People: Student News


Nurturing Beginnings: Dr. Alicia Barnes and Team Are Helping Create Healthier Communities for Children

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Dr. Alicia Barnes stands in a green dress indoors with green foliage in the foreground and a research poster in the background.

Memphis wasn’t on Alicia Barnes’ bingo card, but she saw an alignment she couldn’t ignore. The physician arrived three years ago, answering a listserv post from a colleague she had first met as a medical student at a national community psychiatry conference. She wasn’t actively looking. Yet when Altha Stewart, MD, posted about a leadership… Read More


A Joyous Day: 2026 Spring Commencement Celebrates New Healthcare Professionals for Tennessee and Beyond

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Markela Albright could not miss her family in the crowded lobby of Memphis’ Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Monday morning after the first of three UT Health Sciences commencement ceremonies. They were the large group waving fans emblazoned with her photo complete with a doctoral tam and tassel. Albright, now Dr. Albright, had just… Read More


NightinGala Marks a Decade of Honoring Mid-South Nurses

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Dean Wendy Likes stands beside nurse Leatriece Franklin, who's holding a blue, teardrop-shaped award.

“Never underestimate the power of showing up and serving others,” said Leatriece Franklin, MHA, MSN, RN, as she received the 2026 Dr. John W. Runyan, Jr., Community Nursing Award at the recent 10th annual NightinGala. The award recognizes a registered nurse practicing in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Arkansas, who has made significant contributions to the development… Read More


College of Pharmacy Ranks Among Nation’s Best for 2026 Residency Match Numbers

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Two women wearing branded white coats examine a medicine vial and injection needle together.

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences College of Pharmacy’s residency match rate exceeded 90% in the 2026 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists match program. The college ranked No. 11 nationally in PGY1 (first-year residency) matches and No. 15 in PGY2 (second-year residency) matches. Additionally, the college remained No. 1 in Tennessee for the number of… Read More


Twins Support Each Other in Nurse Anesthesia Goal

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Portrait of Hunter and Spencer Turner

They finish each other’s sentences, they have traveled the world together, and now they are completing a rigorous program in what some call healthcare’s best-kept secret: nurse anesthesia. Hunter and Spencer Turner, 27, are identical twins who grew up in Japan, Italy, and Brighton, Tennessee. Sons of a United States Department of Defense employee, the… Read More


The CARE Team Shows Up Before the Crisis Does

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A medium-size group of people, including two police officers and CARE Team representatives, are gathered on the steps of a large, cement building.

If you notice a student seems off, showing up less, falling behind, acting out of character, the instinct can be to wait and see. Charles Snyder, PhD, vice chancellor for Student Success and co-chair of the CARE Team at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences, wants you to know there’s another option. “The problem is… Read More


837 Health Sciences Graduates Poised to Deliver Care Across Tennessee

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Portrait of Anna Hicks in a PT classroom.

Anna Hicks remembers the moment physical therapy started to feel real. “It’s really interesting to learn about somebody else, and that is PT, in a way,” she said. “You get to know these people, to really be a part of their lives, see their progress visit after visit, and see their confidence leaving the clinic.… Read More


UT Health Sciences Advisory Board to Meet Friday, May 8

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Photo of the Mooney Building in the quadrangle

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Advisory Board will meet Friday, May 8, at 11:00 a.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 Sciences… Read More