College: Office of Research


UT Health Science Center Team Awarded $3.15 Million NIH Grant to Study Social Influences on Nicotine Addiction

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Headshot of Dr. Hao Chen

A research team from the Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science, and Toxicology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine has received a $3.15 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Hao Chen, PhD, Brendan Tunstall, PhD, and Dean Kirson, PhD, are collaborating on a study examining how social interactions… Read More


Research Administrator Earns PhD to Advance Career, Help Future Students

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Portrait of Kimberly Williams Houston

With a relentless drive for learning and a passion for advocacy, Kimberly Williams Houston, PhD, is using her expertise to drive change – both in research administration and in advocating for students like her. Dr. Houston previously earned a master’s degree from UT Health Science Center and has worked on the university’s Institutional Review Board… Read More


Faculty Senate Closes Academic Year with Thanks for Collaboration, Resilience, and Dedication

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Photo of Dr. Karen Derefinko

UT Health Science Center’s Faculty Senate accomplished much over the past academic year, despite political and financial challenges, Tracy McClinton, DNP, AG-ACNP-BC, APRN, outgoing Faculty Senate president said during the group’s final meeting for the year. “We have sustained during some challenging times, some of which will continue or resurface,” Dr. McClinton, an associate professor… Read More


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

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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

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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

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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


2025 Health Care Heroes Finalists Reflect the University’s Vital Clinical Presence in Memphis

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Photo of the UT Health Science Center arches

The list of finalists for the 2025 Health Care Heroes Awards released this week by the Memphis Business Journal illustrates the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s broad and deep impact on clinical care in the Memphis community. More than half of the 25 finalists are associated in some manner with UT Health Science Center. This… Read More


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

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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