Internal Medicine Residency Faculty & Staff
Directors
David Pizzimenti, DO
Program Director
Dr. Pizzimenti completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He earned his medical degree from Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, followed by an internal medicine internship and residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. A board-certified internal medicine physician, Dr....
Bradley Boldizar, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Boldizar grew up in the Memphis area before attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he received his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering. He received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee before completing his internal medicine residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Since 2013...
Marissa Cruz, DO, MPH/MBA
Associate Program Director
Marissa Cruz, DO, received her bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She received a master in public health and a master in business administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed an internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, and she has completed add...
Inpatient Faculty
Amy Doyle, MD
Dr. Doyle graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed her medical degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and her internal medicine residency at Baptist Health Systems in Birmingham, where she served as chief resident. She completed a clinical fellowship in infectious disease...
Samantha Houston, MD
Dr. Samantha Houston is a physician who joined NMMC in 2020 and became a part of the teaching faculty in 2024. She earned her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of the South before completing medical school, residency and a chief year at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. She loves connecting with people through work, but outside of medicine, she...
Jennifer Lindsey, MD
Dr. Jennifer Lindsey earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southern Mississippi and her master’s degree in biomedical sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center before graduating from Ross University School of Medicine in 2018. She completed her internal medicine residency at Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, Mississi...
Carrie Loftiss, MD
Dr. Loftiss grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. She graduated magna cum laude from Midwestern State University with a bachelor of science degree in biology. After working as a pathology assistant, she returned to Midwestern State University where she earned a master of science in biology.
Dr. Loftiss went on to earn her medical degree from Saba University School of Medic...
Renata Palasiewicz, DO, MBA
Immigrating with her family from Poland at age 5, Dr. Palasiewicz spent her formative years in the Chicagoland area, receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University Chicago. She spent the following four years working as a certified nursing assistant before completing her medical degree at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Osteopa...
Brady Russell, MD
Dr. Brady Russell completed medical school and internal medicine training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Since completion of training, he has worked as a hospitalist at NMMC for more than 20 years. During his tenure, he has served as chairman of the department of medicine, hospitalist medical director, chairman of the Best Practices Committee/Util...
Ryan Speights, MD
Dr. Speights is a lifelong native of Mississippi, growing up in Hattiesburg before attending college at the University of Mississippi and medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He remained at UMMC for internal medicine residency, finishing in 2017.
Since completing training, he has been a hospitalist for NMMC. His additional service...
Renee Walters, DO, MS
Dr. Walters was raised in New York City and received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Her desire to learn more about the social determinants of disease led her to complete a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. Medicine has piqued her curiosity since childhood, and she...
Outpatient Faculty
Haya Alghazo, MD
Dr. Alghazo earned her medical degree from Jordan University of Science and Technology and completed her internal medicine residency at Baptist Memorial Hospital North Mississippi.
Meghan Luter, MD
Dr. Luter is a native of north Mississippi and attended Mississippi State University for her undergraduate studies. She attended medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. She remained at UMMC for residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Following her residency training she completed one year of pediatric fellowship before ultimat...
Vernon Rayford, MD, PharmD
A native of Holly Springs, Dr. Rayford earned his doctoral degree from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. He completed a combined residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is a...
Administrative Staff
Dorie Crouch
Dorie Crouch serves as Residency Coordinator for the NMMC Internal Medicine Residency Program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Mississippi in 1994. She has worked with North Mississippi Health Services since 1996 in various roles throughout the organization, and transferred to the Internal Medicine Residency Program in 2019. She...
Claudia Holliday
Claudia Holliday serves in a dual role of Residency Coordinator/Office Manager for the NMMC Internal Medicine Residency Program. She graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor of professional accountancy in 1996, followed by a master of professional accountancy in 1997. She has been an employee of North Mississippi Health Services since 2007, working...
Brittany Noe
Brittany Noe serves as Residency Coordinator for the NMMC Internal Medicine Residency Program. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi in 2023, minoring in Communication Sciences & Disorders, Business Administration, and Psychology. Brittany has worked with North Mississippi Health Services in various roles, including payroll, education, an...
Pat Cummings, LCSW
Pat Cummings serves as the social worker for Internal Medicine Residency Clinic. She received her master’s degree in social work from Southern Seminary. Prior to joining IMRC, she worked for 28 years in mental health in a community mental health agency and in private social service organizations.
Elizabeth Holley, PharmD
Dr. Holley completed her bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences in 2019 and doctor of pharmacy degree in 2022 from the University of Mississippi. After graduation, she completed a PGY-1 residency at NMMC (2023). After residency, she joined the NMMC team as a PRN pharmacist and further transitioned to be the clinical pharmacist at the Internal Medicine Residency...
For more information about NMMC's Internal Medicine Residency Program, please contact Dorie Crouch, program coordinator.