Richard Butler Archives

Clinical Associate Professor, Family Medicine

MD,  Brody School Of Medicine
MS, BS, NC State University

Dr. Matthew Rushing is a graduate of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. After graduating from medical school, he stayed at ECU Health (then Vidant Medical Center) for his residency in Family Medicine, serving as a Chief Resident during his time. Since completing residency, he has been on faculty in the Department of Family Medicine where he is a Clinical Associate Professor and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Originally from Wilmington, NC, he completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at North Carolina State University. Dr. Rushing arrived to medicine as a second career, starting out as a Software Training Specialist and Operations Consultant for over 15 years before moving to Greenville to begin his medical training.

He currently enjoys wearing many different hats in both the Department of Family Medicine and at The Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Rushing serves as an Assistant Residency Director for the Core Residency Program and as the Associate Program Director of the Rural Residency Program with locations in Ahoskie, Beulaville, and Roanoke Rapids. He maintains a weekly procedures clinic as well as his continuity clinic where he serves as a clinician, preceptor, and teacher to residents, fellows, and medical students. In addition to his clinical duties, he is also a Course Director for the Foundations of Doctoring course for both the M1 and M2 students at Brody.

He has received multiple teaching and student advocacy awards from Brody during his tenure and is frequently chosen by the students to give advice to the graduating students and residents during their String of Pearls lectures that occur just before graduation and match day.

Outside of Brody, Dr. Rushing serves on the Advocacy Committee for the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians which aims to strengthen the influence of Family Medicine with health systems, government agencies, and payers to improve access to full-scope family medicine for the people of North Carolina.

He enjoys spending free time playing piano, guitar, banjo, and trumpet (poorly), playing golf (even worse) and traveling with his wife, daughter, and son.

Senior Director, Office of Medical Education

B.S. in Business Administration, Southern New Hampshire University

Dawn joined ECU in 2019, bringing over fifteen years of higher education experience to her role in the Office of Medical Education. She started her career as an ophthalmic technician working with a satellite retina specialist team, Lasik surgery team, and ocular plastics team.  During her time working in ophthalmic surgery, Dawn became interested in how the skin healed and why some patients bruised and scarred while others had alternate outcomes.  This thirst for knowledge led her to become a licensed aesthetician in North Carolina.  After owning a spa and teaching continuing education to other licensed professionals. Dawn found her passion for supporting learners on their journeys in higher education.

In her role in the Office of Medical Education, Dawn has streamlined processes, expanded support services, and spearheaded many initiatives that have led to optimizing faculty support and successful curriculum delivery.  Dawn enjoys evaluating operational processes and increasing operational efficiency while fostering a strong team environment, finding great satisfaction in witnessing Brody students succeed in their passion for medicine and pursuit of being a physician.

Dawn and her husband, Jeff, live in Clayton with their two children, Grayson (12) and Grier (10), and two rescue huskies, Emmy and Aspen.  As a family, they enjoy traveling and adventure.  Dawn loves to garden and cook for friends and family every chance she gets.

Ph.D. Candidate, Brody School of Medicine

MS, Biomedical Sciences, Brody School Medicine

BS, Chemistry & Mathematics, UNC Chapel Hill

Jude Kinkead is a fourth-year graduate student at the Brody School of Medicine. He grew up in the British Virgin Islands prior to moving to the United States. Jude attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics.

Kinkead moved to Greenville in 2021 to begin his Masters Degree in Biomedical sciences. He says that working under both Dr. Cavanagh and Dr. Zeczycki gave him the opportunity to pursue an exciting project that combined neurodegenerative elements with the field of bacterial response regulators. Continuing in the PhD program, he currently studies bacterial transition state regulators in the Cavanagh Lab.

Outside of his studies, Jude enjoys taking care of his plants, cooking, brewing kombucha, making soap, and spending time with his two cats.

He has received teaching awards for the past two years at the University of Florida before joining ECU Health in the summer of last year. Furthermore, he has successfully licensed intellectual property related to esophageal protection during ablation of atrial fibrillation, with a patent granted in Japan and additional patents pending in Europe and the United States. His scientific interests also encompass regenerative medicine and subcutaneous defibrillation. He continuously mentors numerous trainees including pre-med students, medical students, residents, and fellows.  As a Program Director, Dr. Catanzaro is committed to lifelong learning in a field that is constantly evolving due to new technological advancements.

In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, cooking, exercising with his son, and traveling.

Communications Specialist
BS, Communication, East Carolina University, ‘03

Kelly is 2003 graduate from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and a minor in English.  Born and raised in Greenville, Kelly comes from a long line of ECU graduates, including immediate and extended family.

She began her career at ECU in 2004 and has more that 20 years of experience as a Communications Specialist for ECU’s health sciences library, schools and colleges, ECU Health clinics and the Brody School of Medicine.

Her role and passion for communications allows her to share the story and mission of the Brody School of Medicine through news, graphic design, marketing, public and media relations, web development and social media.

In 2009, Kelly won two national and two state level awards from the Medical Library Association and North Carolina Library Association for her work on special events, marketing campaigns, promotional materials, and newsletters.

Kelly also enjoys painting and drawing using a variety of mediums, such as watercolor, acrylic and graphite. Several of her pieces are currently on exhibit in the Brody School of Medicine Lobby display cases in an entitled collection, “State of Art: A nod to North Carolina Nature.”

When she isn’t working Kelly is spending time with her son, Davis, friends, family and significant other.

M3 and Brody Scholar (“26)
BS Biochemistry and Chemistry.

Valentine is a third-year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine. He graduated from East Carolina University with degrees in Biochemistry and Chemistry, earning the Outstanding Senior Award from the Department of Biology before pursuing his medical education.

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Valentine completed high school before moving to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue his college education at ECU. Growing up in Nigeria, he witnessed firsthand the challenges of a strained healthcare system when a delayed and incorrect treatment plan nearly cost him his leg. This traumatic experience became a turning point in his life, fueling his passion for medicine and a commitment to improving health systems.

Valentine is deeply motivated to serve underserved communities. He aspires to pioneer innovative strategies that enhance health outcomes and improve the quality of life for those in need. His medical interests include promoting effective healthcare systems to advance health equity and address health disparities.

Before medical school, Valentine demonstrated his dedication to patient care as a patient transport volunteer at Vidant Health, where he provided comfort to patients during hospital admissions and discharges. He also gained valuable experience as a scientist at ThermoFisher Scientific, collaborating on teams to develop life-saving medications, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

As a medical student, Valentine combines his love for soccer with community engagement by coaching youth soccer through the Brody Coaches Association. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Greenville’s scenic trails. He is proud to be a Pirate!

Medical Director East Carolina heart and vascular Institute service line

Chief Division of Cardiology Department of Cardiovascular Sciences

MBA, University of Florida

MD, State University of New York

Dr. Catanzaro earned his medical degree from the State University of New York. He completed his residency and fellowship training at North Shore University Hospital, specializing in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Catanzaro holds fellowships in several prestigious organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the European Heart Rhythm Association, the European Society of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society. Additionally, he has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida, focused on Entrepreneurship.

Currently, Dr. Catanzaro serves as the John “Jack” Rose Distinguished Professor, Chief of the Division of Cardiology, Medical Director of East Carolina Heart and Vascular Service line and program director for a newly established fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology. He is a prolific researcher with over 70 publications and has secured continuous funding from the NIH R01, international professional societies, and pharmaceutical companies since 2016. He actively participates in various committees at the local, national, and global levels including the Heart Rhythm Society.  Recently, he was appointed as a designated Councilor for the region of Eastern North Carolina by the American College of Cardiology.

He has received teaching awards for the past two years at the University of Florida before joining ECU Health in the summer of last year. Furthermore, he has successfully licensed intellectual property related to esophageal protection during ablation of atrial fibrillation, with a patent granted in Japan and additional patents pending in Europe and the United States. His scientific interests also encompass regenerative medicine and subcutaneous defibrillation. He continuously mentors numerous trainees including pre-med students, medical students, residents, and fellows.  As a Program Director, Dr. Catanzaro is committed to lifelong learning in a field that is constantly evolving due to new technological advancements.

In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, cooking, exercising with his son, and traveling.

MD Candidate, Brody School of Medicine

BS, Chemistry, UNC Pembroke University

Kathryn Flax is third year medical student at Brody School of Medicine and is currently interested in pediatrics.

Originally from Wilmington, NC she attended UNC-Pembroke University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and played for the Women’s golf team. After graduating, she moved Greenville to work as a MedServe fellow at ECU Pediatric Outpatient clinic where she helped with day-to-day tasks as well as coordinated an annual “Wellness Clinic Day” where kids could come and get school and/or sports physicals before starting school.

Flax says she loved her time at Brody and getting to be a part of the Brody family. She has served as co-coordinator for the Happy Hearts program where expectant parents or caregivers can gain hands-on experience in infant and child CPR and choking rescue. She’s served as the summer co-coordinator for PCCC, a local free clinic run by medical students, doctors, and pre-med students. And she’s served as event coordinator for the Pediatric Interest Group and helped organize a simulation event for medical students to get hands-on experience with pediatric specific cases.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Dan, and going on walks with our 1.5-year-old golden retriever, Ruby. She still dusts off the college golf clubs for an occasional round or two of golf and loves DIY projects, baking, and is an avid nacho connoisseur!

Assistant Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine

Emergency Medicine (EM) Residency, SUNY

Downstate/Kings County Hospital, 2014

MD, Meharry Medical College, (’10)
BS, The College of William and Mary, (’05)

Dr. Cassandra Bradby joined the faculty in July 2014, celebrating 10 years in Greenville this summer!  She serves as the Residency Program Director for the Dept of Emergency Medicine. In her time at ECU, she has focused her career on mentoring and education through webinars, programming, and outreach.  She hopes to see her efforts grow into lasting change to improve the health of patients across Eastern North Carolina through the development of more physicians for the region. She is also heavily involved on a national level through the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and Council of Residency Directors in EM.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family & friends, crocheting, reading, and getting some extra sleep!

M.D. Candidate
M.S. Environmental and Organismic Biology, (’18)
B.S. Biology, (’15)

Emily completed her B.S. in Biology from ECU in 2015 and her M.S. in Environmental and Organismic Biology in 2018. During Emily’s M.S. degree, she found a passion for education while teaching Anatomy and Physiology lab courses to undergraduate students as a teaching assistant. After graduating Emily continued working in education and was responsible for teaching and curriculum development in general biology, anatomy and physiology, and microbiology lab courses at ECU.

One of the reasons she chose Brody for medical school was because of the Medical Education and Teaching distinction track. Since joining the MET track, Emily has focused on developing innovative educational modules for pre-clinical learners, including using VR simulation to teach Point-of-Care ultrasound techniques and “gamifying” longitudinal review of microbiology concepts that are high-yield on Step 1. Emily serves as her class curriculum representative through MSC, and she is an active participant on several curriculum committees at Brody.

In Emily’s free time, she likes to spend time with her dog, read, and care for her many houseplants.

PhD Student in Anatomy & Cell Biology
B.S. Biochemistry, ECU ‘22

Hannah Croy is a PhD student entering her 3rd year under Dr. Jeff Eells researching the linkage between Long COVID19 and Parkinson’s Disease at the Brody School of Medicine. She graduated from East Carolina University in 2022 magna cum laude with a bachelors in Biochemistry. While at ECU, Hannah was a Residential Scholar and resided in the Jarvis Leadership LLC for two years where she held various mentor positions and volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House. While receiving her education, she worked part-time at the Writing Center located in Joyner Library where she assisted ECU students and staff in brainstorming or editing a wide variety of writing assignments. Additionally, she worked for Advanced Clinical, a service provider for clinical trials, where she helped compile documentation on drug trials to send off for FDA approval. While working at Advanced Clinical, Hannah realized she wanted to explore the hands-on side of scientific research and took an undergraduate research position with her biochemistry professor, Dr. Horn. There, she learned the basics of laboratory science and fell in love with conducting research and investigating the gaps in knowledge. She has a passion for neuroscience which has led to her proposed candidacy research on the Long COVID19 effects on dopamine neurons and its implications for progressive Parkinson’s Disease.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys training her dog, walking on the greenway and watching sports.