People: Staff News


Donors Invest $34 Million in the Future of UT Health Sciences During Fiscal Year 2026

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The University of Tennessee Health Science Center stone arches, with a building with the UT logo in the background.

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences secured $34 million in philanthropic support during fiscal year 2026, reflecting growing momentum behind the institution and confidence in its mission to transform healthcare through education, training, clinical care, research and service. The total represents a 66% increase over the previous year’s fundraising results. As part of the University… Read More


How Future Healers Stay Human

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Pepper Mason and Emily Lu working together on a painting.

Students Turn to Art for Connection, Identity and Relief in High-Pressure Environment Long before she became a medical student, Emily Lu learned to understand people by drawing their faces. Growing up near Nashville after immigrating with her family from China, she found portrait drawing a way to form connections that transcended language or cultural barriers.… Read More


UT Health Sciences Names Inaugural Assistant Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

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Anja Dabelic headshot

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences has appointed Anja Dabelić, MD, FAAFP, assistant vice chancellor of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) to lead initiatives supporting interprofessional education and collaborative practice, academic clinical partnerships and workforce development across the university. In this role, Dr. Dabelić will support key priorities outlined in the UT System’s and university’s… Read More


Dr. Kristi Forman Named Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management

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Dr. Kristi Forman's headshot.

Kristi Forman, DBA, has been named the associate vice chancellor for Enrollment Management. In this newly created position, Dr. Forman is responsible for driving the successful execution of the institution’s Strategic Enrollment Plan and aligning enrollment initiatives with organizational mission, academic priorities and financial objectives. In partnership with campus leadership and college and program colleagues,… Read More


Tennessee to the World, Graduates Head to Armed Forces

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Emily McCulley grew up in Memphis, about as far from a coastal naval base as you can get. Then she enrolled in medical school and started asking a different kind of question. “I kind of wanted more out of life,” she says. “Adventure.” This spring, Emily McCulley, MD, crossed the commencement stage at the University… Read More


PA Students Put Tennessee First

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UT Health Sciences PA students pose for a group photo with Chancellor Peter Buckley in front of the Capitol Building.

A new generation of Physician Assistants trained at UT Health Sciences are heading toward the communities that need them most. The bus pulled out of Memphis before sunrise. A few students dozed in the early dark, heads tilted toward windows as the highway unspooled west to east. In the quiet, a voice carried from the front.  “What are you doing?”  Another student… Read More


Rooted in Tennessee: Pediatric Surgeon Brings a Lifetime of Commitment to Chattanooga Community

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Dr. Dave Battacharya sits in a room with medical equipment.

For S. Dave Bhattacharya, MD, medicine was never a distant goal. It was a part of his everyday life. Just before he was born, his father, Syamal Bhattacharya, joined the University of Tennessee Health Sciences in 1979, spending decades as a researcher in the Departments of Neurology and Surgery, and he’s still a faculty member… Read More


‘We Are on a Roll,’ Chancellor Buckley Says at Town Hall

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Dr. Karla Leeper speaks at the town hall, seated between Chancellor Peter Buckley and Raaj Kurapati

Executive leadership at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences held a town hall Thursday on the Memphis campus to discuss the university’s momentum, pay raises for employees, a refresh to the university’s branding and other updates. “We are on a roll, and we’ve got great momentum,” Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, told the faculty and staff… Read More