New faculty join UMMC academic ranks

Published on Monday, February 7, 2022

Medical Center leadership is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.

Dr. Courtney Bennett

Dr. Courtney Bennett, recently a family nurse practitioner at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in the School of Nursing.

Bennett earned a Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and post-graduate certificate, all at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Her other professional roles include adult psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at East Mississippi State Hospital, clinical adjunct faculty at the University of West Alabama in Livingston, adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi, staff RN at John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital in DeKalb, and staff RN at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian.

Bennett, a certified family nurse practitioner and certified adult psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Nurses Association.

She is the author of numerous articles published in professional journals and has made a variety of presentations at professional associations and educational institutions.

Dr. Kristen Hill

Dr. Kristen Hill, an assistant professor of occupational therapy and academic fieldwork coordinator for the occupational therapy assistant program at the University of Louisiana Monroe, has joined the Medical Center adjunct faculty as an assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Health Related Professions’ Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program.

Hill received her master’s degree in occupational therapy from UMMC in 2009. After working as an occupational therapist for several years, she earned her post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah.

Hill has been an occupational therapist for 12 years and in academia for six years.

She has worked as a full-time OT at Baylor Scott and White Institute for Rehabilitation, Dallas, Texas; Broadmoor Medical Lodge, Rockwall, Texas; Silverado Senior Living, Dallas; Glory Therapy, outpatient neuro clinic, Monroe, Louisiana; and United Home Care, West Monroe, Louisiana.

Hills also served as an OT-PRN at Glory Therapy Outpatient Clinic and, most recently, as a contract OT for the Louisiana Association for the Blind.

Hill, who is dedicated to research in her profession, is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association. She has held editorial responsibilities at professional journals and has a variety of nationally-accepted poster presentations to her credit, including a presentation accepted by the American College of Health Association on a human trafficking educational module for college freshmen.

Dr. Christina Marks

Dr. Christina Marks, recently in practice in interventional radiology/breast imaging at Northern Virginia Radiology Consultants, Virginia Hospital Center, in Arlington, Virginia, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of radiology.

Marks graduated in 2009 from the School of Medicine at UMMC, where she did her internship in internal medicine and completed her residency in diagnostic radiology before her fellowship in breast imaging and intervention at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In 2016, she completed a fellowship in interventional radiology at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. That same year, she joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of radiology and, more than two years later, joined Northern Virginia Radiology Consultants, in January 2019.

Among the honors she earned at the Medical Center during her residency are the UMMC Radiology Resident Medical Student Teacher of the Year Award in 2011, and the Robert S. Caldwell, M.D. Memorial Award in 2014 for excellence in teaching, patient care, leadership and more.

During her practice in Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine chose her as one of their top doctors for 2021.  

Marks is the co-author of several book chapters and published articles. She has been invited to speak at a variety of professional conferences related to her specialty. She is a member of the Radiological Society of North America, Society of Breast Imaging, and Society of Interventional Radiology.

Her areas of interest include uterine fibroid embolization, fallopian tube recanalization, complex inferior vena cava filter removal and transplant interventions including the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).