People: Alumni

Top Research Stories of 2025: UT Health Science Center’s Year of Impact

Written by Lee Ferguson

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Research
Photo of researcher in lab

In 2025, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center didn’t just advance science, it reshaped what’s possible for research, health care, and collaboration across Tennessee and beyond. From achieving the highest national research designation to leading statewide initiatives and driving breakthroughs in cancer, neuroscience, and infectious disease, UT Health Sciences emerged as a powerful force… Read More

Health Informatics and Information Management Program Celebrates More Than 50 Years

Written by Peggy Reisser

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Clinical CareEducation
Headshot of Dr. Rebecca Reynolds

In 1954, a program was established by Baptist Memorial Hospital to help ease a shortage of registered medical record librarians (RRLs) in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The demand was great for these professionals in hospitals across the region.  That program was the seed of what today is the Health Informatics and Information Management program at… Read More

Winter 2026 College of Medicine Magazine Explores Advances in Care and Discovery

Written by Chris Green

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Clinical CareEducationResearch
Medicine Magazine Cover

The College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is beginning a new chapter in its commitment to making Tennessee healthier. The winter 2026 issue of Medicine Magazine explains some of the many ways the college’s alumni, students, faculty, and programs are shaping a brighter future for health care across the state.… Read More

First Day Jitters Deserve a Dose of Dr. Jack Wilson: Beloved Professor a Gross Anatomy MVP for Decades

Written by Allyson Lawson

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Education
Dr. Wilson reading one of his student's letters

For many former medical students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, their inaugural course and pivotal gross anatomy subject also equate to the cherished Jack Wilson, PhD. From his teaching style and compassion to his calm and forward-thinking, more than 14,000 medical students have experienced his skilled and impactful pedagogy. “I didn’t realize my career would be… Read More

Education = Prevention: Physician Called to Educate Public on Infectious Disease Prevention

Written by Peggy Reisser

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Clinical CarePublic Service
Portrait of Dr. Chinelo Animalu

Here’s how Chinelo Animalu, MD, describes her role as an infectious disease physician:  “We deal with those cases that make everybody else run in the opposite direction,” she says.  An associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the College of Medicine at UT Health Science Center, Dr. Animalu is also the medical director for Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare… Read More

College of Medicine Receives Excellent Outcome from Medical Education Review

Written by Communications and Marketing

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Clinical CareEducation
Photo of the UT Health Science Center arches

The recent review by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) resulted in an excellent outcome for UT Health Science Center’s College of Medicine.  The LCME is the national body that accredits all MD-granting medical schools in the United States and Canada. The organization sets rigorous standards for medical education, including curriculum, student outcomes, clinical… Read More

Forty Years of Fortitude: Dr. James Dale’s Journey to Develop a Life-Saving Strep Vaccine

Written by Allyson Lawson

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Clinical CareEducationPublic ServiceResearch

When the phone call came, Dr. James Dale’s first thought wasn’t gratitude or pride. It was confusion. “Why in the world are they giving this award to me?” the professor emeritus recalled thinking. “Where are all the young, innovative people?” Yet after four decades of research on a vaccine that could save nearly half a… Read More

New Chief of Staff Strengthens College of Medicine’s Tennessee Mission

Written by Allyson Lawson

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Clinical CareEducationPublic Service
Brittany Sheehy's headshot

Brittany Sheehy, PhD, recently joined the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as the chief of staff for Executive Dean Michael Hocker, MD. As chief of staff, Dr. Sheehy manages internal operations for the executive dean’s office. “Brittany brings exactly the kind of strategic thinking and operational excellence we need… Read More