New faculty join UMMC academic ranks
Published on Monday, August 11, 2025
Medical Center leadership is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.
Dr. Hazim A. Babikir
Dr. Hazim A. Babikir, who recently completed an advanced airway and otorhinolaryngology fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology in the School of Medicine.
Babikir, who received his medical degree in 2006 from St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University in Russia, received post-graduate training in anesthesia and intensive care from the St. Petersburg Medical Academy of Postgraduate Studies in Russia; Sudan Medical Specialization Board in Khartoum, Sudan; Arab Board of Health Specializations in Damascus, Syria; and European Society of Anesthesiology in Belgium. He is board certified in anesthesiology and intensive care.
Babikir has served as an anesthesiology and ICU consultant at South Al Qunfudhah General Hospital in Saudi Arabia; senior registrar/acting consultant in anesthesiology at Prince Sultan Military Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; anesthesia and ICU specialist/registrar for the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh; lecturer/examiner at the Khartoum Academy for Health Sciences in Sudan; and the Khartoum Teaching Hospital in Sudan.
Babikir, who has a number of scientific oral presentations and research projects to his credit, has participated in numerous professional meetings and conferences in the U.S. and overseas.
He is a member of several professional organizations, among them the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Society for Head and Neck Anesthesia, Society for Airway Management, and American Society of Anesthesiologists.
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Dr. Noman Saleem
Dr. Noman Saleem, who recently completed his internal medicine residency at Detroit Medical Center-Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of medicine-hospital medicine in the School of Medicine.
Board certified in internal medicine, Saleem completed his pre-medical education at Punjab College in Sahiwal, Pakistan, before receiving his medical degree in 2018 from Sahiwal Medical College, where he subsequently gained teaching experience as a medical demonstrator.
The recipient of honors and awards for his scholarship and clinical skills, Saleem is the co-author of a variety of scientific publications in professional journals and has participated in scientific poster presentations. He is a member of the American College of Physicians.
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Melissa S. Zepeda
Melissa S. Zepeda, a staff RN with Specialty Orthopedic Group in Tupelo, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor of nursing in the School of Nursing.
Zepeda received her BSN from Mississippi College in 2011 before earning a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership in 2024 at the University of North Alabama in Florence. She will receive her Family Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate from UNA in December.
At Specialty Orthopedic Group, she cared for patients in the operating room and the Post Anesthesia Care Unit.
She has also served as an RN at Surgicare of Jackson and in the PACU and the Surgery Center at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.