New faculty join UMMC academic ranks

Published on Tuesday, January 2, 2024

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

Dr. Christina J. Ezemenaka

Dr. Christina J. Ezemenaka, recently an assistant professor of nursing and a biostatistician at the Capstone College of Nursing, University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine with the Jackson Heart Study.  

Ezemenaka earned her Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics in 2015 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she also completed the Doctor of Public Health degree with a biostatics concentration, in 2021.  

At the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and at UAB, she taught a number of graduate and undergraduate courses. 

As a researcher, she has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on several funded grants and participated in a variety of scientific presentations and conference proceedings. She is also the coauthor of a number of publications and submitted manuscripts and is the recipient of several honors, awards and fellowships. 

Ezemenaka has extensive experience in leadership and management and has served in several mentorship roles. She is a member of the American Statistical Association, Caucus for Women in Statistics and other professional organizations.  

Dr. William P. Mulvoy III

Dr. William P. Mulvoy III, recently a clinical associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of anesthesiology in the School of Medicine. 

Recently, as well, he had an academic appointment as director of cardiac, thoracic, vascular and trauma anesthesiology at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia.  

Mulvoy earned his medical degree in 2012 at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, where he also received his MBA and his Master of Public health-Global Health degree. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his residency in anesthesiology at Indiana University in Indianapolis. He also completed fellowships in critical care medicine and cardiac anesthesiology at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.  

His other previous academic appointments include instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.  

His professional experience includes serving as a desk analyst in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense, in Suffolk,  Virginia. The former U.S. Navy officer and current lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve was deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, while also serving in other various roles as battalion surgeon, chief anesthetist and current deputy commander of the 810th Hospital Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  

He is a member of the Society of U.S. Army Flight Surgeons, Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, Society of Critical Care Medicine,  American Society of Anesthesiologists and other professional organizations. Throughout his career, he has received a number of teaching and clinical awards, as well as numerous honors for his military service. 

The associate editor of The Cureus Journal of Medical Science, Mulvoy has a number of scientific publications book chapters, published abstracts, and professional presentations to this credit.  

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Dr. Amber J. Palmer

Dr. Amber J. Palmer, recently the director of strategic initiatives for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of health sciences in the School of Health Related Professions. 

Palmer earned her MBA at Mississippi State University and, in 2022, received her Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. 

Her previous positions at IHL were special assistant to the chief administrative officer, project coordinator in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, and project coordinator in the Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives.  

She also worked for several years as an administrative assistant for The Kirkland Group, an educational consulting firm in Ridgeland.