Meet Our New ETSU Faculty – Part 2
Dr. Amanda Slaten Frasier
Assistant Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Clemmer College
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I am most excited to engage in research and develop new collaborations.
Where were you most recently working?
I have actually spent the last two years teaching high school at University School on campus. So I have been a part of the ETSU community for a while, but I am transitioning into a new role. Prior to coming to ETSU, I was an assistant professor in the teacher preparation program at Michigan State University.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I used to be a competitive equestrian and I still have two “expensive lawnmowers” in my backyard. Now most of my free time is spent with my daughters and enjoying the experience of watching them grow up.
Dr. Chris Galletti
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine
Quillen College of Medicine
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I’m excited to teach residents and medical students about how family medicine can improve the health and lives of people in our community. ETSU has an outstanding culture in providing compassionate, patient-centered care.
Where were you most recently working?
Florida State University Family Medicine Residency in Fort Myers, Florida.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Cooking, hiking, freshwater fish aquarium, guitar
Dr. Jesse Gilreath
Assistant Professor
Department of Social Work
College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I am most looking forward to being on campus and part of an innovative department, and working closely with students as they progress through their education.
Where were you most recently working?
I previously worked at ETSU Health Family Physicians of Kingsport.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy cooking and vacationing at the beach.
Amy Laws
Director of French Minor/Lecturer in French
Department of Literature and Language
College of Arts and Sciences
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I am ecstatic to return to my alma mater. I majored in French at ETSU and coming full circle into my role as Director of the French Minor is such an honor and a privilege. I am passionate about the ETSU community and cannot wait to introduce our campus to French culture with new programs and activities.
Where were you most recently working?
Last year, I taught two upper-division French courses as an adjunct at ETSU, but I was also teaching French and theater full-time at South Greene High School.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy singing with the Tusculum Community Chorus (I am looking forward to returning after my pandemic hiatus), spending time with friends and family, reading, writing, and traveling.
Dr. Jack Owens
Professor, Division Chief of Neonatology, Niswonger Children's Hospital NICU Medical Director
Department of Pediatrics
Quillen College of Medicine
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
The Department of Pediatrics at ETSU is a closely knit team whose mission is to delivery both primary and subspecialty care to a rural population in Appalachia, a mission of which I am thrilled to be a part. That a rural region like ours has a children's hospital and a medical school is unique thanks to visionaries both within ETSU and in our community. It is my privilege to be a part of this team at ETSU and Ballad Health.
ETSU has an inclusive collaborative culture where interdisciplinary research can thrive. I am looking forward to engaging in a research career investigating how healthcare delivery micro-systems can be structured to reduce variation in care and improve quality, which will require collaboration among multiple disciplines. We are also working with Ballad Health in developing predictive analytics tools to help inform physicians taking care of infants born within our region.
Where were you most recently working?
Before coming to ETSU and Niswonger, I was the NICU medical director at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, one of the six regional perinatal centers in Georgia. At Phoebe, our NICU team did some great work on improving outcomes of preterm infants born in southwest Georgia. This improvement correlated with improvement in our regional infant mortality rates.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy spending time with family, playing banjo, listening to American roots music, fishing, hiking, and collecting wine.
Dr. Martha Sherrill
Assistant Professor
Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I am joining an incredibly skilled faculty with diverse areas of expertise. I am looking forward to learning from, and collaborating with, these amazing faculty, researchers, and clinicians.
Where were you most recently working?
I moved to Tennessee from Louisiana where I was an assistant professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Since we arrived in Tennessee my husband and I have been taking advantage of the amazing hiking and outdoor adventures the area has to offer. We have a lot left to explore!
Dr. Laura Hunt Trull
Research Faculty
Center for Rural Health Research
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I am most excited to focus on research in my area of passion - rural strengths.
Where were you most recently working?
I come to the Center for Rural Health Research at ETSU from 9 years as social work faculty at James Madison University.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy spending time with my husband and teenage children, friends, live music, outdoor adventures, good books, and craft beer.
Dr. Pi-Ming Yeh
Associate Professor
Department of Graduate Programs
College of Nursing
What are you looking forward to the most about being an ETSU faculty member?
I look forward to providing my students the best quality of education.
Where were you most recently working?
I am preparing this semester new courses. I also revised a textbook on the strategy of drug withdrawal, and I am writing a manuscript on examining well-being among college students. I am applying for IRB approval to do a study on nursing students’ smoking knowledge and attitude.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Tai-chi, dance, rollerblading, walking, singing hymns, listening to good TV sermons.