active member of the American Association of Pediatrics, the Mississippi Medical Association and the American Medical Association, Nettles recently researched the effectiveness of asthma protocols for inpatients and remains active in general pediatric care.

Dr. Joshua Iles, a 2009 alumnus of UMMC who completed residency training in pediatrics here in 2012, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in pediatrics.

Iles received the B.S. in forensic chemistry from the University of Mississippi in 2004.

A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Iles is the coauthor of two articles in peer-reviewed professional publications.

Dr. Xu Zhang, an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Georgia State University, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

After graduating from Northern Jiaotong University, Beijing, China, Zhang received the M.S. in applied statistics from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, in 2001. She earned the Ph.D. in biostatistics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 2005.

Before joining UMMC, she was an affiliated faculty member of the Partnership of Urban Health Research at GSU. From 2003-05, she was a research associate in the Patient Care and Outcome Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Samuel Calvin Thigpen, a magna cum laude graduate of UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi, Thigpen received a second B.A. from the University of Oxford, England, in 2001 after he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. He completed an internship and residency training in internal medicine at UMMC in 2008.

Chief resident from 2008-09, he also completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology in 2012 at UMMC, where he was chief fellow.

Board-certified in internal medicine, he is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Omega Alpha and a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Natale Sheehan, a 2006 alumna of UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as as assistant professor of medicine.

After graduating from Millsaps College, Sheehan earned the M.S. in cell biology at Mississippi State University in 1998. She completed residency training in internal medicine in 2009 and a fellowship in hematology and oncology in 2012 at UMMC.

Sheehan is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Omega Alpha. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Kristina Rehm, who completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at UMMC in 2012, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.  

Rehm received the M.A.T. in 2004 and the Ph.D. in 2010 from East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

She has coauthored several publications, abstracts and presentations. She is a member of the American Association of Immunologists, the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society and the International Society of Exercise and Immunology.

Dr. Matthew Cassell, a 2006 alumnus of UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Cassell completed residency training in internal medicine in 2009 and completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology in 2012 at UMMC. He’s a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. William Campbell, a 2005 alumnus of UMMC, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

A 2001 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Campbell completed an internship and residency in internal medicine in 2008, a fellowship in cardiology in 2011, and a fellowship in interventional cardiology in 2012 at the Medical Center. He’s board-certified in internal medicine.

Dr. Seema Ahuja McKenzie, a 2008 alumna of UMMC who completed residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics here in 2012, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine.

A 2004 graduate of Millsaps College, McKenzie is a member of the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. James Shwayder, director of the Division of Gynecology and director of the fellowship in endoscopic surgery at the University of Louisville, has joined the Medical Center faculty as professor and chairman of obstetrics and gynecology.

Shwayder earned his medical degree at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and completed residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz. From 1982-98, he was in private practice in Virginia and academic practice at the University of Colorado. While in Virginia, he was a clinical associate professor at the Eastern Virginia Medical School.

In 1998, he joined the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Denver Health Medical Center, where eventually he became associate director of obstetrics and gynecology and director of gynecology and gynecologic ultrasound. Shwayder also earned the Doctor of Juris Prudence from the University of Denver College of Law in 2003. He joined the faculty at the University of Louisville in 2006.

He is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is certified in advanced laparoscopy and hysteroscopy by the Accreditation Council on Gynecologic Endoscopy and serves as president of that organization. He has been a member of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy since 1981 and is on the board of trustees of the AAGL. He also is a fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Dr. Sarah Novotny, who completed a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at UMMC in June, has joined the School of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

Novotny received her B.S. in 2001 from Duke University and earned her M.D. in 2005 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She did an obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine. During her fellowship at UMMC, she also earned an M.S. in biomedical sciences.

She has focused her research on preeclampsia, studying immune system responses to placental ischemia during pregnancy. She coauthored three publications during her fellowship, including a paper published in Hypertension in May 2011. She also has made several oral and poster presentations about her research to professional groups.

Novotny is a member of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the American Medical Association and the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This February, Novotny received the ACOG Award for Continuing Professional Development and was awarded the Marguerite K Shepard Award for excellence in reproductive endocrinology and infertility in 2009.

Dr. Mary Kinney Corley, who completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at UMMC last year, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology.

A 2004 graduate of the University of Alabama, Corley earned her M.D. in 2008 at the University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham.

Corley’s research includes an ongoing review of ovarian pathology in patients who undergo Salpingo-Oophorectomy following hysterectomy. Her research poster took first place during the Ob-Gyn department’s 2011 Resident Research Day.

She is a member of the American College of Obstectrics and Gynecology and, during medical school, was awarded a Peacock Fellowship as a gross anatomy lab teaching assistant.

Dr. Kenneth L. Weiss has joined the Medical Center faculty as professor of radiology, director of neuroimaging research and director of neuroimaging and biomarkers for the MIND Center.

After receiving the B.A. in general studies cum laude from Harvard College in 1977, Weiss earned the M.D. at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1981. He did a flexible internship at the University of Michigan affiliate Saint Joseph Hospital from 1981-82, a diagnostic radiology residency at Stanford University Medical Center from 1982-85, an MRI and neuroradiology fellowship at Ohio State University Hospitals from 1985-86 and a second-year fellowship as a neuroradiology instructor at the Medical College of Georgia from 1994-95.

Weiss joined the faculty of the Boston University Medical Center as an assistant professor of radiology and clinical director of MRI in 1986 before moving to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., where he served as a staff radiologist from 1987-88. He served as an assistant professor of radiology and neurology and director of MRI at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1988-91, then joined Central MRI in Linwood, N.J., as director of MRI from 1991-94.

He served as an assistant professor of radiology and neurology at the Medical College of Georgia from 1995-97 and again as an assistant professor of radiology and neurology at the University of Michigan Medical Center from 1997-2001. Since 2001, he has been at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, initially serving as associate professor of radiology, psychiatry and BME and associate director for the Center for Imaging Research before being promoted to professor of radiology and director of neuro-MRI in 2009.

An active member of several professional organizations, including the Radiological Society of North America, the American Roentgen Ray Society and the American Society of Neuroradiology, Weiss has given numerous invited presentations nationally and internationally. The coauthor of more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters, he numbers more than 70 scientific presentations and abstracts. He also holds multiple U.S. patents and copyrights.

His research interests include rapid automated neuroaxis MRI screening, DT-fMRI, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, cognition and dementia.

Dr. John L. Adams has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology.

After receiving the B.S. in chemistry summa cum laude from Rust College, Holly Springs, in 1988, Adams earned the M.D. at UMMC in 1992. He did residency training in internal medicine at Methodist Hospital Central, Memphis, Tenn., from 1992-93 and residency training in anesthesiology at the Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Mo., from 1993-96.

After serving as a partner anesthesiologist for Surgical Anesthesia Associates, Central Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, from 1996-2003, Adams joined the River Region Medical Center staff, serving as staff anesthesiologist from 2003-10 and director of anesthesia from 2010-11. Most recently, he has served as director of anesthesia for the Akeso Management Group in Vicksburg.

Adams is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Medical Association and the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Aihua Tang has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in microbiology.

After receiving the Bachelor of Medicine in Nursing at Fudan University, Shanghai, China, in 2003, Tang earned the M.S. in microbiology at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Ill., in 2005 and the Ph.D. in microbiology at UMMC in 2012.

The author or coauthor of 11 articles in peer-reviewed publications, Tang is an active member of the American Society for Microbiology. Tang’s current research interest is in Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis, particularly in the role of Pseudomonas proteases during pathogenesis.