Honoring Outstanding Alumni

The College of Health Professions gave out its inaugural alumni awards during its 50th anniversary celebration in November. The awards will become an annual event.

The 2023 Outstanding Alumni Award Winners are:

Outstanding Alumna

Lisa Cunningham, PhD, is the scientific director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Born and raised in East Tennessee, she received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in audiology from the University of Tennessee and completed a clinical fellowship in audiology at Indiana University. She obtained a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in auditory neuroscience at the University of Washington. Dr. Cunningham’s lab at NIDCD conducts basic, translational, and clinical studies on hearing loss and develops therapeutic strategies to safeguard hearing. Of particular interest is the development of therapies to protect the hearing of patients undergoing treatment with therapeutic drugs that treat life-threatening diseases but that also damage the cells of the inner ear and result in hearing loss.

Dr. Cunningham was voted among the Top 10 teachers in the Medical University of South Carolina College of Graduate Studies three times between 2004 and 2007. She received the National Organization for Hearing Research Burt Evans Young Investigator Award in 2008, and she was honored with NIDCD Director’s Awards in 2016 and 2020.

In 2018, she received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Graduate Partnerships Program Outstanding Mentor Award. Highlighting her innovation in bridging basic and clinical research, in 2020 Dr. Cunningham received an NIH Bench-toBedside Award in support of a Phase 3 study designed to protect the hearing of cancer patients being treated with cisplatin, a drug that is known to cause hearing loss.

Dr. Cunningham was appointed as NIDCD scientific director in April 2021. In this role she oversees the NIDCD intramural research program, which includes over 160 scientists, clinicians, and administrators in 17 research labs, research core facilities, and research clinics.

Outstanding Alumna

Lynn Ingram is a 1973 graduate of UTHSC, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology. In 1981, she received her Master of Science degree from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). Her commitment to quality education has been demonstrated through her service as a full-time faculty member at UTHSC. Several years after her retirement, she continued to teach as an adjunct professor. Throughout her career, she mentored countless new laboratory students.

Ingram has diligently promoted her profession, serving in multiple capacities with the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), the Memphis Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (MSCLS), and the Tennessee Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (TSCLS). She has made numerous presentations at local, regional, and national conferences and meetings. She has more than 30 publications to her career and authored a chapter in a chemistry book.

David W Mensi, BS SCT (ASCP), is a 1984 graduate from the cytotechnology program at UTHSC. He began his career at the Duke University Medical Center. After two years, Mensi moved back to Memphis to enhance his knowledge, first at UTHSC as a cytotechnologist in the laboratory and a clinical instructor, then later as senior cytotechnologist at Baptist Memorial Hospital. In 1998, he began a new role at Trumbull Laboratory, where he serves as the supervisor of the Cytopathology Department.

Mensi’s primary areas of focus are gynecological cytology, body cavity fluid cytology, and fine-needle aspiration of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. He has provided diagnoses to over 400,000 patients, helping with the detection of cancer in its early stages. He has also conducted research and authored articles on salivary gland duct carcinoma and dermoid cysts with malignant transformations.

Mensi continues to give his time and expertise back to UTHSC. Over the last 30 years, he has assisted the UTHSC cytotechnology program by teaching over 150 students. He has delivered numerous lectures to students each year on special topics and selects interesting diagnostic cases for the student presentations. For years, he has been supplying the program with valuable cytologic and histologic slides for study and testing purposes. This essential teaching material is the backbone of the program. In addition, Mensi serves as a clinical instructor overseeing students assigned to Trumbull Laboratory.

Anne Zachry, PhD, OTR/L, is a graduate of UTHSC and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received a PhD in educational psychology and research from the University of Memphis in 2010. Prior to joining the UTHSC Occupational Therapy (OT) faculty in 2013, she practiced as a pediatric occupational therapist for more than 20 years in a variety of pediatric settings, including early intervention settings and the local public school system.

Dr. Zachry’s research interests include enhancing infant and child development through the provision of OT services. Her blog, “Pediatric OT Tips” has been ranked as a top occupational therapy blog for the past five years. In 2015, Dr. Zachry led the initiative to develop the UTHSC Rachel Kay Stevens Therapy Center, a studentrun, pro-bono, pediatric OT clinic. In 2016, she received the Student Government Association Executive Council Excellence in Teaching Award and was a finalist for the Memphis Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes Award. She received the UTHSC Alumni Association Public Service Award in 2016 and participated in the University of Tennessee Leadership Institute in 2017. In 2019, Dr. Zachry was a nominee for the University of Tennessee Educate President’s Award. Her books, “Retro Baby: Cut Back on all the Gear and Boost Your Baby’s Development with over 100 Time-Tested Activities” and “Retro Toddler: More Than 100 Old-School Activities to Boost Development,” were published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Retro Baby” won the Benjamin Franklin Gold Award in 2013. Dr. Zachry currently serves as the chair of the UTHSC Department of Occupational Therapy.

Karen R. Smith, PT, DPT, NCS, CWS, WCC, FACCWS, C/NDT, CSRS, is a 1986 UTHSC graduate with a BS in physical therapy and a 2006 UTHSC graduate with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She has a 2017 graduate certificate in pediatrics from the University of Indianapolis. She is a board-certified neurologic clinical specialist with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), a certified wound specialist with the American Board of Wound Management, wound care certified with the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy, and a Fellow of The American College of Clinical Wound Specialists.

Dr. Smith is certified in the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Approach for the management of adults with stroke and brain injury with the Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association and is a certified stroke rehabilitation specialist with the National Stroke Association. She is an advanced credentialed clinical instructor with the APTA. She is a Vanderbilt grant faculty member for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program (Vanderbilt Consortium LEND) and a Tennessee State University grant faculty member for the Connecting Faculty Learning to Student Learning program.

Dr. Smith is a tenured assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, at Tennessee State University (TSU). She has 36 years of experience as a physical therapist in multiple clinical settings and currently sees patients at the pro bono TSU Tiger Community Rehabilitation Clinic. Her clinical focus and specialty are neurologic PT and advanced wound management. She was the secretary of the PT Class of 1986 and has organized class reunions, social media pages, and newsletters. At TSU, she is active in committees at the department, college, and university levels. She is the assessment coordinator and service chair for the Department of Physical Therapy. Dr. Smith organizes and volunteers at several community events each year for TSU PT faculty/student participation. She received a Frist Humanitarian Award in 2011.

Dr. Smith is currently the APTA-TN Nashville District Chair, on the APTA-TN Board, and is a delegate to the APTA House of Delegates. She is a Specialization Academy of Content Experts item writer and case report reviewer in wound management for the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists and is an item writer for the National Physical Therapy Exam (NTPE) for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. She is a consultant to the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy. Dr. Smith received the 2022 Outstanding District Award, APTA-TN.