New faculty join UMMC academic ranks
Published on Monday, August 4, 2025
Medical Center leadership is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.
Leeanna Chism
Leeanna Chism, recently a neonatal outreach nurse educator at West Tennessee Regional Perinatal Center/University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor of nursing in the School of Nursing.
She also served, for 14 years, as a staff nurse in the Level III NICU at Region One Health in Memphis.
A certified neonatal intensive care nurse, she received her BSN in 2018 from Christian Brothers University in Memphis before graduating from UMMC in 2022 with her MSN.
At Region One Health, she facilitated Level III nursing orientation and neonatal simulation and was a neonatal resuscitation instructor and a S.T.A.B.L.E. instructor. She has served with the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care and on the Tennessee Regional Perinatal Educator Committee.
She is a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
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Dr. Dipen B. Khanapara
Dr. Dipen B. Khanapara, who recently completed a hematology-oncology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine-hematology in the School of Medicine.
After earning his medical degree with honors from Shenyang Medical College in China, he completed his internal medicine training at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he cared for underserved communities in the Bronx and received the ACP Young Achiever Award.
He then spent four years at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as a Bone Marrow Transplant Hospitalist, providing care for patients undergoing stem cell transplantation and CAR T-cell therapy, while working closely with residents and medical students.
During his fellowship, Khanapara concentrated on hematologic malignancies and cellular therapies, including caring for veterans at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. As chief fellow, he was involved in education and mentorship within the program.
He is interested in research aimed at improving outcomes for people with blood cancers. Outside of his clinical and academic work, Khanapara is passionate about advancing access to quality cancer care for diverse communities.
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Lesley J. Thweatt
Lesley J. Thweatt, recently director of nursing instruction at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of education in the School of Nursing
A Certified Nurse Educator, Thweatt began her nursing career as a licensed practical nurse before earning her registered nurse credentials from Northwest Mississippi Community College. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baptist Health Sciences University in Memphis, a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on nurse education from the UMMC School of Nursing, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing through the UMMC School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.
Her clinical background includes work in the medical-surgical, acute rehabilitation, and critical care units at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford. Additionally, she worked for the UMMC School of Nursing first as an RN simulation nurse, then as an instructor of nursing.
Throughout her career, she has received a number of honors and awards for her achievements as a scholar, educator, and clinician, and has several scholarly presentations and publications to her credit.