2005: Mississippi physician leads American Medical Association
Published on Tuesday, May 27, 2025
By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu
During its 69-year history, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has made contributions to the state, and the world, in medicine, science and education. Each month, we’ll recognize at least one of these major accomplishments.
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In June 2005, family physician Dr. J. Edward Hill, a 1964 graduate of the UMMC School of Medicine, became the 160th president of the American Medical Association. He was the first Mississippian elected to that position. Two years later, in May 2007, he was elected chair of the board for the World Medical Association.
He also held leadership roles with various other institutions and agencies, including the Mississippi State Board of Health.
An Omaha, Nebraska, native who was educated in Vicksburg public schools, he began his medical career in the U.S. Navy after graduating from medical school. Recognized for developing a local maternal child health program that helped dramatically lower the fetal mortality rate, Hill was the founding director of the North Mississippi Medical Center Family Residency Center in Tupelo, retiring from there in December 2017.
Also known for his early work with impoverished patients in the Mississippi Delta, Hill received a number of professional honors, including the 2013 John G. Walsh Award from the American Academy of Family Physicians
He was inducted in the University of Mississippi Medical Alumni Chapter Hall of Fame its inaugural year, 2012, two years after being named the Distinguished Medical Alumnus.