Welcome to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College
of Medicine - Knoxville
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE
R. Blake Lowe, D.O. Associate Program Director
Ronald S. Hamrick, M.D. Associate Program Director
Janet Lubas, M.D. Associate Program Director Juli Williams, M.D. Clinic Director
ACEDEMIC AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Conferences
• Chest Annual Scientific Meeting
• National ACP Scientific Meeting
• TN ACP Annual Scientific Meeting
• Society of Critical Care Medicine Conference
• American Thoracic Society
• American College of Gastroenterology
• American Society of Hematology
• National American Conference of Cardiology
• Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
• Infectious Disease Week
• Society of General Internal Medicine
• International Conference on Cytopathology and Histopathology
• American Society of Echocardiologists
• Society of Nuclear Medicine
• Southern Hospital Medicine conference
Resident Led Projects/Committees
• Patient safety and quality improvement
• Documentation and EMR input committees
• Newsletter authorship
• Recruiting, code blue, falls, ethics, process improvement committees and many more
Available Resources
• MKSAP ACP
• UWorld
• Up-to-Date
• Preston Medical Library
• Lexicomp
• Annual ITE with Subject Specific Breakdown
• Educational Resource Stipend in 2nd and 3rd year
RESIDENT SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Thomas A, Assaf S, Valdes M, Thomas W, Assaf M, Biney I, Soto. Diagnostic performance of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for isolated mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy in southern United States. Presented at CHEST 2023, 2023 October -8; Honolulu HI
Smith C, Assaf A, Assaf M, Urbina E, Soto F. Keeping the right heart in mind: Safety profile of right heart.
Presented CHEST, 2023 October -8;Honolulu HI
Hamric E, Street N, Smith C, Josan E, Adam J. Epinephrine associated lactic acidosis, you maybe shocked.
Presented at American College of Chest Physicians Annual Meeting, 2023 October -8; Honolulu HI
Taylor J, Assaf S, Assaf A, Heidel E, Mahlow W, Baljepally R.
Obstructive sleep apnea as a predictor of inducible atrial flutter during pulmonary vein isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation: Clinical significance and follow-up outcomes. Cardiol Res. 2023 Jun;14(3):183-191. doi: 10.14740/cr1491. Epub 2023 May 26.
ACEDEMIC AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Assaf S, Assaf A, Assaf M, Taylor J, Adam JM, Harrell J, Johnson J. Extracranial microvascular complications of Moyamoya disease leading to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. J Med Cases. 2023 Mar;14(3):88-94. doi: 10.14740/jmc4057. Epub 2023 Mar 31.
Alsharif O, Panella T, Nodit L, Hu MI. Letter to the Editor: ETV6-NTRK2 FusionIdentified in a Patient with Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. Thyroid. 2023Jun;33(6):774-776. doi: 10.1089/thy.2022.0630. Epub 2023 Apr 24.
Taylor J, Assaf A, Assaf M, Assaf S, Shepple B, Kassira A. Pulmonaryfibroleiomyoma: A rare cardiac mass presenting with dyspnea. CASE (Phila).2022 Nov 14;7(2):81-85. doi: 10.1016/j.case.2022.10.003. eCollection 2023 Feb.
Ferlita S, Baljepally R, Fogelson B, Heidel ER, Jain NA. Comparison of aortic valve calcium scoring on nongated CT thorax with gated CTutilizing semi-automated measurements. Presented at Cardiovascular Research Technologies; 2024 March - 12; Washington D.C.
ACEDEMIC AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Smith C, Hamric E, Tiperneni R, Urbina Meneses E, Green J. Drug versus disease: A unique case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Presented at Society of Critical Care Medicine; 2024 January - 21; Phoenix, AZ.
Treat S, Lange K, Gee K, Criswell E, Branca P. Chilled to the bone: A case of refractory VF arrest managed with VA ECMO. Presented at Society of Critical Care Medicine; 2024 January - 15; Phoenix, AZ.
Wadi G, Tiperneni R, Soto F. Lymph node mimics during endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS): Pulse-wave doppler saves the day. Presented at American Thoracic Society; 2024 May - 17; San Diego, CA.
Tiperneni R, Wadi G, Smith C, Hamric E, Biney I. Sarcoidosis versus chronic beryllium disease, can they coexist? Presented at American Thoracic Society(ATS); 2024 May - 17; San Diego, CA.
ACEDEMIC AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Tippernini R, Smith C, Hamric E, Tsapenko A. Known complication with unknown mechanism: Dasatinib induced pleural effusion. Presented at American Thoracic Society (ATS); 2024 May 14-17; San Diego, CA.
Shaver L, Cutrer RC. A rare disease with a complex presentation: T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia with a peculiar karyotype and development of HLH. Presented at Society of General Internal Medicine; 2024 May-15; Boston, MA.
Dayaram K, Suresh U. Unique presentation of membranous-like glomerulopathy with ‘masked’ IgG kappa deposits. Presented at American College of Physicians -Internal Medicine Meeting 2024; 2024 April 19; Boston, MA.
Fogelson B, Harrell J, Ferlita S, Heidel E, Shaikh AK, Smith L, Baljepally R. Predicting acute coronary syndrome in patients admitted with severe trauma using coronary artery calcium quantification. Presented at Cardiovascular Research Technologies; 2024 March-12; Washington, D.C.
ACEDEMIC AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Fogelson B, Baljepally R, Morvant B, Nowell TC, Heidel RE, Ferlita S, Weston S, Amro A, Spires Z, Ferraro K, Patel P. An increase in mean aortic valve gradients the day after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: The effects of evolving anesthesia techniques. J Clin Med. 2025 May 8;14(10):3272. doi:10.3390/jcm14103272
Meneses, E., Woodall, J., Amro, A., Moodie, T., Hamric, E., Brandel, M., Heidel,E., Biney, I.. Nebulized
Treatment Strategies in Patients Admitted to the ICU With Acute Exacerbations of COPD. Society of Critical Care Medicine. January 2025; 53(1):1167.
Brandel M, Smith C, Hussain S, Gardner K. A unique case of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage related to hydralazine. Presented at: Society of Critical Care Medicine Annual Critical Care Congress; February 22, 2025; Orlando, FL.
Nadkarni S, Brandel M, Smith C, Shorman M. A unique case of Legionella presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. Presented at: American Thoracic Society International Conference; May 19, 2025; San Francisco, CA.
BOARD PASS RATE
Residency Program Pass Rates 2022 - 2024
This report contains information about the internal medicine certifying examination performance of programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). For each residency program listed in the following pages, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) reports the cumulative pass rate for the 2022 to 2024 certifying examinations in internal medicine.
FELLOWSHIP MATCHES FOR GRADUATES
2024:
2020:
Pulmonary Critical Care 1
Cardiology 2
2023:
Pulmonary Critical Care 1
Cardiology 3
Hematology Oncology 1
2022:
Pulmonary Critical Care 1
Cardiology 1
Hematology Oncology 2
Nephrology 1
2021: Pulmonary Critical Care 1
Cardiology 3
Hematology Oncology 2
Allergy/Immunology 1
Gastroenterology 1
2019:
Infectious disease 3
Pulmonary Critical Care 1
Cardiology 1
2018:
Cardiology 1
Sleep Medicine 1
Rheumatology 1
Infectious Disease 1
2017: Pulmonary Critical Care 3
Cardiology 1
Global Health 1
Nephrology 1
Medical Genetics 1
2016:
Cardiology 3
Rheumatology 1
INTERN SCHEDULE TEMPLATE
Divided into 13 2-week blocks (4+2 system)
House Staff Medicine: 7 Blocks (3 Inpatient teams)
Ambulatory Care: 8 Blocks (GI, Nephro, Onc, Derm, Elective)
CCM: 2 blocks
Cardiology: 2 blocks
Electives: 2 blocks
EBM: 1 block
Vacation: 15 days (plus holiday schedule)
Wellness days: 4 days
HOUSE STAFF MEDICINE
• 3 total HSM teams
o 2 Faculty Teams, 1 UTH Team
• 1 senior, 2-3 interns, 1-2 M3s, 1 M4, and pharmacy resident
• 2- or 4-week blocks
• Census 12-15 patients
• EMR with Dragon voice recognition software
• No 24-hour shifts—night float rotation embedded in HSM schedule
AMBULATORY BLOCK & RESIDENT CLINIC
Resident Clinic
• AM and PM Clinics
• On site Venipuncture
• 14 exam rooms
• On site Dermatology & Psychiatry Clinic
• On site Ambulatory Pharmacy
• Cerner Powerchart EMR
• Dedicated clinic POCUS equipment
Sub-specialty Clinics
• PGY-1:Nephrology, GI, ED and Oncology
• PGY-2: Cards, Hematology, ID, Rheumatology
• PYG-3: Underserved Areas, Addiction Medicine, Endocrinology, REACT
Team Based Learning
• CODE BLUE Simulations
• Bedside Procedure simulations
• POCUS training
• Review most current treatment guidelines for common diseases (HTN, Diabetes, etc.)
MEDICAL CRITICAL CARE
• 2 ICU Teams:
o MCC: Attending, Fellow, 1 senior resident,1-3 interns
o CV-ICU: Attending, 1 senior resident, 1-3 interns
• Geographic rounding, ICU pharmacist, metabolic support on rounds
• ECMO
• Ample Opportunity for Procedures
• Support while maintaining autonomy
• 107 Critical Care beds
• In House Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship
• High Yield and real time POCUS training
• Low cost of living
• 4 seasons
• Multiple festivals and weekly concerts
• Weekly farmers market
• Historic downtown
• Exciting Craft Beer Scene with Knoxville Ale Trail
• New baseball/soccer stadium in downtown Knoxville
• Small Local airport with access to major airlines and cities
• Check out more at: www.visit.Knoxville.com
RESIDENT LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL...
WHAT TO DO ON YOUR DAYS OFF
• Outdoor activities: hiking, kayaking, nature trails
• Sporting events
• Local breweries
• Trivia Nights
• Dining
• Old City
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Live Music
• Tennessee theater
• Easy access to: Nashville (3 hrs), Atlanta (3 hrs), Ashville (2 hrs), Chattanooga (2 hrs), Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge (45 min)
SPORTING EVENTS
INTRAMURAL SPORTS
OUTDOOR ACTIVITES
OLD CITY (DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE)
MARKET SQUARE (DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE)
