OFALD Notable Alumni Archives
Jennifer Cranford
Director, Office of Student Affairs Brody School of Medicine
MAEd, Adult Education (Certificate in Student Affairs in Higher Education), 2023
BS, Hospitality Management (minor Business Admin), 2018
Jennifer currently serves as Director at the Brody School of Medicine in the Office of Student Affairs. While working full-time, being a wife and mother, and attending school online, Jennifer was able to maintain a 4.0 GPA, citing BSOM students as her inspiration to continue her education. Prior to joining the Brody Family, Jennifer worked for ECU Transit as an undergraduate student, working as both a student bus operator and a student transit supervisor for 3 years. After graduating from ECU, Jennifer worked for the City of Greenville as a Transit Supervisor, serving in the Public Works Department with the Greenville Area Transit System. Jennifer started her career in OSA as the Program Coordinator in the office before being promoted to Director in March 2022. She has a passion for fostering a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment where all students can achieve their academic and personal goals. Her commitment to the Office of Student Affairs and the mission of the Brody School of Medicine is palpable in all aspects of her work. Jennifer has a devotion to lifelong learning and hopes to continue furthering her education as well as make a positive impact at the Brody School of Medicine.
Outside of work and the classroom, Jennifer enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family. A former intern at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL in 2016, Jennifer and her husband try to sneak down to Orlando once or twice a year to visit Mickey Mouse and his pals with their 3-year-old daughter, Charlotte!
Tracey Woodlief, PhD
Research Instructor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
BS, Biology, 2001
MS, Biology, 2005
PhD, Bioenergetics and Exercise and Sports Science, 2011
Dr. Tracey Woodlief is a faculty member at the Brody School of Medicine in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. She graduated from East Carolina University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, in 2005 with a Master of Science in Biology, and in 2011 with a PhD in Bioenergetics and Exercise and Sports Science. After completing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and then the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, she went on to serve as a Clinical Research Scientist within the Global Robotics Institute before returning to East Carolina University to complete her postdoctoral training in cancer biology and toxicology and then transitioning to research faculty. Her research interests include how peroxisomes drive health and disease, especially within the reproductive system and cancer models and following environmental exposures. Additionally, she is actively mentoring two high school students through the Honors Medical program, two doctoral students and numerous other laboratory students.
Dr. Woodlief enjoys spending time with her daughter, traveling the world, and cooking. She also enjoys teaching and being a life-long learner.
Serena Mooney
M4, Brody School of Medicine
BS, Public Health Studies, 2020
BA, Multidisciplinary Studies in International Studies, 2020
Serena Mooney is a rising fourth year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine. She graduated from East Carolina University as an EC Scholar with a B.S. in Public Health Studies and a B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies with an International Studies concentration. Having grown up in Greenville, Serena has always loved giving back to the community that raised her. She was able to continue her service to Greenville as a North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellow, where she and her project partner redesigned a free infant and child CPR and choking rescue class for pregnant patients and their families. They also created a free virtual postpartum support group to help new moms through the fourth trimester. As a scholar in the Health System Transformation and Leadership (LINC) Distinction Track, Serena received training in patient safety, quality improvement, interprofessional team-based care, and population health. She is applying these principles to a quality improvement project in the ECU Health NICU that looks at improving communication between providers and parents through scheduled family meetings. Serena hopes to carry her passion for perinatal and women’s health as a future OB/GYN.
In her free time, Serena enjoys plant-based cooking, cross-stitching, and watching reality television!
Macon Carroll
PhD student, Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Pharmacology and Toxicology
BS, Clinical Laboratory Science
Macon Carroll is a current first year PhD student at Brody in the Biomedical Sciences Department with a concentration in Pharmacology and Toxicology. She graduated from East Carolina University’s College of Allied Health Sciences in May of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science.
In her time in undergrad at East Carolina, Macon completed clinical rotations at ECU Health in the lab departments of Chemistry, Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunohematology and Transfusion Services, as well as being trained in Phlebotomy. Additionally, Macon also worked for the ECU Women and Gender Office as a Program Assistant.
With passions for both natural and social science, she found herself drawn to the Pharmacology and Toxicology program, due to the direct impact toxicological findings have on government policies and vice versa. Macon is now nearing the end of her first official year and is currently rotating with Dr. DeWitt, whose laboratory focuses on the investigation of PFAS and forever chemicals. She is also nearing the end of her four years as an EC Scholar, through the ECU Honors College.
When not in class or lab, Macon enjoys spending time with friends, reading, and knitting or crocheting (or really any kind of DIY craft project).
Jenna Lindsay
Business Officer, Academic Affairs
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 2009
Master of Business Administration, 2010
Jenna Lindsay graduated from East Carolina University’s College of Business in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. She remained enrolled in the University and completed her master’s degree in Business Administration the following year.
Jenna joined the Brody School of Medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences in 2010. After working in the cardiothoracic surgery clinic for a few years, she joined the Department of Academic Affairs in 2014. In her role as Business Officer, she supports the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the operations of the student services offices. Additionally, she serves as the administrative lead for Brody School of Medicine’s Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation process.
In her free time, Jenna enjoys CrossFit, running, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.
J. Clint Parker, MD PhD
Associate Professor
ECU Nephrology Fellowship Program Director
M1 Clinical Ethics Course Director
Dr. Clint Parker graduated from the Brody School of Medicine (BSOM) in 2003 after completing a PhD in philosophy at Rice University concentrating in bioethics and moral philosophy. He then completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Nephrology at ECU. After practicing nephrology in private practice and teaching part time in the BSOM Department of Bioethics and Interdisciplinary Studies for 10 years, he joined the faculty at Brody School of Medicine full time in 2018. He served as an Associate Program Director for the ECU Nephrology Fellowship Program until 2022 and recently became the Nephrology Fellowship Program Director in 2023. He also currently serves as the M1 course director for Ethical Issues in Medicine. He is working toward a Graduate Certificate in the Healthcare Professions and is also enrolled in the ECU MAEd program. He is applying what he is learning in his education classes to teaching medical students and fellows. His research interests include clinical ethics, Christian ethics, moral epistemology, and professional identity formation.
Dr. Parker enjoys spending time with his family and working with his wife on their farm growing pecan trees and cultivating shitake mushroom logs. He also enjoys reading philosophy and theology, teaching classes at his church, and having good conversations. His family motto is “Make Wise Choices.”
David Murray
M1, BSOM Expected-2026
BS, General Biology and a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2020
David Murray is a current first year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine and a Brody Scholar. He graduated from East Carolina University in 2020 with a bachelor’s in General Biology and a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Throughout his undergraduate years he performed research in Dr. Adam Offenbacher’s chemistry research lab. Here he played an integral role in the development of facile methods of synthesizing novel unnatural amino acids. His efforts, combined with the Offenbacher team, led to the subsequent publication of “Synthesis of redox-active fluorinated 5-hydroxytryptophans as molecular reporters for biological electron transfer”.
David believes in the essentialness of primary and preventive care. He believes the key to raising the overall health status of the population of Eastern North Carolina, and beyond, is to incorporate primary and preventive care into neighborhoods and communities that need them most.
With the completion of a successful block one, David has begun working with community health experts and researchers to start a project directed to testing his hypothesis. He is excited to interact with the people of Greenville and is hopeful he can have a positive impact on the region he loves most.
His hobbies include spending time with family, tennis, basketball, and hiking.
When not doing research Cody enjoys spending time with his cat Red as well as playing golf and being outdoors.
Cody Hatchett
PhD Candidate, Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
BS, General Biology
MS, Biomedical Science
Cody graduated in Fall 2018 from ECU with a Bachelor of Science in General Biology. He then joined the Schwalbe lab for his Master of Science in Biomedical Science from the Brody School of Medicine where he focused on N-glycosylation and neuronal function and graduated in Summer 2021.
He then began working towards a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology under Dr. Ruth Schwalbe in Fall 2021. He currently works towards developing a N-glycosylation mutant zebrafish line to study the effects of N-glycosylation processing on neuron development. This research will help to advance the understanding of how changes in neuronal protein N-glycosylation leads to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
When not doing research Cody enjoys spending time with his cat Red as well as playing golf and being outdoors.
Jenna Garris
Executive Director, REACH Initiative
Distinction Track and Teachers of Quality Academy Program Administrator
BS, School Health Education, 2008
MA, Health Education, 2012
Graduate Certificate in Education for Health Care Professions, 2018
Jenna Garris joined the Brody School of Medicine in the Office of Medical Education in 2015. She was hired to manage and direct the daily operations of the Redesigning Education to Accelerate Change in Healthcare (REACH) initiative, which was funded by the American Medical Association Accelerating Change in Education grant program. In addition to REACH, Jenna administers the four medical student Distinction Track programs and serves as the administrative director for the Teachers of Quality Academy (TQA). She also serves as the planning director for the annual Medical Education and Quality Improvement Symposia. Jenna was recently accepted to participate in the American Medical Association’s Health Systems Science Scholars faculty development program that will begin in December 2022.
Jenna enjoys spending time with her family and attending her 7-year-old and 18-year-old’s sporting events. She loves to cook, garden, and read in her spare time.
Leigh Patterson, MD
Department Chair of Emergency Medicine
Associate Professor
MAEd, ECU
Dr. Leigh Patterson joined faculty at Brody School of Medicine in 2005 and has worked in various roles, including the Emergency Medicine Director. In the course of this role, she decided to get her MAEd in Adult Education at East Carolina University. Dr. Patterson has mentored and encouraged others to get their degree in MAEd because she feels it has been very beneficial in both her personal and professional life. She continues to use what she has learned when getting this degree; for instance, she used her knowledge when it came to renovating the Radiology course. In her current role as Department Chair of Emergency Medicine, this degree has also helped Dr. Patterson reimagine faculty evaluation for the Emergency Department.
Dr. Patterson enjoys being a mom and doing activities with her 9 year-old daughter. She loves to knit and is currently working on knitting hats. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, biking, and recruiting faculty.