Kingsport Faculty
Reid Blackwelder, M.D., FAAFP
Professor & Associate Dean for Graduate and Continuing Medical Education
I am originally from Atlanta, GA, but consider Northeast Tennessee home now. I graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania and received my medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine, cum laude. After completing my residency and a teaching fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia, I became "a simple country doctor" in Trenton, GA, a town of 1400. This experience opened my eyes as to how much fun practicing medicine can be, as well as revealed how bizarrely our medical education system is structured.
I decided to return to an academic setting to try to change what I could from within the system. I use my practice experiences to fill in gaps left by my traditional allopathic training. I am always looking to integrate different healing systems when caring for my patients, and routinely prescribe botanical and allopathic medications, discuss exercise and nutritional issues, explore a person's emotional and spiritual support systems, and refer to other healers, such as a local practitioner of Chinese medicine and Native American healers. Moreover, I have greatly enjoyed learning osteopathic techniques here in Kingsport.
My wife Alex and I relax at our home, a Certified National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat, with our wildflowers, herbs and family of dogs, cats, rabbits, and a fox. My hobbies include soccer, volleyball, reading, and going to 18th century period rendezvous.
Pete Bockhorst, D.O.
Associate Professor
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised everywhere else, I have tried to live as many lives as possible. Having tried my hand at several trades including culinary and photographic arts, none have suited me as does medicine. The opportunity to meld the arts and sciences is too enticing. Having finished a brilliant three years in the National Health Service Corps in a rural family medicine setting, teaching is my next move in finding the consummate balance in life. Meet Dr. Bockhorst
Mark Brummel, D.O.
Professor
I grew up on a farm in northern Illinois, just outside of the suburban sprawl of Chicago. I attended college locally at Northern Illinois University, and medical school at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. While I did enjoy my time moving to progressively more urban environments, I next ventured to the Amish country in Lancaster Pennsylvania for residency training. While the training was excellent, I wanted to further develop areas within family medicine I found most interesting, and decided to stay an additional year to complete a faculty development fellowship. During this year I dedicated the majority of my time and efforts to sports medicine, inpatient medicine, and osteopathic manipulation.
The next step in my journey began with my wife looking for a graduate school to attend and ended with us both finding a wonderful opportunity to grow and live in the Appalachian Highlands. We have enjoyed the outdoor activities, the beautiful weather and the excellent education for our children. Please feel free to contact me to discuss sports, outdoor activities, food, sustainable living, or anything you are interested in.
Greg Cooper, M.D.
Assistant Professor & Clerkship Director
I was born in Knoxville, TN and went to UT Knoxville for undergraduate. Moved to Johnson City where I did medical school at Quillen College of Medicine and then completed residency with ETSU Kingsport Family Medicine. I chose this job because I enjoy working both in the clinic setting and in the hospital setting. I also enjoy teaching, and I get to teach both medical students and residents in this job. I am inspired by seeing learners truly understand information.
I enjoy running and hanging out with friends when I’m not working. I like to travel when I have the time. I enjoy going to see movies with friend and watching TV shows.
Beth Anne Fox, M.D., MPH, CPE, FAAFP
Professor & Vice Dean
I was born and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee. I received my undergraduate degree in Nursing at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, a certificate in Nurse Anesthesia, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health before leaving nursing and returning to medical school at Quillen College of Medicine and then completed residency at ETSU Health Johnson City Family Medicine. After 3 years of private practice, I returned to follow my desire to make a difference in the lives of the people of Appalachia. Patients are more than their medical issues and each has a story to tell. My love of teaching of medical students and residents as well as helping them grow professionally has led to the most rewarding career I could imagine.
My professional interests are Clinical (Human Patient) Simulation, Women’s Health, and Rural Health. Personally, I enjoy spending time in outdoor activities like hiking, traveling, and love exploring craft fairs and antique stores.
Chris Galletti, M.D.
Assistant Professor - Kingsport
I was raised outside Orlando, FL where I was a student athlete playing football and lacrosse. I pursued my higher education in the panhandle at Florida State University. After completion of my undergraduate studies in Biology and Psychology, I worked for a local family doctor as his medical assistant, where I discovered my love for family medicine. I remained in Tallahassee for medical school at FSU College of Medicine. Following medical school, I moved to Southwest Florida for my family medicine residency training with FSU Fort Myers. In residency, I became passionate about medical education and clinical teaching. I am excited to train compassionate and knowledgeable family medicine physicians at ETSU Kingsport. Professionally, I have various clinical interests including medical informatics, sports medicine, point of care ultrasound (POCUS), lifestyle medicine, and behavioral health. Personally, I am a self-proclaimed chef and foodie. I enjoy spending time outdoors with my wife, watching FSU sports, and caring for my freshwater aquarium.
Erin Harris, M.D.
Associate Professor & Associate Clerkship Director
I have had a lengthy relationship with the Kingsport program as a student, resident, and now as faculty. I returned in 2010 after three years of primary care practice in Southwest Virginia. I am a graduate of the Quillen College of Medicine and completed an Accelerated Residency in Family Medicine at Kingsport and Holston Valley in 2006. I had long been drawn to the diversity, complexity, and continuity of Family Medicine and am proud to have pursued this field after medical school. My family and I lived in several areas of the country, but Southwest Virginia is the place that I call "home," and I consider the Tri-Cities of Tennessee and its population an extension of that. My professional interests include medical student education, adolescent medicine and pediatrics, and inpatient medicine.
Outside of medicine, I most enjoy spending time with my two lovely daughters, whose natural curiosity about the world and its people is a daily inspiration. We love to travel together and spend time with our extended family. Closer to home, we enjoy music and dance, local food and history, and time together at work and at play here in Northeast Tennessee. Please email me with any questions about the program or the area.
Sarah Hewitt, M.D.
Assistant Professor & Medical Director
McKenzie Highsmith, Pharm.D.
Associate Professor, Family Medicine and Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy
Having called east Tennessee home for nearly my entire life, I’m frequently accused of trying to convince all of our residents to stay here forever. I have tried to leave several times, but keep being drawn home. I attended the University of Tennessee and East Tennessee State University for undergrad before obtaining my Doctor of Pharmacy degree from ETSU’s Gatton College of Pharmacy. I then completed a Pharmacy Practice residency at the Veterans Affairs TN Valley Healthcare System in Nashville, as well as a residency in Ambulatory Care with emphases in Family Medicine and academia at ETSU..
Being the clinical pharmacist for this residency program has been one of the greatest honors of my life thus far. Not only am I afforded the opportunity to work with the greatest faculty and residents in medicine, but I’m also able to help our patients who teach me something new every day. My areas of interest include chronic disease management (specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease), transitional care and health care policy. I am faculty at the Gatton College of Pharmacy, where I teach and coordinate various courses in our didactic curriculum.
When I'm not working, I enjoy running, hiking, traveling and spending time with my family and friends. I can also be found in a college football stadium most Saturdays in the fall.
Gigi Miranda, M.D.
Assistant Professor
It’s great to be back! For those of you who don’t know me, I am from the area, born and raised in Wise, Virginia, and completed my Family Medicine Residency at Bristol Family Medicine in 2017. I always welcome the opportunity to travel and live in different places and my studies have led me across the nation and internationally. I received my undergraduate degree in Biology from Boston College, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from California State University, East Bay in Hayward, California. While in California I worked as the Assistant Athletic Trainer, at California State University, East Bay, working mostly with women’s basketball, volleyball, and water polo. Once I decided to go back to school, I chose to go abroad and headed to the Philippines and received my Medical Degree from the University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center, near Manila. Living, traveling and studying in the Philippines created my foundation of Integrative Medicine. I learned acupuncture and saw the fundamental importance of nutrition, physical activity, spirituality and environment on one’s health. Upon returning to The States and before my Family Medicine residency, I completed a course for Medical Acupuncture at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. After residency, I worked with Dr. Anton Borja (former JC family Medicine resident and faculty) at The Ohio State University Integrative Medicine Clinic. I am happy to be back in the area and look forward to working with everyone at the different clinics. I practice Integrative Medicine, which is a more holistic approach to patient care, looking at a patient’s nutrition habits, daily physical activity, sleep patterns, and daily stressors and integrate different modalities from acupuncture, meditation, nutrition, and exercise prescription to maximize my patients’ health. I enjoy helping patients to become the best versions of themselves through creating individualized care plans.
When I am not working at ETSU Health, I practice Emergency Medicine in local rural community hospitals (Smyth County and Russell County). For fun you can find me outdoors embarking on any outdoor adventures with my dog, Ohsen, from hiking to relaxing on the lake, laughing with family and friends, cooking, and traveling. https://works.bepress.com/renee-miranda/about/ Meet Dr. Miranda
Heather Newman M.D.
Assistant Professor - Kingsport
I was born in Livonia, MI, but my family moved around a lot before ending up in Loveland, OH for most of my childhood. I received my undergraduate degree from Centre College in Danville, KY, where I played on the soccer team and in the orchestra. For medical school, I moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where I attended John Hopkins University School of Medicine. While at Hopkins, I discovered that I was truly passionate about primary care in the setting of complex chronic conditions. I attended the AAFP's yearly Family Medicine Conference in Kansas City, was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Mark Brummel at the ETSU Family Medicine booth, and eventually matched into the ETSU Kingsport Family Medicine Residency. While in Kingsport, I met my future family (my husband and two amazing stepsons) and we stayed in Kingsport after graduation. For four years, I worked at a federally qualified health center in Mountain City, TN while also teaching medical students in ETSU's Rural Primary Care Track. Eventually, life led me back to ETSU Kingsport Family Medicine and I am dedicated to helping shape the next generation of Family Physicians.
Outside of medicine, I enjoy camping, hiking, and being outdoors with my family. I've played ice hockey and soccer intermittently and have been a loyal Detroit Red Wings fan from birth. More recently, I can be found cheering on our boys in whatever athletic or musical endeavor they are engaged in.
Trask Printz, D.O.
Assistant Professor - Kingsport
I was born on a farm nestled in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. I went to Longwood University in central Virginia for undergrad and VCOM Virginia for medical school. After completing my residency at ETSU Kingsport, I was able to continue on as faculty. I’m greatly looking forward to continuing to serve the people of Northeast Tennessee. My medical interests include hospital medicine, underserved care, global health, and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). Outside of work I enjoy hiking, caving, and traveling. Above all I enjoy spending time with friends and family.
Glenda Stockwell, Ph.D.
Professor & Clinical Psychologist
With an undergraduate background in theater and speech pathology, I pursued a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. Following internship, my career path included teaching psychology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and chairing the Department of Theology, Psychology and Philosophy there. I then had a private practice for nine years. I left private practice to design and implement a program for behavioral medicine training at the Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in Terre Haute, Indiana. That circuitous route brought me to Kingsport. Although there were many things that appealed to me about coming to the program here, one of the most compelling reasons I wanted to join this faculty was the emphasis on communication skills and on teaching residents to attend to their personal well-being. With our intensive work in peer groups focused on self-reflection and on dealing with life events that happen during residency, we help residents prepare for the challenges they face personally and professionally. It's a privilege to work in an environment that values and supports emotional and physical health.
I enjoy reading, writing, herb gardening, and anthropomorphizing my Labradoodles Jake and Henry, and I love living here in the gentle mountains of Northeast Tennessee, just two hours away from my daughter Kelsea and granddaughter, Azra.