September

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UMMC faculty lauded for achievements

Published on Monday, September 12, 2022

Marks named to radiology publication editorial board

Christina Marks
Marks

Dr. Christina Marks, an associate professor of radiology in the School of Medicine at UMMC, has been named to the editorial board of Clinical Examples in Radiology, a newsletter published jointly by the American College of Radiology and the American Medical Association.

The online publication is provided for coding professionals to test their knowledge based on their review of modern case studies. 

“Over the last, nearly 20 years, through collaboration between the American College of Radiology and the American Medical Association, Clinical Examples in Radiology has become an authoritative source of information about radiology coding,” said Dr. Richard Duszak, professor and chair of radiology at UMMC.

“Dr. Marks has proven herself to be an accomplished expert in physician coding and reimbursement, and I’m delighted that her contributions will have an impact at the national level.”

Marks graduated in 2009 from the School of Medicine at UMMC, where she did her internship in internal medicine and completed her residency in diagnostic radiology before her fellowship in breast imaging and intervention at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In 2016, she completed a fellowship in interventional radiology at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. That same year, she joined the Medical Center faculty as an assistant professor of radiology and, more than two years later, joined Northern Virginia Radiology Consultants, in January 2019. She recently re-joined the Medical Center faculty.

During her practice in Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine chose Marks as one of their top doctors for 2021.

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Herrington named an American Academy of Nursing Fellow

Alaina Herrington
Herrington

Dr. Alaina Herrington, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and director of the Judith Gore Gearhart Clinical Skills Center in the School of Medicine, has been selected for Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing (Academy)(FAAN).

Applicants for the FAAN program must be nominated for the distinction, considered to be nursing’s highest honor. Nominees then detail their achievements, showing a substantial amount of work that has enriched their profession.

Herrington, the School of Nursing’s 2022 Alumna of the Year, said she is honored that Dr. Julie Sanford, dean of the School of Nursing, nominated her. “Her leadership has helped leaders like me in the SON to stretch and grow to new levels,” she said.

Herrington’s FAAN application detailed her state, national, and international work in simulation.

“I have consistently led the simulation charge in my rural diverse region by conducting a statewide simulation needs assessment, providing a free online simulation education course to every Mississippi school of nursing, collaborating with the Mississippi Board of Nursing, and leading the state’s first simulation program to be accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH),” she said.

Herrington led the conception and implementation of the SSH’s online accreditation courses to equip programs with a strategy to address their organization’s areas of strengths and weaknesses to be successful in achieving accreditation. Nationally and internationally, the initiatives Herrington led and chaired have shaped the future of academic and clinical simulation programs around the world.

The FAAN designation is a personal honor that will benefit the Medical Center, she said. “It helps increase the rankings of the school and the prestige of our organization. It is my hope this recognition will bring more international research and grant opportunities to UMMC.”

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Hobbs, Megason presented AAP Special Achievement Award

Charlotte Hobbs
Hobbs
Gail Megason
Megason

The American Academy of Pediatrics has presented Dr. Charlotte Hobbs, professor of pediatric infectious diseases, and Dr. Gail Megason, professor of pediatric hematology and oncology, with the AAP Special Achievement Award, which is given to recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals or AAP chapters.

Hobbs is being honored for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic, speaking regularly during the Mississippi AAP Chapter’s monthly Chapter Chats, discussing Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), COVID-19 vaccines, and other COVID-19 topics. Her team’s research related to COVID-19 in children has been published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, and many other high impact journals.

Megason has served Mississippi children for more than three decades, serving in roles including general pediatrician, hematology-oncology specialist, professor, residency program director and director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Mississippi.

The two, along with Dr. Vernon Rayford, an internal medicine and pediatrics specialist in Tupelo, were honored Sept. 12 in a District VII virtual chapter awards ceremony.