New faculty join UMMC academic ranks

Published on Monday, July 29, 2024

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

Dr. Matthew R. McGuire

Dr. Matthew R. McGuire, recently a child neurology chief resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics-neurology. 

McGuire graduated from the UMMC School of Medicine in 2019. As a resident, he was the recipient of the Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and served as a preceptor to medical students. 

McGuire, who has a number or research presentations to his credit, is the coauthor of a publication accepted by the Journal of Child Neurology.  

He is a member of the Southern Pediatric Neurology Society, Child Neurology Society and American Academy of Neurology. 

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Dr. Kathryn Howell Palmer

Dr. Kathryn Howell Palmer, recently an obstetrics-gynecology resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor of obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine.

Palmer, who earned her medical degree at the UMMC School of Medicine in 2020, was the recipient of a number of academic awards and scholarships. A member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she has participated in several research projects and has a variety of scientific publications or presentations to her credit.

Palmer has served as a student mentor, while also filling numerous other leadership and volunteer roles at the Medical Center and within the community.

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Dr. Xiaoqian “Jenna” Zhu

Dr. Xiaoqian “Jenna” Zhu, recently a biostatistician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the Department of Data Science, the Division of Nephrology and The Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor of data science in the John D. Bower School of Population Health.

Zhu earned a Master’s in Business Management at Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, and a Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science at UMMC before receiving her PhD in Biostatistics and Data Science from UMMC in 2022.

She also completed a research fellowship in UMMC’s Division of Nephrology and The MIND Center. She served as an instructor at Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, and UMMC.

Zhu received a Kidney STARS Program Award from the American Society of Nephrology in 2021. She is the coauthor of more than a dozen scientific publications and has participated in approximately 20 scientific podium or poster presentations.