New faculty join UMMC academic ranks
Medical Center leadership is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.
Dr. Joseph “Joey” A. Dynako
Dr. Joseph “Joey” A. Dynako, recently an orthopaedic trauma fellow at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery in the School of Medicine.
Dynako earned his medical degree in 2019 from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He completed a short-term trauma fellowship in 2022 at Kantonsspital Graubunden in Switzerland before completing his orthopaedic surgery residency at UMMC.
Over the years, he has received recognition for his accomplishments as a clinician, researcher and scholar. As an educator, he has conducted or participated in a number of lectures, workshops, bootcamps and more.
Dynako is the coauthor of a dozen scientific publications and a book chapter, and has several abstracts/presentations to his credit. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, AO North America, AO Trauma, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and American Medical Association.
For several years, he participated in a number of medical missions and other community service/volunteer work.
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Elise Cooke Lawler
Elise Cooke Lawler, a May 2025 graduate of UMMC’s MSN-Nurse Educator Track program, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an instructor in the School of Nursing.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 2011 from Mississippi State University, Lawler received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013 from the University of Southern Mississippi.
She has held various positions as a staff nurse and travel nurse in maternal-fetal nursing and women’s health care. Lawler currently works full-time as a labor and delivery nurse at Merit Health River Oaks Hospital in Flowood.
She has also worked at Merit Health Woman’s Hospital in Flowood and at UMMC. As a travel RN, she has worked at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, Virginia; Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts; Hilo Medical Center in Hilo, Hawaii; St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
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Dr. Kayla S. Robinson
Dr. Kayla S. Robinson, who recently completed an adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, has joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of anesthesiology in the Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia in the School of Medicine.
She also is joining the liver transplant anesthesia team.
Board-certified in Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography, she earned her medical degree in 2019 from the Ross University School of Medicine, and completed her anesthesiology residency at UMMC, where she served as chief resident. She also holds a Master of Science in Biology-Medical Sciences from Mississippi College in Clinton.
She has also served as a staff anesthesiologist for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency.
Throughout her career, she has received a number of honors and awards for her achievements as a scholar and clinician. She has participated in or co-authored a number of case reports, scientific abstracts, professional journal articles, poster presentations and oral presentations.
She is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, Mississippi Society of Anesthesiologists, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Trauma Anesthesiology Society, and Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology.