OFALD Spotlight Archives

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.

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!

Director, Physician Compensation & Data Analytics

B.S. in Economics, East Carolina University

Trish Sawyer, an ECU Alumni, joined ECU in 2011 in ECU Pharmacy Services. She now proudly serves as the Director of Physician Compensation & Data Analytics. In this role, Trish works with a variety of clinical and non-clinical faculty, staff, and executive leadership to develop key analytics used for strategic decision making. Trish is a true “data chomper” who has a passion for analyzing and organizing data to provide a consolidated final product for consumption by the end user.  She loves to help others automate manual processes to save time and effort.

Trish and her, husband, Anthony are the parents of 4 young children: Carter (10), Alex (9), Savannah (6) and Lily (4).  She finds joy in spending time with her family, baking (especially desserts!), completing a good puzzle, and playing the piano.

B.S. in Health Sciences, James Madison University
Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Sciences – Anatomy & Cell Biology

Emma Gilbert is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology. She is a member of Dr. Christopher Geyer’s laboratory, which focuses on understanding various aspects of mammalian spermatogenesis. In her research, Emma studies how the germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein ‘RBM46’ is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of target mRNAs in male germ cells transitioning into meiosis.

While completing her undergraduate studies at James Madison University, Emma became interested in teaching human anatomy. The desire to conduct academic research and learn how to become an effective educator of the anatomical sciences brought Emma to East Carolina University in 2021. Under the mentorship of the anatomy teaching faculty, Emma has been able to assist in several anatomy courses on the health sciences campus, including the M1 Gross Anatomy and Embryology course. Throughout the remainder of her doctoral studies, Emma looks forward to future teaching opportunities in human anatomy.

In her free time, Emma enjoys spending time with her fiancé, finalizing details for their October wedding, going to Giddy-Up Coffeehouse, visiting “Little Washington,” and traveling back to her hometown of Barboursville, Virginia.

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

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!