The 2025 UT President’s Award winners from UT Health Science Center are Judith Nyabando, left, and Dr. Natascha Thompson.Two outstanding employees from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center are among the 17 winners of the 2025 UT President’s Awards announced this week by UT System President Randy Boyd during the annual UT Board of Trustees meeting in Chattanooga.
The honorees from UT Health Science Center are Judith Nyabando, chief data officer and director of the Office of Institutional Research, and Natascha Thompson, MD, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and associate professor of internal medicine in the College of Medicine.
The awards are presented in seven categories based on the UT System’s Be One UT values – Bold and Impactful, Embrace Diversity, Optimistic and Visionary, Nimble and Innovative, Excel in All We Do, United and Connected, and Transparent and Trusted. Each category has a faculty honoree and a staff honoree selected from across the UT System from nominations by campus and institute leaders.
“These awards celebrate the dedication and remarkable work of our faculty and staff throughout the state,” President Boyd said. “Their contributions create a better University of Tennessee and also impact the state and far beyond. Each play an important role as we continue building the greatest decade in UT history.”
The President’s Awards are the highest honor given by the UT System to employees. Winners receive a plaque and $3,000. They will be honored by the president and his Be One UT cabinet during a special luncheon in August.
Judith Nyabando: Nimble and Innovative
Nyabando was honored with a staff award in the Nimble and Innovative category for her leadership, which continues to drive innovation and efficiency across academic and administrative processes.
Nyabando serves as chief data officer at UT Health Science Center and director in the Office of Institutional Research. She leads strategic efforts in institutional reporting, analytics, and data governance while fostering a team known for its responsiveness, technical expertise, and stakeholder focus.
“Judith has taken her role as our first-ever chief data officer by storm,” Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, said. “She has a particular aptitude for combining innovation and meticulous attention to detail and is a great team player.”
Recognized as a solutions-driven leader, Nyabando embraces curiosity and adaptability in her approach to institutional research. She has led several transformative initiatives, including converting the academic bulletin from a static PDF to a dynamic, web-based format and implementing Digital Measures, a faculty activity system that streamlined annual reviews and enhanced transparency through online profiles.
Dr. Natascha Thompson: Transparent and Trusted
Dr. Thompson, the Transparent and Trusted faculty honoree, has been dedicated to graduate medical education (GME) since joining the UT Health Science Center faculty in 2003. She initially served as program director for the internal medicine-pediatrics (Med-Peds) residency program and associate program director for the internal medicine residency program. She is credited with growing the Med-Peds program into one of the largest in the nation.
After 14 years in that role, Dr. Thompson was appointed associate dean for GME in 2019, a position she continues to hold. In this role, she oversees the education of residents and fellows and manages accreditation for more than 70 College of Medicine sponsored programs accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
“Natascha is a remarkable leader, a role model to all our resident trainees both in her clinical practice and her faculty activities, and also a role model to all of us for her professionalism in representing our training among all our vital hospital and community partners,” Chancellor Buckley said.
As a voice for physician trainees, Dr. Thompson has served on the board of the Tennessee Medical Foundation since 2021, supporting health care professionals impacted by addiction or mental illness. Nationally, she contributes to GME through her work on the Education Subcommittee of the National Association of Designated Institutional Officials.
Dr. Thompson maintains a clinical practice at University Clinical Health/UT Internal Medicine’s Baptist Medical Group and contributes to national clinical standards as a panelist for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis.
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