Twelve members of the Department began the academic year with a promotion in rank. Congratulations to all!
TENURE
Dr. April Carson
Dr. Caron was granted tenure as Professor of Medicine. Dr. Carson completed her PhD at the University of North Carolina. She came to UMMC in 2021 as Director of the Jackson Heart Study, the largest study of cardiovascular health among African American adults. Dr. Carson joined UMMC from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the School of Public Health and an investigator with the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) and REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) studies.
Dr. Jason Parham
Dr. Jason Parham was granted Tenure as 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 currently serves 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. Dr. Parham served as a lead institutional expert during the COVID-19 pandemic and was named a Community Hero by the Mississippi Clarion Ledger in 2020.
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE
Dr. Fred Asher
Dr. Fred Asher was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Asher completed medical school and internal medicine residency at UMMC. He worked as a hospitalist at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans for three years before returning to UMMC. Dr. Asher has served as a hospitalist since the creation of UMMC’s Division of Hospital Medicine, of which he currently serves as Division Director. He has served as Co-Director of the internal medicine clerkship for third year medical students and currently is Vice President of the Mississippi Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine. He assists with utilization review in UMMC’s adult hospital and is a member of the institutional Medical Executive Committee.
Dr. Kellan Ashley
Dr. Kellan Ashley was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Ashley completed medical school, internal medicine residency and chief residency at UMMC followed by fellowship in cardiology and interventional cardiology at Cleveland Clinic, where she was Chief Fellow. During her training, Dr. Ashley was named Internal Medicine Intern of the Year, House Officer of the Year, and AOA Resident Teacher of the Year. Dr. Ashley leads the structural heart program at UMMC and serves as the Program Director of the Interventional Cardiology Program. In 2022, she was awarded the Patrick Lehan Cardiology Faculty of the Year Award.
Dr. William Campbell
Dr. William Campbell was named Professor of Medicine. Dr. Campbell completed medical school, internal medicine residency, cardiology fellowship, and interventional cardiology fellowship at UMMC. He is only one of two cardiologists in Mississippi that specializes in adult congenital heart disease and serves as the Program Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship Program. He is active on the STEMI committee and serves as Medical Director of the Adult Cardiac Catherization Laboratory at UMMC. In 2021, Dr. Campbell was named Faculty of the Year in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Dr. Sadeka Tamanna
Dr. Sadeka Tamanna was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Tamanna completed medical school at Dhaka Medical College in Bangladesh, internal medicine residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York, and sleep medicine fellowship at UMMC. She also obtained a Masters of Public Health from the University of South Carolina. She practices sleep medicine at the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center, where she directs the sleep lab and serves as the Service Chief for Sleep Medicine. She has been in practice at the VA since 2010. In 2021, she was awarded the Medical Service Eagle Award from the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center.
Dr. Mohammad I. Ullah
Dr. Mohammad I. Ullah was promoted to Professor of Medicine. Dr. Ullah completed medical school at Dhaka Medical College in Bangladesh and a Masters of Public Health from the University of South Carolina. He completed residency in internal medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York. He has been at UMMC since 2008 and practices both general internal medicine and sleep medicine. He served as Director of Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program for a number of years. Dr. Ullah is an Epic Superuser and has served on several institutional committees, including the Institutional Review Board, Epic Executive Leadership, and Faculty Senate. Dr. Ullah frequently volunteers as the attending physician at the Jackson Free Clinic.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Pradeep Bathina
Dr. Pradeep Bathina was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Bathina obtained his medical degree from Rangaraya Medical College in India and completed internal medicine residency at Central Michigan University. Dr Bathina serves on the School of Medicine Admissions Committee and the internal medicine House Office Selection Committee. He is active in both clinical research and quality improvement and serves as a mentor for student and resident quality improvement initiatives. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and Society of Hospital Medicine.
Dr. Jessie Harvey
Dr. Jessie Harvey was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Harvey completed medical school, internal medicine residency, chief residency, and pulmonary and critical care fellowship at UMMC. She currently serves as the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit and the Program Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program. She leads the Point-of-Care Ultrasound curriculum for the internal medicine residents and pulmonary/critical care fellows. Dr. Harvey has been named Department of Medicine Teacher of the Year, School of Medicine Clinical Professor of the Year, and has received the Trailblazer Teaching Award.
Dr. Gabe Hernandez
Dr. Gabe Hernandez was promoted to Associate Professor. He completed medical school at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru and internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship training at the University of Miami – Jackson Memorial Hospital. He then completed a fellowship in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology at Vanderbilt University and Interventional Cardiology at the University of Miami. Dr. Hernandez co-directs the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and Mississippi’s first Pulmonary Embolism Response Team. He currently serves as the associate program director for the general cardiology fellowship program and as principal investigator for multiple landmark studies in the fields of pulmonary embolism and acute heart failure.
Dr. Dennis Morgan
Dr. Dennis Morgan was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Morgan completed medical school, internal medicine residency, and hematology/oncology fellowship at UMMC. He worked in private practice for many years before returning to UMMC in 2017. A member of the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Dr. Morgan serves on several institutional committees, including the Cancer Institute Advisory Committee and the Protocol Review Committee. He was awarded the “U Rock Award” in 2020 from the Cancer Center. He participates in trainee teaching activities and is involved in lung and head and neck cancer research.
Dr. Luis Shimose
Dr. Luis Shimose was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Shimose obtained his medical degree from Universidad San Martin de Porres in Lima, Peru. He completed internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Miami – Jackson Memorial Hospital. He then completed a critical care fellowship at Cleveland Clinic before coming to UMMC. Dr. Shimose attends on the ID consult service and in the ID clinic as well as the Medical ICU. He is a member of the Mississippi Critical Care Organization Committee and the infectious diseases fellowship Clinical Competency Committee. Dr. Shimose also participates in clinical research and teaching trainees in both specialties.
Progress Notes 