Category: Research

CANDLE Study Secures More than $4 Million in Continued Funding to Advance Child Health Research

Written by Lee Ferguson

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Research
Headshot of Dr. Qi Zhao

The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) Study, led by Qi Zhao, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has reached a milestone by receiving continued federal support to investigate how early-life environmental exposures affect health outcomes in children. The long-running… Read More

Alicia Barnes, DO, MPH, Named Inaugural Urban Child Institute Endowed Chair of Excellence for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Written by Peggy Reisser

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Clinical CareEducationResearch
Headshot of Dr. Alicia Barnes

Alicia Barnes, DO, MPH, has been named the inaugural Urban Child Institute (UCI) Endowed Chair of Excellence for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. As the first recipient of the endowed chair, Dr. Barnes will serve as the director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UT… Read More

‘I Love Being Part of Universities,’ New Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications and Marketing Says

Written by Peggy Reisser

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Clinical CareEducationResearch
Headshot of Dr. Karla Leeper

Karla Leeper says she has always been fascinated with words. Consider this little ditty from TV she amazed grownups by reciting as a precocious 4-year-old: “Dirt can’t hide from intensified Tide.” Today, this self-described odd kid holds a PhD and a master’s degree in communication studies, as well an MBA, and has joined the University… Read More

UT President’s Awards Honor 2 from UT Health Science Center

Written by Christopher Green

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Clinical CareEducationPublic ServiceResearch
Side-by-side headshots of Judith Nyabando and Dr. Natascha Thompson

Two outstanding employees from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center are among the 17 winners of the 2025 UT President’s Awards announced this week by UT System President Randy Boyd during the annual UT Board of Trustees meeting in Chattanooga. The honorees from UT Health Science Center are Judith Nyabando, chief data officer and… Read More

2024-25 Annual Report: Realizing Our Vision

Written by Christopher Green

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Clinical CareEducationPublic ServiceResearch
Cover art of the 2024-25 Annual Report

In the two years since the 2023-28 Strategic Plan launched, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has worked to make our vision – Healthy Tennesseans. Thriving Communities. – a reality. By training the future of health care, delivering exceptional care in hospitals and clinics across Tennessee, conducting top-tier research, and engaging communities statewide, our… Read More

Dr. John Cox Awarded $3.68 Million to Study How Chlamydia Bacteria Reproduce

Written by Lee Ferguson

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Research
Headshot of Dr. John Cox

John Cox, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has received a $3.68 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to better understand how the bacterium that causes chlamydia reproduces. The research could lead to better ways to… Read More

Dr. Charleen McNeill Selected as Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

Written by Leigh Ann Roman

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Clinical CareEducationPublic ServiceResearch
Headshot of Charleen McNeill

Charleen McNeill, PhD, MSN, RN, executive associate dean of Academic Affairs for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing, has been selected to become a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Induction into the academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career in which their accomplishments are honored by… Read More

‘I Just Love Helping People,’ New Executive Dean of the College of Medicine Says

Written by Peggy Reisser

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Clinical CareEducationResearch
Photo of Dr. Mike Hocker

The new executive dean for the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center got his start in health care while in high school, helping out at his uncle’s ambulance company in his hometown of Littleton, Colorado, near Denver. “When I was still in high school, I got my EMT (emergency medical… Read More