OFALD Notable Alumni Archives

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sarah March, NREMT, M1NREMT, M1 

Sarah March is a current first year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine (BSOM) following her 2022 graduation from East Carolina University’s Honors College. Her involvement with BSOM began in high school as a volunteer at the Simulation Center from 2015 to 2017. 

The following year, Sarah’s love for medicine continued to grow in Dr. Ken Soderstrom’s lab as a part of the BSOM Honors Medical Research Program. This program led her to pursue her undergraduate degree in biochemistry. During her time in college, COVID-19 guided her to research heart rate variability (HRV) with the Departments of Nursing and Kinesiology. 

Outside of BSOM, Sarah has also been involved with Magnolia Arts Center as an actress. In addition, she has volunteered as an EMT with Farmville Rescue and EMS, Inc. She is currently interested in either Pediatric Psychiatry or Emergency Medicine. She’s thrilled to study the intersections between these fields and primary care in relation to health disparities during her time at BSOM. In her free time, Sarah enjoys acting, writing, traveling, and practicing Spanish. 

PhD Candidate, Biomedical Science
BS, Biochemistry

In 2019, Tyler graduated summa cum laude with his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from ECU. During his last year as an undergraduate student, Tyler worked in the Neufer Lab where he conducted research focusing on mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Following his graduation from ECU, Tyler began working towards his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, with a concentration in Physiology, at the Brody School of Medicine. Currently working in the Fisher-Wellman Lab, Tyler continues to conduct mitochondrial bioenergetics research in the context of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. During his time here as a graduate student, Tyler has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications.

Prior to his undergraduate studies at ECU, Tyler was well known on YouTube for his pop-punk music published under the artist name “Sounds Like Harmony.” He performed on multiple tours across the United States and Canada until 2016. Following this, he decided to channel his artistic creativity towards a career in science.

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Assistant Program Director, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
BS, ECU Physician Assistant Program, 2003
MD, ECU Brody School of Medicine, 2009

Dr. Dunn began his career 27 years ago as a respiratory therapist. This led him to pursue a career in medicine.

He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care. His interests are critical care, asthma, lung cancer and fellowship education.

Dr. Dunn says he is “so honored, privileged and blessed to call Brody ‘home’ and to be part of the wonderful Brody family.”

Dr. Dunn enjoys spending time with his wife, Lou Anne, and his daughter, three sons and three grandchildren. He likes playing guitar and piano and boating.