Mary Katherine Hood, MD
Assistant Professor
Department:
SOM-Pediatrics
Email:
mkhood@umc.edu
Biography
Dr. Mary Katherine Hood joined the Medical Center faculty in 2022 as an assistant professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine.
Dr. Hood, who is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine, earned her medical degree in 2017 at the School of Medicine at UMMC. She completed her pediatric residency and pediatric hospital medicine fellowship at University of Tennessee Health Science Center, training at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Her passion for incorporating preventive care and counseling into the inpatient setting has led to several research and quality improvement projects. As a researcher, Dr. Hood has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on several projects at UTHSC and at UMMC and has published her research most recently in Hospital Pediatrics.
Dr. Hood enjoys mentorship and education for medical students and residents and has received several awards including the Outstanding New Faculty Award and Holliman Award for Outstanding Pediatric Faculty, designated by pediatric residents, well as the M3 Carl G. Evers Society All-Star Attending Award. Dr. Hood has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on several projects at UTHSC and at UMMC and has been an invited co-presenter at numerous professional conferences.
As a hospitalist at an academic institution, she looks forward to utilizing resident and patient education to improve longitudinal health for Mississippians. When she is not working, Dr. Hood enjoys spending time with her husband, three-year-old son, and 8-month-old daughter.
Education
| University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship, Pediatric Hospital Medicine | 2022 |
| University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Pediatric Residency, Pediatrics | 2020 |
| University of Mississippi Medical Center, MD, Doctor of Medicine | 2017 |
| University of Mississippi, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, BA, Bachelor of Arts/Biology | 2013 |
Specialty Certification Licensure
| NPI | |
| Certification, American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics | 10/2020 - Present |
| Certification, American Board of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics | 11/2022 - Present |
Current Positions
| Assistant Professor, School of Medicine | 09/2022 - Present |
| The University of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson, Mississippi 39216 | |
Publications
Journal Article | |
| Hood, MK, Jeffrey C. Winer Inpatient Obesity Recognition and Diagnosis in Pediatric Patients Hospital Pediatrics December 2022; 12 (12): e418–e423. | 2022 |
| Hood MK, Michalopulos M, McCoy E, Winer JC, Bowden M Improving Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening in Inpatient Pediatric Patients Hospital Pediatrics. Published online April 5, 2022:e2021005939. doi:10.1542/hpeds.2021-005939. | 2022 |
Presentations
| Poster Presentation, “Allergic Fungal Sinusitis in an Adolescent African American Male: A Case Report of Epidemiological Disease Disproportion.”, Southern Regional Meeting 2025 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2025 |
| Poster Presentation, “When Too Much Tissue is the Issue.”, Southern Regional Meeting 2025 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2025 |
| Poster Presentation, “Central Nervous System Irritation with an Unexpected Derivation.”, Southern Regional Meeting 2025 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2025 |
| Poster Presentation, “A Stroke of Bad Luck in a 21-Month-Old Presenting with Seizure-Like Activity Found to be MoyaMoya Disease.”, Southern Regional Meeting 2025 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2025 |
| Poster Presentation, “Inflammation Investigation: When Presumed Vasculitis is Arthritis.”, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference 2024, Minneapolis, Minnesota | 08/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “When a Head Trauma Evaluation Unveils a Genetic Mutation”, Pediatric Research Day, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 07/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “Lemierre’s Syndrome- A Real Pain in the Neck”, Pediatric Research Day, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 07/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “Bone Tired: A Brown Tumor in the Setting of Vitamin D Deficiency", Pediatric Research Day, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 07/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “Aggressive Infection with Further Inspection: Atypical Presentation of Lemierre’s Syndrome", American Academy of Pediatrics, Mississippi Chapter State Conference, Laurel, Mississippi | 04/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “Nothing Good About It”, Southern Regional Meeting 2024 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2024 |
| Poster Presentation, “Nothing Good About It”, Pediatric Research Day, University of Mississippi Medical Center | 07/2023 |
| Poster Presentation, “Glucose Elevation Leading to Tissue Devastation”, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference 2022, Orlando, Florida | 07/2022 |
| Regional Invited Seminars/Lectures, “Inpatient Obesity Recognition and Diagnosis in Pediatric Patients”, Southern Regional Meeting 2022 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana | 02/2022 |
| Poster Presentation, “Changing the Culture about Negative Blood Cultures”, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference 2021, virtual (covid) | 08/2021 |
| Poster Presentation, “Daptomycin Use for Complicated Skin Infections, Not Just For Adults”, Southern Regional Meeting 2021 Annual Conference, virtual (covid) | 02/2021 |
| Poster Presentation, “Aggregatibacter aphrophilus Culture-Negative Endocarditis in a Pediatric Patient Diagnosed via Microbial Cell-Free DNA Test”, Southern Regional Meeting 2021 Annual Conference, virtual (covid) | 02/2021 |
| State/Local Invited Seminars/Lectures, “Inpatient Recognition of Obesity in the Pediatric Population”, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Children's Foundation Research Institute, Memphis, Tennessee | 01/2021 |
| Poster Presentation, “Improving Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Rate in Inpatient Pediatric Patients”, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital 11th Annual Pediatric Research Day, Memphis, Tennessee | 09/2020 |
Honors, Awards, and Recognition
| The Holliman Award: Outstanding Pediatric Faculty Award, Department of Pediatrics | 2025 |
| M4 Most Influential Award | 2025 |
| Gold Humanism Society Student Clinician Ceremony Speaker, Gold Humanism Society | 2024 |
| All-Star Attending 2023-2024, Carl G Evers, MD, Society | 2024 |
| Rookie of the Year: Outstanding New Faculty Award, Department of Pediatrics | 2023 |
Professional Membership and Service
| Society of Hospital Medicine, Member | 2024 - Present |
| American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Hospital Medicine, Fellow | 2018 - Present |
| American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow | 2016 - Present |
Committee Service
| Building Bridges Leadership Committee, Member | 2024 - 2024 |
| Children's Fall Prevention Team, Member | 2024 - Present |
| SCHOOL OF MEDICINE-ADMISSIONS FILE REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE, Member | 2024 - Present |
| High Flow Nasal Cannula Committee, Member | 2024 - Present |
| Pediatric Residency Interviewer, Member | 2023 - Present |
| Pediatric Residency Board Preparation Committee, Co-Chair | 2023 - Present |
| Serious Safety Events Committee, Member | 2023 - Present |
| Council for Advancing Resident Excellence (CARE) Committee, Co-Chair | 2022 - Present |
| Eating Disorder Protocol Committee, Steering Committee Member | 2022 - 2024 |
| Academic Pediatric Association Quality Improvement Abstract Reviewer, Reviewed quality improvement abstracts and provided feedback to authors for the 10th Annual Conference on Advancing Implementation and Quality Improvement Science for Children’s Healthcare. | 2021 - 2021 |
| Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) Weight and Height Pilot Committee, Member | 2020 - 2022 |
| Serious Safety Events Committee, Member | 2020 - 2022 |
Community Service
| Foster Care Christmas Party benefitting six counties of foster care famlies and social workers., Team Member | 12/2025 - 12/2025 |
| Clothing donation drive for Children's of Mississippi patients and families, I organized and led a clothing donation drive for Children's of Mississippi patients and their families. Many of our families do not have a change of clothes for themselves or their children while hospitalized. When I realized our clothing donation bin was low, I organized this hospital-wide event. | 11/2025 - 12/2025 |
| Sanderson Farms Championship Children's of Mississippi Welcome Committee, Welcomed guests to the annual PGA golf tournament which raises over 8 million dollars for charities in Mississippi. The primary charity is Friends of Children's Hospital, which benefits Children's of Mississippi. | 10/2024 - 10/2024 |
Teaching Experience
| CONJ 622, Medicine, Lecture, Lecturer, Introduction to Medical Profession-2 | Fall 2024 |
| Pediatric Residency Lecture, Lecture, Lecturer, Pediatric Board Review Course | Annual 2024 - 2024 |
| Lecture, Lecturer, Clinical Educator Track | Annual 2024 |
| Pediatric Residency Program, Lecture, Attending, Case Management | Fall 2023 - 2023 |
| PED 631, Medicine, Small Group, Facilitator, Pediatric Clerkship Problem Solving Leader | Annual 2023 |
| Medicine, Lecture, Lecturer, M4 Bootcamp | Annual 2023 |
| Pediatric Residency Program, Lecture, Lecturer | Annual 2023 - 2023 |