The Department of Medicine
The Department of Medicine is the largest department in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Knoxville (UTHSC COM-Knoxville); the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). The Department is comprised of 19 Divisions and 189 full time, part time, and volunteer faculty. The primary focus of the department is the training of medical residents and third- and fourth-year medical students who are primarily enrolled at the UTHSC. We offer a Categorical Internal Medicine Residency Program and a Transitional Year Program. We offer fellowship training in Cardiovascular Diseases, Interventional Cardiology, and Pulmonary Medicine/Critical Care Medicine which are fully accredited by the ACGME. The latest ACGME approved fellowship is in Hematology/Oncology. Additionally, we are committed to clinical and basis science research with a robust Amyloidosis and Cancer Theranostics Program as well as a Molecular Imaging Laboratory.
Training Facilities
Clinical training is provided mainly at the nationally ranked University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) and affiliated clinics located in Knoxville. Our trainees and faculty are committed to providing exceptional patient care in a collegial environment, and several divisions are nationally recognized for their excellence. We have the twin advantages of being an academic training program without being a large one, where each trainee is well known and recognized for their achievements. We offer several unique programs that encourage our trainees to be critical thinkers; and that prepare them for the ever-changing needs of healthcare, both in the current milieu and for the future. In addition to our experienced faculty, we have outstanding support from ancillary staff in both the hospital and ambulatory clinic settings. We have a robust basic science research program, are rapidly expanding our clinical research, and have ongoing collaborations with other research institutions in and around Knoxville.
Our Mission
The mission of the Department of Medicine is to help physicians in training acquire the knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary to become competent, compassionate physicians who possess a lifetime love of medicine, learning, and teaching; to provide an organization for the delivery of excellent medical care from both the generalists and specialists in the field of Internal Medicine; and to provide an invigorating environment for basic and clinical research. Our enthusiastic and experienced clinical and research faculty are dedicated to the fulfillment of this mission
Highlights
Welcome New Interns 2026 - 2027
We are excited to introduce our incoming PGY-1 class, please join us in welcoming them!
Marshall Arons DO - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia Campus
Omar Badran MD - Jordan University of Science and Technology Faculty of Medicine
Jacob Estrada MD - University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Emma Fitzgerald MD - University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Nicholas Ilgandi DO - Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ashlyn Ivey MD - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Tyler Lock DO - Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Liliane Nguyen MD - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Walker Nowell MD- East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Ethan Nussio MD - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Karsten Parker MD - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Jay Patel MD - University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Columbia
Alice Pelletier DO - Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
The "In Touch" Newsletter
In Touch is produced by the UTHSC COM-Knoxville's Department of Medicine. The mission of the newsletter is to build pride in the Department of Medicine by communicating the accessible, collaborative and human aspects of the department while highlighting pertinent achievements and activities.
In Touch is published each quarter and features faculty and resident news, upcoming events, and awards and accomplishments. As an institute of learning and discovery, the newsletter highlights how the Department of Medicine contributes to a global body of medical knowledge through various scholarly activities.
Department Chair
Frank G. Gress, MD is the Dr. Wahid T. Hanna Endowed Chair of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Gress has more than 30 years of academic, clinical, and administrative experience. He's a nationally recognized gastroenterologist and most recently served as Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mount Sinai Hospital South Nassau, part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where he has been on faculty since 2018. Dr. Gress joined the Department of Medicine at UTHSC COM-Knoxville in 2026. More
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