Dear Medical College of Georgia Friends,
Denise Kornegay, our associate dean for statewide AHEC, retires after 30 years of service
At MCG, our statewide reach doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people like Denise Kornegay pour their energy, creativity and heart into building programs that truly serve Georgians. For 30 years, Denise led the Statewide Area Health Education Center network, shaping how we recruit, train and support the health professionals who care for communities across the state.
Under her leadership, the network — six centers across Georgia plus our home base in Augusta — has become a model for coordinated, community‑based training. Denise and her staff have helped connect students and residents with hands‑on learning in clinics and hospitals far beyond Augusta, ensuring they understand the needs of rural and underserved communities. They strengthened continuing education for practicing clinicians, expanded opportunities for young people to explore careers in health care, and built partnerships with educators, health systems, community leaders, and state and federal agencies, that make that work possible.
One of her most innovative and enduring contributions is Georgia’s Preceptor Tax Incentive Program. Denise recognized early on that while our community clinical faculty give so much of their time to teaching, we had no meaningful way to acknowledge that commitment. Her idea changed that. The first program of its kind in the nation has become a powerful way to thank and support the preceptors who shape the next generation, and it has drawn interest from states looking to follow her lead.
Erin Mundy steps in as Statewide AHEC Program Director
Denise also created new ways for people across the state to come together and tackle big challenges. The Georgia Primary Care Summit and the Primary Care Workgroup were both her ideas, and she was instrumental in securing and sustaining state support for AHEC. Last week, we celebrated Denise as she stepped into retirement. It was clear just how far her influence reaches by the people who showed up to celebrate her — including leaders like Mercer School of Medicine Dean Dr. Jean Sumner. Denise’s work has touched every corner of the state, and her impact will continue to live on in the students we train, the clinicians we support and the communities we serve.
Those are big shoes to fill, but I’m confident we’ve found the right person in Erin Mundy, who has stepped into the role of Statewide AHEC Program Director. Erin brings more than two decades of experience in community‑based medical education, rural health workforce development, and statewide program administration. Many of you know her from her leadership of Community‑Based Training Programs for statewide AHEC, her work as an assistant professor in our Department of Family Medicine, and her regular involvement in our annual Statewide Faculty Development Conference in Jekyll Island. She’s dedicated her career to strengthening Georgia’s health care workforce through strong partnerships, just like her predecessor.
She and Denise worked side by side for more than 20 years, and Erin brings deep institutional knowledge, strong statewide relationships, and a shared dedication to advancing AHEC’s workforce priorities. I also want to acknowledge Alyssa Ruffa here, who has served as associate director of the AHEC office in Augusta and will step in as director. With them leading the charge, I’m confident our future is every bit as strong as the foundation Denise helped build.
Dr. Brittany Ange named Assistant Dean for Dual Degrees and Student Research
The heart of MCG has always been the people who give so much of themselves to this place. Dr. Brittany Ange is another perfect example. Our students routinely seek her out when they’re looking for guidance on research, and it’s no surprise why. They have a real appetite for meaningful research experiences — opportunities that help them explore potential career paths and strengthen their competitiveness when it’s time for Match — and Brittany has been instrumental in making those opportunities easier to access.
She’s homegrown — an Augusta native and Lakeside High School graduate — and she has helped build our medical student research program from the ground up. The program was launched under Dr. Chris Fly, and Brittany has taken it to full capacity, creating a streamlined, student‑friendly process for finding mentors, developing projects and completing scholarly work. She teaches in the curriculum, collaborates closely with faculty across departments, and brings a student‑centered approach to everything she does.
That’s why I’m happy to share that she has been appointed Assistant Dean for Dual Degrees and Student Research. In this role, she’ll continue leading our student research efforts while also overseeing our dual‑degree pathways in partnership with the School of Public Health and the Hull College of Business.
Brittany’s ability to build programs that truly serve students, and her commitment to expanding opportunities for them, make her a perfect fit for this position. I’m excited to see how she continues to strengthen and grow these programs in the years ahead. Congratulations.
Archbold Foundation dinner is another great opportunity to connect with our newest clinical teaching hub
One of the things I’m reminded of here and everywhere I go is just how truly committed our MCG family is — faculty, staff, alumni and partners. The caliber of physicians we educate here says everything about the people who pour themselves into this place. That commitment was evident last week in Thomasville, where I had the chance to gather with some of our newest faculty and supporters at the Archbold Foundation dinner. The setting — The Biscuit Company, a former Nabisco building turned into a great venue — was memorable, and the food (delicious desserts, grouper nuggets and sushi to name a few) was outstanding. But the real highlight was the company. I enjoyed spending time with Dr. Greg Patterson, a general surgeon and 1993 MCG graduate; Dr. Raul Santos, a nephrologist and program director for our joint internal medicine residency; and Darcy Craven, Archbold’s CEO. I also had the pleasure of catching up with Dr. Cordell Bragg, a 1983 graduate and anesthesiologist who apparently moonlights as a historian. Over four years, he wrote a comprehensive, hardbound history of Archbold and surprised me with a signed copy at my hotel.
The visit was full of moments like that. I even had the chance to talk with Andrew Jones, a former middle school football coach, local legend, and a bartender at the dinner whose sons have remarkable stories of their own — Shawn, a Georgia Tech quarterback who led the Yellow Jackets to a national title in 1990 and is now in the Georgia Football Hall of Fame; and the other, Michael, a former UGA player who went on to work with the New York Jets and now serves in ministry near Atlanta. Andrew is also a patient of Dr. Santos. In Thomasville, every corner truly seems to come with a familiar face or a shared story.
I also got a look at a newly acquired building from Thomas University that will soon provide educational space for our students in the region — a beautiful addition to what’s already a strong partnership. Thomasville has never failed to make me, and MCG, feel like part of the family. I have no doubt our first dedicated group of six students, who will live and learn there for the next 18 months, will feel that same welcome.
MCG neuroscience team leading new trial using deep brain stimulation to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s
Supporting our students is at the heart of what MCG exists to do. But as we wrap up today, I want to highlight another core part of our mission — the lifesaving discoveries our scientists and physician‑scientists are making every day.
A new exciting example is a clinical trial our neuroscience team is launching, using deep brain stimulation (DBS) to help slow cognitive decline in early‑stage Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. David Blake, a neuroscientist, and Dr. Fernando Vale, chair of our Department of Neurosurgery, have spent the past decade refining this approach in animal models. Their findings have been remarkably consistent: intermittent stimulation of a small region called the nucleus basalis of Meynert appears to boost cortical activity and support memory.
Early this year, they’ll begin testing that approach in people for the first time. Six patients from the Wellstar MCG Health Memory Disorders Program will take part in daily, at‑home DBS sessions lasting about an hour, while a matched group receives standard care. The goal is simple but significant: to give patients an “interval workout” for the brain that helps preserve cognitive abilities longer than expected.
If the early human results reflect what they’ve seen in the lab, this work could pave the way for a larger multi‑site trial and, ultimately, a new therapeutic option for families facing the devastation of Alzheimer’s — a disease that already accounts for up to 80% of dementia cases and is projected to affect nearly 14 million Americans within the next four decades. Exciting and incredibly meaningful work that could mean hope for those people and their caregivers.
Make plans to join us Feb. 20 at noon for the annual MCG State of the College Address
I also wanted to take a moment today to say that I hope you can join us at noon, Friday, Feb. 20 in the Lee Auditorium for the annual MCG State of the College Address. It’s always a great opportunity to look back at our progress and accomplishments over the last year and also talk about the opportunities ahead for MCG.
My best to you always,
David C. Hess, MD
Dean, Medical College of Georgia
Upcoming Events
February 20 – MCG State of the College Address, noon, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium
March 14 – MCG White Coat Dash 5K, 10 am, Summerville Campus
March 20 – MCG Match Day, SRP Park
April 17 – MCG Faculty Senate Meeting, noon, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium
May 7 – MCG Hooding Ceremony, 2 p.m., Bell Auditorium
