2019–20 ANNUAL REPORT
uthsc.edu
Table of Contents A Record-Breaking Year........................................................................................2 The Numbers.............................................................................................................4 A Vision for Growth.................................................................................................6 Education....................................................................................................................8 Research.................................................................................................................... 12 Clinical Care............................................................................................................. 16 Leading the Coronavirus Battle........................................................................ 19 Community Service.............................................................................................. 20 Student Spotlight.................................................................................................. 24 UTHSC Advisory Board...................................................................................... 27 OUR LEADERSHIP
COLLEGE DEANS
Chancellor Steve J. Schwab, MD
Dentistry James C. Ragain, DDS, MS, PhD, FICD, FACD
Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operations Officer Kennard Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration/ Chief Financial Officer Anthony A. Ferrara, CPA, MAS Vice Chancellor Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs Lori Gonzalez, PhD Vice Chancellor, Research Steven R. Goodman, PhD Vice Chancellor, Development and Alumni Affairs Love Collins, III, MBA
Graduate Health Sciences Donald Thomason, PhD Health Professions Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM Medicine Robert Kaplan Executive Dean, Vice Chancellor Clinical Affairs Scott E. Strome, MD Dean – Knoxville Paul Hauptman, MD Dean – Chattanooga Bruce Shack, MD Dean – Nashville Greg James, MD
Chief Information Officer Dan Harder, MPM
Nursing Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC
Associate Vice Chancellor, Human Resources Chandra Alston, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Pharmacy Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, FASHP, FAST
Assistant Vice Chancellor, Equity and Diversity Michael Alston, EdD Assistant Vice Chancellor, Communications and Marketing Sally Badoud, MBA
CREDITS Content Peggy Reisser Design Adam Gaines Photography Allen Gillespie Brandon Dill Troy Glasgow
All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admissions without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status. Eligibility and other terms and conditions of employment benefits at The University of Tennessee are governed by laws and regulations of the State of Tennessee, and this non-discrimination statement is intended to be consistent with those laws and regulations. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, The University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the University. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), ADA (disability), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED), 920 Madison Avenue, Suite 825, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, telephone 901.448.7382 (V/TTY available). Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the Office of Equity and Diversity. E070101001(003-201309)
A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR When Chancellor Steve J. Schwab, MD, stood before faculty and staff in November to deliver his annual State of the University Address summing up the previous academic year, he had a positive message. It was “a record-breaking year,” he said. UTHSC can be proud of its record number of graduates, record revenue from clinical activity, and record research awards. The university can boast that collaborations with health care and scientific institutions across the state promise to yield outcomes that will improve the lives of individuals in Tennessee and beyond. The university also stepped up early as Tennessee’s public academic health care leader in a time of public health crisis, as the COVID-19 outbreak emerged and spread. UTHSC established a website, uthsc.edu/coronavirus, and is offering our physicians and scientists as experts to the media to reassure and inform the public about local and statewide preparations, personal health precautions, and the most-upto-date knowledge about the virus. UTHSC researchers are also playing a major role in discovering new therapeutics to treat the virus. We are proud to present these achievements and many others in this report. We know that records are made to be broken, and we pledge to continue doing that, as we move toward the future.
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to improve the health and well-being of Tennesseans and the global community by fostering integrated, collaborative, and inclusive education, research, scientific discovery, clinical care, and public service.
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HEALTH CARE COLLEGES Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy
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FULL CLINICAL CAMPUSES Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville
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MISSION Transform Health Care
UTHSC HAS: • Been recognized in the Top 10 among 490 colleges in the 2019 Safest Campuses in America list, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security. UTHSC ranked among the Top 12 on the Safe Campus Top 25 list released by the National Campus Safety Summit, the largest campus safety conference in the nation. More than 3,000 new cameras are being installed on campus, panic buttons and alarms are located in various places for quicker emergency response, the UT ALERT system was activated, the Campus Police Department has expanded, and a Security Systems Officer, who is available seven days a week/24hrs a day, was hired.
• Been named among the Top Workplaces in Memphis by The Commercial Appeal for the sixth consecutive year • Become the first public university in the state to set the minimum wage for full-time employees at $15 an hour • Moved closer to completion of a $70 million renovation of its Historic Quadrangle. When complete, this will add state-of-the art laboratory space, meeting and gathering space, upgraded executive offices, and a home for the College of Nursing.
ECONOMIC IMPACT (FROM THE MOST-RECENT ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT)
UTHSC is a major player in the economic landscape of Tennessee.
$4 BILLION Contributed to Tennessee Economy
32,333
Number of Jobs Statewide Supported by UTHSC and its Affiliated Organizations
27 TO 1
Factor by which UTHSC Exceeds State Appropriations for University Operation
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By The Numbers (For Academic Year 2018-19, latest figures available)
$362 MILLION
1,472
$301 MILLION
1,000
REVENUE FROM PARTNER CLINICAL PRACTICE PLANS
SPONSORED PROGRAMS (ALL-SOURCE NON-CLINICAL GRANTS AND CONTRACTS)
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RESIDENTS, FELLOWS, POSTDOCS
DEGREES, 400 SPECIALTY CERTIFICATES: RECORD NUMBER OF GRADUATES
$100 MILLION
3,252
3,240
96%
RECORD RESEARCH AWARDS
EMPLOYEES
ENROLLMENT (2,955 GRADUATE LEVEL, 297 UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL): RECORD ENROLLMENT
FIRST-ATTEMPT BOARD PASS RATE
95%
GRADUATION RATE
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A Vision for Growth:
CAMPUS MASTER PLAN UPDATE “We’ve made great strides,” said Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, UTHSC’s executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer, in unveiling a new Campus Master Plan Update. “We have great strides still to be made.” More than a year in the making, the Campus Master Plan Update is a blueprint for growth of the Memphis campus through a series of projects and recommendations, including up to $500 million in new or renovated buildings, expanded clinical and research space, additional parking facilities, enhanced outdoor venues, and improved pedestrian access. The update provides a shared vision to guide the improvements to the physical campus in the heart of the Memphis Medical District in support of the university’s expanding academic, clinical, research, and outreach missions. It builds from the first Campus Master Plan released in 2014, which already has brought new research space, improved pedestrian and bicycle routes, well-designed landscaping, prominent signage, renovated buildings, and momentum toward updated housing options.
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The university has worked with DLR Group, a design firm from Overland Park, Kansas, which met with students, faculty, staff, and area stakeholders to gather input. Based on this input, the new plan focuses on safety, wellness, access, parking, and wayfinding. Academic goals include ensuring space that fosters interdisciplinary work and contributes to collaboration. Research goals look to optimize available space and enhance recruiting and innovation. Clinical goals aim to improve experiences for patients, better connect spaces, and better define the perimeters of the campus. Soon-to-commence renovations to the Dunn Dental Building, and the renovation of the Historic Quadrangle will be the major construction on campus over the next 36 months. Possible construction projects as the plan evolves are a $250 million College of Medicine Building at the corner of Madison Avenue and Pauline Street, and a $150 million to $200 million Women’s and Infants Pavilion as a joint venture with Regional One Health that would be a destination for high-risk obstetrics in the region.
Under Construction
$70 MILLION
Renovation of Historic Quadrangle (providing 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of top-quality wet-lab research space and a home for the College of Nursing)
$20 MILLION
Security upgrades including $2 million renovation of Campus Police Headquarters, a new Emergency Operations Center, and more than 3,000 cameras and 400 access and controlled locks
Soon to Break Ground
$45 MILLION
College of Dentistry Building Renovation (Adding 60,000 square feet for education and clinical care, including special needs dental clinic)
Recently Completed
$39.7 MILLION
Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation
$20 MILLION
Renovation and equipping of the Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions
$49 MILLION
Translational Science Research Building
Possible Future Construction
$250 MILLION College of Medicine Building
$150 MILLION TO $200 MILLION
Women’s and Infants Pavilion (Joint venture with Regional One Health)
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EDUCATION
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COMMITTED TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Educating and training our students is Job # 1 at UTHSC. Our record number of degrees awarded and outstanding first-attempt board pass rates last academic year reflect our continued success at this mission. Our College of Pharmacy consistently ranks in the top 20 in the nation among 140 colleges of pharmacy, according to U.S. News
& World Report. The College of Nursing’s DNP programs remain highly ranked among colleges of nursing across the country. UTHSC is increasing attention to the mind, body, and spirit of its students and working to address student debt and improve students’ overall knowledge of the social determinants of health.
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HIGHLIGHTS • UTHSC held tuition steady for the academic year. Additionally, the ’20-’21 academic year will again have no tuition increase across the board in any of the six colleges, and a decrease in tuition in certain large and smaller programs. In an effort to attract a wider crosssection of students and help reduce student debt, out-of-state tuition in the College of Medicine will drop by 10.6 percent, or more than $7,000. Annual tuition in several programs in the College of Health Professions will also see decreases, ranging from 28.3 percent to 54.1 percent. • The UTHSC Nurse Anesthesia Concentration Class of 2019 achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on the National Certification Exam. This places the UTHSC Nurse Anesthesia Concentration above the national average for first-time pass rates. • The UTHSC College of Medicine continues to expand its Culinary Medicine elective program for medical students. Dr. Susan Warner teaches Culinary Medicine to medical students using the Health Meets Food™ curriculum developed by the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. The goal of the program is to raise nutrition and culinary skills for medical students’ own health and well-being and to equip them to communicate nutrition principles to their patients in terms of real and healthful food. Now, the curriculum is offered as part of the Healthy Living wellness program and to cohorts of faculty and staff of the University at no charge, thanks to a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health, Project Diabetes. • Two departments in the College of Health Professions have merged for a better structural alignment within the college. The Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
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and the Department of Health Informatics and Information Management are now known as the Department of Diagnostic and Health Sciences. “This will provide us with the opportunity to reallocate our resources in a way to make us more efficient and flexible and thus more competitive in a modern, technologically enhanced teaching and learning environment,” Dean Stephen Alway said. • The College of Pharmacy expanded its Nashville footprint by moving to a new, larger facility in southeast Nashville at 301 South Perimeter Park Drive. The college’s move to the approximately 11,000-square-foot building is designed to accommodate the growing demand of the Nashville campus. The building has state-of-the-art features, including a simulated pharmacy. • The College of Dentistry is increasing the number of registered dental hygienists and dental assistants it certifies through its Expanded Functions for the Dental Auxiliary continuing education course. The program teaches hygienists to perform some restorative and prosthetic functions, including placement of fillings, temporaries for crowns, and making impressions for various fixed and removable dental procedures. The goal is to increase availability and accessibility of dental care in the community and across the state. • The CARE Team assists students in accessing resources that help them succeed academically, personally, and socially. The university also opened a new Mind Body Wellness Center for students, faculty, and staff. The Mind Body Wellness Center offer yoga, pilates, and meditation to encourage mental clarity and reduce stress and anxiety.
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RESEARCH
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$301 MILLION
SPONSORED PROGRAM EXPENDITURES
$100 MILLION IN RESEARCH AWARDS
BUILDING THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE Increases in research awards began in FY16, following the introduction of a new Strategic Plan for Research focused on creating an interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and entrepreneurial environment for research at UTHSC. The latest numbers show research awards have jumped from $84 million at that time to more than $100 million, half of which are from federal sources. The total non-clinical, external grants and contracts (research, education, service, termed sponsored program expenditures by the state)
exceeded $300 million. A number of initiatives contribute to this success. These include the CORNET Awards emphasizing team-based multidisciplinary research, and The Clinical Trials Network of Tennessee (CTN2), which is working to create a statewide clinical trials network. With more than 300 investigators actively performing research, UTHSC is the leading state institution for research on the causes, treatment, and prevention of diseases.
RECENT MAJOR GRANT AWARDS
$3.3 MILLION From the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop psychological methods designed to help individuals with opioid use disorder through medication-assisted treatment
$3.1 MILLION From the NIH to establish an innovative, diverse research model to be used to define and test the mechanisms that contribute to the addiction-enhancing effects of the chemical menthol
$3 MILLION
From the NIH to research improvements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sarcopenia
$1.9 MILLION From the NIH to help discover the pathological mechanisms that regulate inflammatory responses in patients, with a goal to develop targeted therapies to preserve retinal health
$1.5 MILLION
From the NIH to identify neural circuit disfunction that may cause behavioral difficulties in several mental disorders
$1.4 MILLION From the Department of Defense to researchers at UTHSC, Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Virginia Commonwealth University to assist caregivers of veterans who are living with traumatic brain injury and dementia 13
HIGHLIGHTS • The SPRINT MIND (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Memory and Cognition IN Decreased Hypertension), a clinical trial that included researchers from UTHSC and Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was named among the 2020 Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards by the Clinical Research Forum. • The CORNET Awards program created in 2016 to foster collaborative partnerships between researchers across the Memphis campus and the state, has provided over $1.7 million in funding to research teams, giving rise to over $14.3 million in extramural funding. The program also encourages collaborations with various academic institutions regionally and globally, and with industry partners. • UTHSC’s Tennessee Clinical and Translational Science Institute (TN-CTSI) held a ribbon cutting for its new offices on the second floor at 66 North Pauline building on the Memphis campus. TN-CTSI was established in 2018 to address the health inequalities in Tennessee. Its mission is to stimulate the discovery and translation of
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biomedical research into clinical practice to improve population health through a diverse set of services and resources. • One year since its launch, the Clinical Trials Network of Tennessee (CTN2) has secured master contracts to work with nine clinical sites across the state and initiated and launched 10 clinical trials. The innovative clinical trials network aims to provide new therapeutics and medical devices with the overarching goal of improving the health of all Tennesseans. Operating as a separate 501(c) (3) subsidiary of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF), CTN2 is a statewide, multisite clinical trial facilitator designed to bring together hospitals, academic-grade research, and shared health data from across Tennessee. • UTHSC continues to firm up its collaborative research relationships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to use its outstanding computational capabilities to further basic and translational science.
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CLINICAL CARE
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RAISING THE CLINICAL PROFILE Known for delivering top-quality health care, UTHSC is expanding its clinical reach, attracting renowned faculty, building and solidifying relationships with partner teaching hospitals, and stepping up as the state’s leader in health care knowledge and delivery in a time of public health
PARTNER HOSPITAL RANKINGS Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis recognized as a “Best Children’s Hospital,” U.S. News & World Report
8 Pediatric specialties at Le Bonheur ranked
nationally, U.S. News & World Report
crisis. “Our work, every day, beyond education, is the overall health of the people in the community,” said UTHSC’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operations Officer Ken Brown.
$362 MILLION REVENUE FROM CORE AFFILIATED PRACTICE PLANS
RANKED AS REGIONAL LEADERS • The University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville • Methodist University Hospital, Memphis
UTHSC PRIMARY PARTNER TEACHING HOSPITALS • Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital • Methodist University Hospital • Regional One Health • Memphis Veteran’s Medical Center • UT Medical Center in Knoxville • Erlanger Health System, Chattanooga • Saint Thomas Health, Nashville • West Tennessee Healthcare (In negotiations)
UTHSC AFFILIATED PHYSICIAN PRACTICES (YEAR FOUNDED) • UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists (2011) • UT Methodist Physicians (2013) • UT Regional One Physicians (2014) • University Clinical Health (2016) • UT Memphis Pathology Group (2018) • Erlanger Medical Group (2019) • University Surgical Associates (2019) • West Tennessee UT Medicine (2019)
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HIGHLIGHTS • The FDA approved use of the drug crizanlizumab based on the results of a clinical trial led by Kenneth Ataga, MD, Plough Foundation Endowed Chair in Sickle Cell Disease and director of the Center for Sickle Cell Disease at UTHSC. Dr. Ataga was the lead principal investigator of the multicenter Phase II trial designed to test the safety and efficacy of crizanlizumab in reducing the frequency of vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), or pain crises, in adult and pediatric patients ages 16 years and older with sickle cell disease. • In the world’s first successful surgery of its kind, a team of pediatric experts led by Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and UTHSC otolaryngologist Jerome Thompson, MD, used a rib graft to create a voice box and establish a viable airway for a 2-year-old boy. The child had no airway, no larynx, and therefore, no voice or way to breathe outside the womb. • UTHSC College of Dentistry opened a new dental clinic located in Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. The clinic will be staffed by UTHSC pediatric dental faculty and senior residents and serves patients in the hospital, as well as the patients cared for by Le Bonheur-based pediatric practices, and children from Memphis and surrounding areas. • The UTHSC College of Nursing received approximately $3 million in grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to improve health care with an emphasis on maternal and obstetrical services for underserved and rural populations in the Delta region.
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The Advanced Nursing Education Workforce for Healthy Delta Moms and Babies program will educate the advanced nurse practitioner workforce to better meet the needs of mothers and babies in West Tennessee and northern Mississippi. •J ohn L. Jefferies, MD, MPH, Jay M. Sullivan Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and chief of Cardiology in the College of Medicine and the director of the UTHSC-Methodist Institute for Cardiovascular Science, is the new governor-elect of the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and will become governor of the organization in 2021. He believes these new leadership positions will allow him to help Memphis and UTHSC play leading roles in improving cardiac care across the state. • Fredrick Boop, MD, co-director of the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, is the president-elect of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Boop is the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at UTHSC, co-director of the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. • A distinguished educator, clinician, and researcher, G. Nicholas Verne, MD, is the new chair of the Department of Medicine in the College of Medicine. Dr. Verne, who was selected after an extensive national search, also holds the Lemuel W. Diggs Alumni Professorship in Medicine.
UTHSC OUT FRONT IN FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS In late February, as the COVID-19 outbreak begin to unfold nationally and internationally, and even before it began to seriously touch Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center stepped forward as the state’s public academic health care institution to lead efforts to meet the virus. Leaders from the College of Medicine and its clinical and community partners convened a press conference in Memphis to reassure the public that steps were being taken to prepare for the spread of the virus. They continue to provide information, guidance, and clinical care to the community. UTHSC launched a website with information and resources about the virus, uthsc.edu/coronavirus, including up-to-date statistics, as well as frequently asked questions, and links to national, state, and local organizations monitoring the virus. The site was translated to Spanish at uthsc.edu/ coronavirus-es/.
Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions, 3D printing masks in the College of Dentistry, and students and faculty contributed their expertise as clinicians and volunteers across the state. Research at UTHSC’s Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) represents a major contribution by the university to the global effort. The RBL is one of roughly a dozen federally funded labs in the country designed to safely study dangerous pathogens. The research team, led by Colleen Jonsson, PhD, Endowed Van Vleet Chair of Excellence in Virology, was tasked with finding drugs to treat COVID-19. UTHSC is also dedicated to improving protocols for pandemic preparedness and response in the future. “This is what academic medicine is,” said College of Medicine Executive Dean Scott Strome, MD. “We’re here to treat the sickest patients, to collaborate with health care providers, and to really step up in time of need.”
In mid-March, UTHSC set up a drive-thru testing site at Tiger Lane at the Mid-South Fairgrounds. Staffed primarily by student volunteers from the College of Medicine, along with the College of Nursing and the College of Dentistry, and supervised by faculty, the site soon could test up to 150-200 people a day. The College of Medicine also established a laboratory on campus to analyze samples to expand capacity in the community and provide rapid analysis for COVID-19 testing. More than 1,500 people registered for an online coronavirus symposium put on by UTHSC in early April. The university began manufacturing hand sanitizer in its Plough Center for
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COMMUNITY SERVICE
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FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY ENGAGED CARE Our various colleges have long been engaged in community outreach, locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. Additionally, UTHSC has launched a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) titled, “Community Engaged Care.” Administered through the Office of Health Disparities Education and Community Engagement, the QEP, a comprehensive five-year plan, is developed to train all UTHSC students to recognize and address the social determinants of health. The plan, still in its formative stages, is already having an impact on our community.
1,100
$100,000
Memphians have received care through the Community Engaged Care program under a new model for health fairs that integrates basic medical services and dental screenings with legal, education, and social services.
Has been raised by UTHSC since 2009 for diabetes research through the StepOut To End Diabetes campaign and the Denim for Diabetes campaign.
100 Health care students participated in a new model of the Serving the Underserved program, fostering a dialogue on health care among underserved populations and the ways poverty shapes the health lives of people and communities.
$35,585
8 Special-needs children were helped by physical therapy and occupational therapy students through the GoBabyGo! Memphis Rodeo that gave them specially designed ride-in toy cars modified for their needs.
331
Worth of oral health services were provided to 124 middle school students from Memphis’ Freedom Preparatory Academy during the College of Dentistry’s annual Give Kids a Smile Day in February.
The Rachel Kay Stevens Therapy Center has helped 331 children, trained 56 teachers, and worked with 184 parents, since it opened in 2016. The Third-annual Rachel Kay Stevens Art Show and Auction to raise money for the center, the only student run, pro bono OT clinic in the Mid-South, was held in July.
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320
Shelby County students participated in the UTHSC Student National Medical Association’s “Dream BIG,” a free conference offering workshops on cultural competency, goals and professionalism, team building, and health.
Free medical screenings, immunizations, and health information were provided to more than 320 grade school and middle-school students at the 31st annual Back to School Family Affair put on by Omega Ministries/Omega Healthy Practices and UTHSC in July.
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HIGHLIGHTS • In partnership with Community Engaged Care, the Graduate Student Executive Council, and the College of Graduate Health Sciences launched the inaugural Biomedical Symposium on the Social Determinants of Health, while the College of Medicine and the Council on International and Area Outreach launched the inaugural Health Disparities Symposium. These events brought experts to campus to speak and serve on panels to highlight the challenges and opportunities in advancing health equity. • Peg Thorman Hartig, PhD, APN-BC, FAANP, professor in the UTHSC College of Nursing, received the Renee S. Frazier Advocacy and Community Service Award from the Common Table Health Alliance in recognition of Dr. Hartig’s personal and professional dedication and selfless commitment to health equity in the Mid-South. She is the first person to receive this award. • In June, UTHSC hosted the inaugural “Everyone at the Table” symposium to bring together researchers, community members, and health care providers who
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are working to identify the best ways to engage AfricanAmerican men in prostate and colorectal cancer research studies. • The College of Medicine launched a program with the City of Memphis Parks System to educate area teens on basic health issues and introduce them to careers in health care. The UTHSC M.A.R.V.E.L. Summer Science Camp was piloted at the Hickory Hill Community Center, where teens, ages 13-18, met once a week with physician leaders to get information about health issues, such as how to stop bleeding, how to recognize stroke, basic survival skills, and skin care and protection. • UTHSC opened a Youth Advocacy Coalition in late August in collaboration with the Shelby County Government Division of Community Services to provide support and community-based resources for at-risk and justice-involved youth, ages 12-17, and their families, providing trauma-informed screenings, individualized recommendations for referrals to community-based behavioral and trauma-related services, and follow-up.
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OUR STUDENTS ARE LEADERS IN THEIR FIELDS
Michael Anthony James, DDS
Amanda Bodkin
Michael Anthony James, from Mount Vernon, New York, is the first college graduate in his family. A student in the UTHSC College if Graduate Health Sciences, he is pursuing a master’s degree in dental science with a concentration in endodontics.
A typical Friday for Amanda Bodkin begins at 8 a.m. and doesn’t end until 7 a.m. the following day. A graduate of the UTHSC Medical Laboratory Science program, Bodkin is not only studying full-time to earn her Master of Cytopathology Practice degree, but putting her MLS degree to use working as a med-tech generalist at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital.
College of Graduate Health Sciences: Dentistry
After graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta, he chose a career in health care management working with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in Manhattan. While there, he obtained a master’s degree in public health from Hunter College, where his research focused on health care disparities between white-collar and bluecollar workers. He was accepted into the UTHSC College of Dentistry in 2009 and completed his studies in 2013. Dr. James returned to New York after graduation and completed a general practice dental residency at Montefiore Hospital/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He served as chief resident in the endodontic fellowship there. After his residency, he practiced general dentistry in New Paltz, New York, for two years before enrolling in the graduate endodontic program at UTHSC, which he completed in 2018.
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College of Health Professions: Medical Laboratory Science
“I work overnight four nights a week for 10 hours,” she said. She does all this to support her eight-year old son, Ayden. “I want to set a good example for him,” she said. During her senior year of high school, Bodkin received an art scholarship to train in graphic design. A summer job led to a full-time managerial position, however, after having her son, she decided to pursue something new. “Science and being in a lab have always been my thing,” she said. “You are screening things, you are looking and trying to see if there is cancer. You are diagnosing cancer and passing it on to the pathologist and they make that final call, but you know you are impacting someone’s life and you are changing it, whether it be for the better or the worse. You’re helping them take a step forward, one way or another.”
Lauren Armstrong
Anna Joy Rogers
Lauren Armstrong’s first year of audiology school would not have been possible without her service animal, Elroy, a Golden Lab Cross, that is the first animal to help someone with hearing loss in the UTHSC program in Knoxville.
Fourth-year medical student Anna Joy Rogers is passionate about maternal and fetal health care. “Pregnancy and childbirth are critical times in the life of a woman,” Rogers said. “They set the stage for the health of every individual.”
College of Health Professions: Audiology and Speech Pathology
“It has been a new experience, but a sweet journey so far,” said Armstrong, who was born with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss, or hearing loss in both ears. She has been able to hear with the assistance of cochlear implants. “At first, I did not want to do audiology, but the more I became in tune with my hearing loss and this incredible field, I realized that I could make a difference,” she said. When Armstrong was accepted into the Clinical Doctorate of Audiology program at UTHSC, she knew she had to take a different path to remain independent, because her implants failed at times. She decided she needed a service dog. Armstrong said having Elroy has given her confidence. “I am completely comfortable with who I am in all environments,” she said.
College of Medicine
Under the guidance of her research adviser, Giancarlo Mari, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTHSC, Rogers has studied the impact of maternal obesity on birth outcomes. Her prior doctoral research used qualitative, quantitative, and modeling methods to explore the implementation of policy aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in low-resource settings. She has also examined couplerelationship dynamics on HIV-related health behaviors. Rogers received a $15,000 Scholar Award from the International Chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) Sisterhood to fund her medical education and continue research in women’s health. Her interest reaches internationally through her work with mothers and babies in Kenya.
Armstrong looks forward to one day opening her own private practice for pediatric and geriatric patients with cochlear implants. “I am eager to help make a difference in people’s lives.” 25
OUR STUDENTS ARE LEADERS IN THEIR FIELDS
Zachary K. Mgbemere
Kenneth Ian Packer
Zachary Mgbemere, a fourth-year Doctor of Pharmacy student, demonstrates academic excellence, professionalism, and a commitment to community service. During his time at UTHSC, Mgbemere has served as the executive chairman for the College of Pharmacy’s Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) (2019-2020), SNPhA chapter president (2018-2019), and Class of 2020 Honor Council representative (2016-2017). He is also a member of Phi Lambda Sigma, the Academy of Student Pharmacists, Phi Delta Chi, and the Black Student Association.
Kenneth Ian Packer is a Doctor of Nursing Practice student in the Certified Nurse Anesthetist program in the College of Nursing, set to graduate this year. Before attending UTHSC, he had already done a four-year stint in the Navy, during which he served as a medical/surgical nurse, a critical care nurse, and an En Route Care Nurse on a V-22 Osprey for a medical evacuation team with responsibility for military hot spots in Africa.
In 2018, Mgbemere was inducted into the IMHOTEP Society in recognition of his leadership roles. He was awarded the Chancellor’s Diversity Scholarship and the Tennessee Diversity Scholarship, as well as the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 Charles R. and Henry C Shapard Scholarship.
Packer said he chose the UTHSC College of Nursing because it had a great reputation.
College of Pharmacy
Mgbemere has participated in various service events throughout the Memphis area, including Mustard Seed Tutoring, flu shot clinics, and screenings at numerous health fairs.
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College of Nursing
Packer’s leadership experiences helped prepare him to serve a year as the student representative to the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.
“Honestly, I looked at other schools,” he said. “Probably the biggest reason I came to UTHSC was that Memphis is really a gem of a medical city. We have a Level 1 Trauma Center here, which is one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation; St. Jude (Children’s Research Hospital) is a world-renowned research leader in oncology; you have Le Bonheur (Children’s Hospital); and the list goes on and on and on.”
UTHSC ADVISORY BOARD The UTHSC Advisory Board held its first meeting in early 2019 in the Student Alumni-Center on the Memphis campus. Created under the UT FOCUS Act passed by the General Assembly in 2018, the board is composed of five public members, one faculty member, and one student member. The members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly. We are grateful for the support of our Advisory Board and appreciate their service!
Gubernatorial Appointments
Philip Wenk, DDS, chair
Lynn Massingale, MD
The Honorable Mark Norris
Michael Ugwueke, PhD
Natalie Tate, PharmD, MBA
Faculty Senate Elected
Student Representative
Secretary
Terrance Cooper, PhD
Andrew McBride
Anthony A. Ferrara, CPA, MAS 27
POINT OF PRIDE! Everyone who passes the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Dunlap Street can now see UTHSC’s pride in being part of the UT System of academic institutions displayed in 35-foot bright orange and white letters.
In addition to showcasing the UT System, the Memphis mural calls attention to UTHSC’s status as the state’s public, academic health care institution, responsible for educating and training a majority of Tennessee’s dentists, pharmacists, physicians, and doctorally prepared nurses.
UTHSC is the site of the third mural in the system’s “Everywhere you Look, UT” awareness campaign. The campaign emphasizes the statewide reach and impact of the UT System’s contributions through a series of murals proclaiming those words and located in prominent spots across Tennessee that have been donated by friends and alumni of UT.
For more information about the “Everywhere You Look, UT” campaign or to submit recommendations for future sites, please visit everywhere.tennessee.edu/murals/.
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