Health and Wellness

Education

Empowering the next generation to innovate and advance  

UT prepares future generations of learners, explorers, and leaders to advance innovation and transformative solutions in health and wellness. Partnerships with community and industry leaders help us develop strategic education programming to address key societal needs and to prepare our students to address critical challenges. 

Professor Laurie Meschke leads a session about early adolescent development for a group of middle school teachers during an inservice day at Union County High School.

Academics

UT offers students unrivaled access to hands-on research opportunities in applied health and wellness fields of study and practice. Through partnerships with community health care providers, our students learn in the classroom, in the community, and alongside clinicians and health care providers around the state.

Our faculty integrate research-driven insights into course curricula to make students’ academic experiences even more valuable.

Undergraduate students—even those in their first year—pursue internships, co-ops, and experiential learning related to health and wellness through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

Graduate students experience interdisciplinary programming and hands-on experiences as well as traditional graduate research and teaching assistantships through UT’s Graduate School.

“There’s a gap in current knowledge about multitargeting guide RNAs, so I’m hoping to expand on the existing research. My research is different from doing regular coursework, where it’s just contributing toward my own understanding. I’m helping with something that’s going to be useful in the future. It’s really fulfilling.”

— Hannah Boyd, Chemical Engineering Major and Undergraduate Researcher 

Explore Student Experiences

Photo of the members of a senior design team at The Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee pose with their peoject.

Innovation

A biomedical engineering senior design team successfully tackled a real-world need: creating a cost-effective and highly functional model for training health care workers in a procedure called paracentesis.

Learn more about the design team’s process.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville student Hannah Boyd work in a lab.

Experience

A chemical engineering major works in Professor Cong T. Trinh’s laboratory to improve treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. She’s gaining experience in using and improving biological techniques like cutting-edge gene modification.

Learn more about this research project.

Photo of two hands holding a globe against a blue background.

Recognition

Three public health graduate students studying global health topics received scholarships from the UT Center for Global Engagement. This recognition supports their ambitions to improve community health around the world.

Meet these students and learn about their projects

University of Tennessee, Knoxvllle College of Nursing students at 2025 commencement.

Growth

Junior and senior nursing students participating in the Alumni Mentorship Program work on personal and professional development with UT nurse mentors who are on the front lines of patient care.

Learn about the College of Nursing mentorship program.

Researcher working with a test tube in a lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Workforce Development

Tennessee needs a workforce that can stay at the forefront of evolving technologies, practices, and applications. To meet community and industry needs, we support continuing education, upskilling, reskilling, and other workforce development initiatives. 

Explore Development Efforts

Research-Practice Partnership and Training

UT and River Valley Health (formerly Cherokee Health Systems) are developing a training program for practitioners, faculty, and students. The program specifically aims to build skills relevant to improving maternal and child health for Black families in East Tennessee.

Learn more about this research-practice partnership.

Photos of Kristina Gordon and Parinda Khatri in an orang-colored graphic.

UT Research Foundation Accelerate Fund

The UT Research Foundation Accelerate Fund connects UT innovators with funding opportunities and guidance to launch, grow, and retain viable startups. The fund’s portfolio includes start-ups in the medical industry.

Learn how we’re bringing more UT innovations to the world.

Graphic of the UT Research Foundation Accelerate Fund

Business Leadership Development for Physicians

UT’s Haslam College of Business designed the Physician Executive MBA for doctors seeking to transform patient care and company performance. The program works with the Core Clinical Partners Emergency and Hospital Medicine Administrative Fellowship.

Read about this unique collaboration.

A doctor takes notes on a pad next to a computer and a stethoscope.

Imagining Possibilities in STEMM

UT faculty provide opportunities for East Tennessee high school students to explore STEMM careers (science, technology, engineering, math, and medical science) through a five-year project funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Visit the project website.

View of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee early in the morning, with fog rising.

Spark BioHub 

The Spark BioHub, part of the Spark Innovation Center and located in the UT Center for Precision Health, is a dedicated life science initiative supporting startup companies focused on health and wellness.

Learn what Spark BioHub offers entrepreneurs. 

Aerial view of the Spark Innovation Center at the UT Center for Precision Health at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Rural Health Care Workforce Development

UT has been awarded a $2 million Rural Health Care Pathways Expansion Grant to launch a groundbreaking initiative to create seamless, scalable healthcare career pathways for students across rural Tennessee.

Learn more about the new HEALTH Program. 

Aerial view of the University of Tennessee campus and downtown Knoxville, Tenn.

“As we work in partnership with UT, we’re not only developing and testing health interventions, but we’re also building a workforce that can be part of the solution.”

— Parinda Khatri, CEO, River Valley Health