People: Staff News


Advisory Board to Hold Summer Meeting August 15

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Photo of the Mooney Building and quadrangle

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Advisory Board will meet Friday, August 15, at 2 p.m., in the Mooney Library, 875 Monroe Ave., on the Memphis campus. On the agenda:  While the meeting will be conducted in person, it will also be available to view online. The webcast link, more information about the UT Health… Read More


2025 UT Foundation President’s Award Honors UT Health Science Center’s Terri Catafygiotu

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Headshot of Terri Catafygiotu

Terri Catafygiotu, senior director of Alumni Programs at UT Health Science Center, is one of six University of Tennessee Foundation, Inc. (UTFI), employees honored with a 2025 UT Foundation President’s Award, announced July 15 during a virtual statewide UT Foundation celebration. The award recognizes outstanding achievements by advancement staff in promoting the services of UTFI,… 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


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


2024-25 Annual Report: Realizing Our Vision

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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


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

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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


Chancellor Buckley Honored to Join Alliance of Academic Health Centers International Steering Committee

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Photo of Chancellor Peter Buckley.

Peter Buckley, MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has been appointed to the steering committee of the Alliance of Academic Health Centers International (AAHCI). AAHCI is a global network of academic health centers and systems with a mission to advance health, education, and research through collaboration. Chancellor Buckley, a psychiatrist who emigrated from Ireland… Read More


UT Health Science Center Physicians in Memphis Have Strong Presence on 2025 Top Doctors List

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Photo of Dr. David Shibata in consultation with a patient

Sixty-four percent of the Memphis physicians named in the 2025 Top Doctors list from national health care research firm Castle Connolly are affiliated with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Of the 452 Memphis physicians on the annual Top Doctors list, 291 are affiliated with UT Health Science Center. The list for Memphis is published in… Read More