Congratulations to all those who received promotion or tenure for the 2021-2022 academic year. These achievements reflect continued excellence and professional competence. This exciting milestone reflects a commendable level of academic growth and the remarkable value of our faculty members.

PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE

Dr. Trey Abraham

Dr. George “Trey” Abraham, III was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Abraham attended UMMC for medical school, residency, and fellowship in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. He currently is the Medical Director for the Department of Respiratory Care and is heavily involved in the education and curricula of pulmonary and critical care fellows. He is a member of several committees, including the Antibiotic Stewardship, Mortality Review, and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees. In 2018, Dr. Abraham received the Outstanding Service Faculty Award for the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Jason Parham

Dr. Jason Parham was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Parham completed medical school, residency, and fellowship in infectious diseases at UMMC and an Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Massachusetts. He is currently serving as Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine and the Division Director of Infectious Diseases. He has previously served as the Associate Vice Chair for Quality for the Department of Medicine. He founded UMMC’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in 2012 and serves as its medical director, leading it to obtain Center of Excellence status from the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2019.

Associate Professor

Dr. Trey Clark

Dr. Trey Clark was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Clark completed medical school at UMMC, internal medicine residency and chief residency at UAB, cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, and a Masters of Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Clark currently serves as Medical Director of Remote Patient Monitoring for the Center of Telehealth and Program Director of the Cardiology fellowship program. He serves on the American College of Cardiology’s Prevention Leadership Council and the American Heart Association Scientific Statement Writing Committee. Dr. Clark has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented nationally and internationally.

Dr. Vishnu Garla

Dr. Vishnu Garla was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Garla completed his medical school at JJM Medical College in India, medicine-pediatrics residency at Marshall University, and endocrinology fellowship at UMMC. He also obtained a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation from UMMC’s School of Health Related Professions. Dr. Garla is a faculty member in the Division of Endocrinology and serves as an Associate Program Director for the Endocrinology fellowship program and as the Associate Medical Director of UMMC’s Clinical Research and Trials Unit.

Dr. Clark Henegan

Dr. John “Clark” Henegan was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Henegan attended medical school at UMMC, a combined medicine/medical genetics residency at UAB, and hematology-oncology fellowship at UMMC. Dr. Henegan practices hematology and oncology with a particular focus on genitourinary cancers. He serves as Chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee and Co-Chair of the Genitourinary Cancer Conference Committee and is a member of the Department of Medicine Education Council, Experimental Therapeutic Group, and Cancer Clinical Leadership Council. Dr. Henegan was awarded the Department of Medicine “Fellow of the Year” award three consecutive years during his fellowship. In addition, he was given the “Young Achiever” Award by the National ACP and most recently, the “U Rock” award by the UMMC Cancer Institute.

Dr. Rahat Noor

Dr. Rahat Noor was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Noor completed medical school at Aga Khan University in Pakistan, followed by internal medicine residency at William Beaumont Hospital. He subsequently completed fellowships in both geriatrics and melanoma oncology at University of Texas. Dr. Noor serves as an Associate Program Director of the internal medicine residency program and on multiple institutional committees, including the Documentation Oversight Committee, the Clinical Learning Environment Committee, and the departmental Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is a Fellow of ACP and SHM. He has certification from the Quality and Safety Educators Academy of the Society of Hospital Medicine and directs quality improvement curricula for the residency program.

Dr. Pradeep Vaitla

Dr. Pradeep Vaitla was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Vaitla obtained his medical degree from Osmania Medical College and completed residency at Texas Tech University. He then went on to complete fellowships at both Emory University and at Ochsner Foundation. He practices transplant nephrology and is the Medical Director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at UMMC. He currently serves as the southeast representative for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Pancreas Transplant Committee. Dr. Vaitla has received extramural NIH funding to study kidney transplant equity and outcomes. He has authored or co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Medical Case Reports.