Welcome from Our Chair

Welcome to the Department of Medicine (DOM) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The DOM is dedicated to providing highest-quality expert patient care, training of the next generation of internists and subspecialist physicians, and research effort to discover and develop more effective medical therapies and cures for tomorrow. Integral to University of Mississippi Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the state of Mississippi, the DOM represents the largest academic department and includes 12 divisions and 150 faculty across multiple locations.  

We provide and foster a dynamic environment that constantly assesses traditional approaches to improve upon the delivery of patient care, education and cutting-edge research to improve the health of the citizens of Mississippi and beyond. I am honored to be part of this dedicated group of clinicians, educators, researchers, and staff whose collective commitment, intellect, and effort is nothing short of extraordinary.   

Annually, members of the DOM conduct more than 120,000 outpatient visits and care for more than 30,000 patients in the hospital. Many clinical services provided by members of the DOM are recognized nationally and these programs serve as regional centers of excellence. Focused on meeting the challenges of today’s medical environment, the DOM continues to strive to reduce hospital length of stay and readmissions, improve quality of care and patient outcomes, enhance patient and caregiver experience, utilize advances in technology including telehealth to broaden our reach, and focus equally on population health as well as specialized advanced care. The DOM also seeks to engage and support junior faculty member development. 

The DOM is the home for the NIH-supported Jackson Heart Study for the past 20 years and also plays a major role in the new RURAL (Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal) Cohort Study. Aspiring to be a major contributor to biomedical research across the spectrum of investigations, members of the department maintain collaboration with many well-established basic science groups across campus, with the schools of population health, nursing, and pharmacy, and other institutions around the country. With the opening of the University’s new Translational Research Center and the clinical trials research unit in the hospital, we plan to expand our research interests further in coming years. Increasing our footprint in the institutional conduct of clinical trials is a major focus of the DOM. 

The DOM educational programs for medical students, residents, and sub-specialty fellows are among the most competitive and respected programs regionally. Each year, the DOM supports the education of over 500 medical students, 124 medical residents, and 72 fellows in 14 sub-specialties. The DOM has been voted “Best Clinical Department” on campus for the past 19 of 20 years by the Carl G. Evers Medical Student Society. The DOM is an active member of the University of Mississippi Medical School community and is actively engaged in the development of new programs to better equip our trainees to care for patients. Innovation in education remains a central focus of the department. 

The members of the DOM consider it as our responsibility to advance the ethics and standards of clinical, research, and educational endeavors. I look forward to your review of this website and to engage you with our vibrant department. 

Michael Hall, MD, MS  
Chair, Department of Medicine