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Over the past 3 ½ decades Amy has been an integral part of nutrition intervention research here at UTHSC. She worked 19 years in the Department of Preventive Medicine under Dr. William Applegate and later Dr. Karen Johnson managing the nutrition interventions for the Trials of Hypertension Prevention Phase I and Phase II (TOHP I , TOHP II) (1988-1993), Trial of Non-Pharmacological Intervention in the Elderly (TONE) (1991-1994) , Women’s Health Initiative, (1994-2005) and the Look Ahead Study (1994-2013). Amy was chosen by her peers to be part of many quality control, oversight and writing committees for these studies.
In 2007 Amy joined to the Division on Endocrinology (2007-2013) under Dr. Kitabchi/Dr. Dagogo-Jack. She pulled up their intervention compliance ranking in Look Ahead from 19th to 2nd of 21 clinical centers. Amy’s creative genius and enthusiasm for group sessions set the attendance rate for interventions apart from all the rest. Amy also coordinated group education sessions in the DPPOS trial during her time in Endocrinology.
Then in 2013, as the Look Ahead clinical trial ended, Amy joined the staff at the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) under Dr. Samuel Dagogo-Jack (2013-present). She singularly managed the nutrition interventions of 2 feeding studies for Dr. Kitabchi (2013-2015 ) and Dr. Frankie Stentz (2018-present) which have sought to determine if a higher protein diet could reverse pre-diabetes and diabetes in adults. Amy made key design suggestions for the interventions for these successful feeding trials and co-authored journal publications.
Also, during her tenure at the GCRC Amy designed, organized, planned, and managed nutrition staff and the nutrition interventions for the Pathobiology and Reversibility of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (PROP ABC) (2013-2018) under Dr. Dagogo-Jack . The trial showed early nutrition intervention after the transition from normoglycemia to prediabetes was successful at reducing important risk factors and the results have been published.
In 2021 Amy expanded her professional skills by completing the requirements for a Medical Xray Limited Scope license allowing her to operate the Hologic DEXA at the GCRC. With this expertise she developed an orientation presentation for the Endocrinology Fellows to enhance their skills at reading and understanding DEXA scan results.
Finally, Amy has been a professional preceptor for many master’s and PhD level students/interns over the decades. She has worked with students at the University of Memphis (1994-1998), Southwest Tennessee Community College (2007-2008) and the VA Memphis Medica Center (2012-2023).
Amy says her “best days” at UTHSC were the days she led group sessions for study participants and the days she mentored students.
Please join us, if you will, in our heartfelt send-off for Amy and in celebration of all her contributions to UTHSC research on June 28th, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at 920 Madison Ave, Suite 300A, Division of Endocrinology on the UTHSC campus. Inquiries, please contact Bridgette Cain at 516-2212

June SafeZone Training coming June 12, 10a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Location: HR Training Room, 910 Madison Ave, 7th Floor, Ste 755
Sponsored by The Office of Access and Compliance, University Counseling Services, and UNITE.

The Qualitative Research Interest Group (QualRIG)The Qualitative Research Interest Group (QualRIG) is scheduled for Monday, June 10 at 4:00 pm Central Time. Jorden R. Cunningham, BA, BSN, a doctoral student in the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences, will be presenting on “Using Applied Qualitative Research to Examine the Impact of Intersectional Stigma on HIV Care for Latinx Men with HIV in the South.”

Some on campus have had quite a bit of experience with artificial intelligence (AI) already, but for those of you who haven’t, here’s something fun you can try!