New faculty join UMMC academic ranks
Published on Monday, August 8, 2022
Medical Center leadership is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.
Dr. Adriana Martini
MartiniDr. Adriana Martini, recently an anesthesiology critical care medicine fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology in the School of Medicine.
Martini earned her medical degree at Universidad de Carabobo in Maracay, Venezuela in 2010. Before completing her residency in anesthesiology at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami in Florida, where she was also a research associate in the Department of Anesthesiology.
As a medical student and resident, she won numerous awards and honors for academic excellence and clinical care distinction.
Martini is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Society of Critical Care Medicine and Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists.
She has made a variety of poster presentations and her previous research work covered several clinical trials.
Dr. Linda Upchurch
UpchurchDr. Linda Upchurch, recently an associate professor of nursing and director of the Nursing/RN-BSN Bridge Program at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, Georgian, has joined the Medical Center as an associate professor of nursing in the School of Nursing and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program.
She is an Advance Practice Registered Nurse and is board-certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner. She most recently worked for Hospice Savannah Inc. in Savannah, Georgia.
Upchurch earned her BSN at Georgia Southern University School of Nursing in Statesboro, in 2003, Her MSN with an Adult Nurse Practitioner/palliative care focus at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in 2007, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice at Georgia Southern University in 2011.
Her clinical experience in Georgia includes positions as a Registered Nurse or Adult Nurse Practitioner for East Georgia Regional Medical Center; Ogeechee Area Hospice in Statesboro; the Center for Health and Wellness; Total Health; and Hospice Savannah Inc.
She has also served on the faculty of Georgia Southern University, teaching in the pre-licensure BSN, Masters and DNP programs.
Upchurch, who has earned several awards for academic achievement, is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She is also a member of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. She has also received training as an end-of-life educator through the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC).
Both academic organizations she has served are part of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
Upchurch has been a guest lecturer numerous times, particularly on the subject of hospice/palliative care, and has delivered a variety of poster and podium presentations. She is the author and co-author of several journal articles, book chapters and study modules.
Dr. Lucas Wilson
WilsonDr. Lucas Wilson, who recently completed an advanced fellowship in pediatric electrophysiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine.
Wilson earned his medical degree in 2015 from the School of Medicine at UMMC, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society.
He completed a pediatrics residency at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, followed by a pediatric cardiology fellowship at MUSC before taking on his advanced pediatric electrophysiology fellowship there. At MUSC, he also worked as a clinical instructor in pediatric after-hours care.
Wilson is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology and Pediatric and Adult Congenital Electrophysiology Society. He is contributing to ongoing research projects at the Medical Center.