Welcome to Our Program

Calvin Thigpen, MD, FACP
Professor, Division of General Medicine and Hypertension
Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Vice Chair of Education, Department of Medicine
Faculty Profile

Dr. Thigpen received his BS in chemistry and math in 1999 from the University of Mississippi and a BA in philosophy and psychology in 2001 from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, where he spent two years as a Rhodes Scholar.

Dr. Thigpen returned to Mississippi and earned his MD in 2005 from UMMC. He stayed and completed his internal medicine residency in 2008, his chief residency in 2009, and his hematology/oncology fellowship in 2012. Since joining the faculty in 2012, Dr. Thigpen served six years as an associate program director for the categorical medicine program and transitioned his clinical practice to general internal medicine in 2014 after initially practicing both oncology and general internal medicine for two years.

Dr. Thigpen assumed the role of program director at the start of the 2018-19 academic year. He served as Governor of the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) from 2017-2021 and is currently serving a one-year term (2024-2025) as President of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, running, reading, and watching sports, specifically tennis, football, and cycling.

Amanda Clark, MD
Associate Professor, Division of General Medicine
Associate Program Director
Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs, Department of Medicine
Faculty Profile

A native Mississippian, Dr. Amanda Clark obtained her undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University and medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. She completed residency and chief residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After residency, she practiced as an academic hospitalist at the Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and was an associate program director for Case Western's internal medicine residency program. She and her husband, a cardiologist, decided to move home to Mississippi in 2017 and re-join the UMMC family. She serves as the Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs for the Department of Medicine and practices inpatient and outpatient general internal medicine. Amanda considers it a joy and a privilege to train the physician leaders of tomorrow. She has three young children and enjoys reading, running, and playing tennis.

Pamela Graham, MD
Hospitalist, VA Medical Center
Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine
Associate Program Director
Faculty Profile

Dr. Pamela Graham grew up in Mendenhall, MS and wanted to become a physician at a young age. She is a graduate of "Thee" Jackson State University followed by medical school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. She completed residency in internal medicine at UMMC and then began working at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center. She began her career in primary care but currently works as a hospitalist and in the general medicine pre-operative clinic. Dr. Graham recently celebrated her 20-year anniversary at the VA Medical Center and is passionate about providing quality care to our nation’s heroes. She has been a member of several VA committees focused on patient safety, reducing in-hospital complications and reducing readmissions. She is married, has four children, and lives on a small farm in rural Mississippi where she enjoys gardening, cooking, sewing/crafting and football.

Kimberly Harkins, MD
Associate Professor, Division of General Medicine
Associate Program Director
Faculty Profile

Dr. Kimberly Harkins graduated from Mississippi College with a degree in chemistry and earned her MD from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine; while in medical school she married one of her classmates. Both matched in internal medicine at UMMC, and became the department’s first married co-chief residents.

After residency, Dr. Harkins joined the Division of Hypertension (later merged into the Division of General Medicine and Hypertension) and served as an associate program director in the internal medicine residency, a position she holds to this day. She and her husband have three children who occupy most of her time outside the hospital. She is the treasurer of the Mississippi chapter of the American College of Physicians, leads the ambulatory curriculum, and supervises most program activities related to scheduling. The practice of medicine, solving puzzles and other problems, reading, and eating are a few of her favorite things.

Brett Jeter, MD
Associate Professor, Division of Hospital Medicine
Associate Program Director
Faculty Profile

Dr. Jeter completed his undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University followed by medical school and residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Jeter serves as Director of the Hospitalist Track and leads the point of care ultrasound curriculum for the residency program. He helps staff the combined procedure/consult medicine service and is the assistant for the M3 Internal Medicine Clerkship. He is passionate about evidence-based medicine and hospital medicine. He loves all things sports, traveling, church and spending time with his wife and three kids.

Jessie Lavender, MD
Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine
Associate Program Director
Faculty Profile

Dr. Jessie Lavender completed her undergraduate degree at Mississippi College followed by medical school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency and chief residency at UMMC. She practiced in a rural area of the state for one year before returning to UMMC in 2018. She serves as the director of the primary care track and is actively involved in the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Physicians. She has a passion for primary care for those who are in rural or underserved areas of our state. She believes that working with residents makes her a better doctor and feels it an honor to be involved with the residency program. Dr. Lavender and her husband have two children. She enjoys nature and sharing the outdoors with her children, spending time with her friends, and all things SEC football and baseball. 

Rahat Noor, MD
Associate Professor, Division of Hospital Medicine
Associate Program Director
Faculty Profile

Dr. Rahat Noor is from Karachi, Pakistan, and obtained his medical degree from Aga Khan University Medical College. He completed his internal medicine residency at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI. After a two-year fellowship in melanoma oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, he went on to complete a geriatrics fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX. He has participated in multiple clinical trials and has several publications. He subsequently went on to practice hospital medicine at Merit Health River Region in Vicksburg, MS, before joining the UMMC family as an assistant professor in our department.

Dr. Noor assumed the role of associate program director for the internal medicine residency program in 2018 and his special interest lies in quality improvement and patient safety. In addition to his clinical and academic responsibilities, he also serves on multiple committees within the institution, including utilization review and antimicrobial stewardship. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children. He is an amateur when it comes to photography, playing guitar or cycling.

Lyssa Weatherly, MD
Associate Professor, Division of Geriatrics
Associate Program Director
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, School of Medicine
Faculty Profile

Dr. Lyssa Weatherly was born and raised in Mississippi. She obtained her undergraduate degree in chemistry and biology at Mississippi College. She went on to attend medical school here at UMMC, where she also completed her residency, chief residency, and geriatrics fellowship. She joined the residency program as an associate program director in 2017 with particular interest in medical student and resident education and mentorship. She is active in undergraduate medical education where she serves as co-course director for the "M2 Introduction to the Medical Profession" course as well at the "M3 Transitional Bootcamp" course. She also enjoys serving as the UMMC chapter advisor for the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Outside of medicine, Lyssa enjoys running, traveling, cheering on Ole Miss football, and spending time with her husband, Brandon.