“If students have evidence to support an idea, we give them the flexibility to explore it,” said Dr. Erin Melhorn, who oversees the occupational therapy doctoral capstones at UTC. “Sometimes that becomes research, sometimes a new tool, a business or even a model for delivering care.”
UTC’s Chris Smith earns national recognition for military support
Dr. Chris Smith, director of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Nursing, has been recognized with the Patriot Award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program.
From driving simulators to award-winning research, psychology graduate Shyla Khan’s road to internship and opportunity
For the last year, Shyla Khan—who earned a Master of Science in Psychological Science degree from UTC in spring 2025—has been working at the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, conducting research utilizing a driving simulator.
UTC mathematician Xiunan Wang receives prestigious NSF LEAPS-MPS Award
Dr. Xiunan Wang, assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Mathematics, has received a $249,993 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) program.
Simulated patient, real emotions: AI bringing realism to UTC nursing simulation
Earlier this summer, students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice adult gerontology acute care program piloted an end-of-life training scenario unlike anything they had previously encountered in the University’s Metro Annex Safe Hospital. The twist? Students weren’t just caring for a simulated patient in the mock clinical setting. They also had to navigate a phone conversation with the patient’s daughter, which was played not by a faculty member or actor, but by artificial intelligence.
UTC, Siskin Hospital expand partnership with new geriatric PT residency
UTC’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program and Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation are expanding their collaborative partnership with the creation of a Geriatric PT Residency Program—one of just two of its kind in Tennessee.
With ‘Adaptive Tai Chi,’ UTC’s Zibin Guo shares 20 years of wisdom in motion
Dr. Zibin Guo has spent more than two decades exploring how ancient traditions can help address the challenges of modern life. That research is now the subject of his second book, “Adaptive Tai Chi: An Accessible Practice for Empowering Body and Mind,” which will be available in July.
Rolling relief: A day on the road with UTC’s MobileMOC health team
MobileMOC—an outreach health clinic on wheels—is designed to provide health care access for older adults in local rural communities, offering services such as preventive care, screenings, chronic disease management and social services.
UTC to launch psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program
The UTC School of Nursing will launch a new Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program this fall to help meet urgent workforce needs across the region and state. The PMHNP concentration, part of UTC’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, offers two pathways: a full-time, eight-semester post-BSN track for students pursuing a doctoral degree and a five-semester post-graduate certificate for advanced practice registered nurses who already hold a master’s degree.
UTC’s I-O psychology conference celebrates two decades of impact
For 20 years, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Psychology has hosted the River Cities Industrial-Organizational Psychology Conference (RCIO), where people across the country come to learn about I-O psychology and opportunities available to those who decide to pursue human resources and other related fields.