In addition to the faculty listed below, we have a multitude of adjunct faculty at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus Internal Medicine Residency.
Gilbert-Roy Kamoga, M.D., MS-HQS, FACP
Program Director
Dr. Kamoga joined the Department of Medicine in 2024 as an associate professor and brings more than a decade of experience in medical education. He previously served as an internal medicine program director at White River Health in Batesville, AR, and has held roles as core faculty, associate program director, program director, and clerkship director. He has been elected and will serve as Arkansas ACP Governor for the term of 2027-2030.
Dr. Kamoga earned his medical degree from Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Mbarara, Uganda, before completing his residency at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. He has practiced both as a hospitalist and an outpatient internist, and has contributed to statewide leadership through the Arkansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP). His scholarship includes presentations at regional and national conferences.
Kristen Brandon, M.D., FACP, FAAP
Associate Program Director
Dr. Brandon joined the UAMS College of Medicine Northwest Internal Medicine Residency Program in 2023 and serves as Associate Program Director. She is passionate about resident education, mentorship, and developing the next generation of physicians while continuing to care for hospitalized patients. Her clinical interests include inpatient medicine and palliative and end-of-life care.
Dr. Brandon earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Spanish from Baylor University before receiving her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). She completed her combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at UAMS and served as PGY-5 Chief Resident at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She then practiced hospital medicine in rural Arkansas for nine years before joining the residency faculty.
Dr. Brandon has been recognized for her dedication to compassionate patient care and medical education through honors including the Mercy Charism Award, Resident Teaching Awards, the Red Apple Award, and the NYIT Preceptor of the Year Award.
Dr. Brandon is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Brandon enjoys spending time with her husband, their two daughters, and their dog, Scout. As a family, they enjoy hiking, fishing, camping, and cheering on the Razorbacks.
Robert W. Donnell, M.D.
Core Faculty at Mercy Hospital Rogers
Dr. Donnell is a hospitalist at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, Arkansas, and a core faculty of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus Internal Medicine Residency. He received his medical degree at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. He then completed his residency at St. Louis University in Missouri. He has served on numerous hospital committees including facility medical informatics, infection control, pharmacy and therapeutics, and antibiotic stewardship. He also published more than a dozen articles on Medscape, a web-based resource for physicians and healthcare professionals.
Amanda L. Ruscin, M.D.
Core Faculty at Mercy Hospital Rogers
Dr. Ruscin is a hospitalist at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, Arkansas, and a core faculty of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus Internal Medicine Residency. She received her medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She then completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. She joined the staff of Mercy Medical Center in February 2019 and served as adjunct faculty for the UAMS/Mercy Internal Medicine residency from October 2019 until joining the core faculty in November 2022. Dr. Ruscin is the Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine at Alice Walton School of Medicine
Dr. Ruscin is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in Internal Medicine.
Dr. Donnell has been a member of Society of Hospital Medicine, American Medical Association, Southern Medical Association, and Arkansas Medical Society. He is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in Internal Medicine.
Christopher Eckman, D.O., FACP
Core Faculty at Mercy Hospital Rogers
Dr. Eckman is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor with the UAMS College of Medicine – Northwest Internal Medicine Residency Program and a hospitalist at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. He serves as Chair of the program’s Clinical Competency Committee and is actively involved in resident education, mentorship, and clinical teaching.
Dr. Eckman earned his medical degree from the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Prisma Health Upstate/University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, where he subsequently served as Chief Resident. His professional interests include hospital medicine, evidence-based medicine, point-of-care ultrasound, quality and safety, and medical education. He is also Assistant Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine at Alice Walton School of Medicine.
In his free time, Dr. Eckman enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, traveling, exploring new foods, and cheering on the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Glenda M. Patterson, M.D., FCCP
Core Faculty UAMS
Dr. Patterson is a staff physician with the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks and a core faculty of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus Internal Medicine Residency. She received her medical degree at Emory University in Georgia. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. She completed a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a heart/lung and lung transplant medicine fellowship at Stanford University in California. She has held academic appointments at the University of South Florida, University of Mississippi, and Morehouse School of Medicine.
Dr. Patterson has served as the director of the pulmonary rehabilitation program and adult cystic fibrosis program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She served on the committees of the American Thoracic Society including the clinic practice committee, postgraduate education committee, and task force on women’s issues. Among her various professional activities, she served on the ventilator management committee at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks and institutional biosafety committee at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Patterson helps teach Simulation and Point of Care Ultrasound within the residency program. She has completed a POCUS fellowship through the Global Ultrasound Institute.
Dr. Patterson is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the American Thoracic Society and International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. She is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine.
Larry D. Wright, M.D., FACP, AGSF
Core Faculty
Dr. Wright is an associate professor in the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He completed his internal medicine residency at St. Louis University and his geriatric medicine fellowship at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. He was in a community-based practice with Rogers Diagnostic Clinic in Rogers, Arkansas, for ten years before joining the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics. He also serves as a staff physician at the Butterfield Trail Village retirement community.
Dr. Wright was the founding director of the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education. His was the principle investigator in several research projects funded by the Schmieding Center, Reynolds Foundation, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Awards. His scholarly activities have resulted in publications in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and other academic journals and national magazines. He has extensive community involvement and served on the board of directors for organizations in this area including the Northwest Health System. During his tenure at UAMS, he was awarded the Red Sash Award for outstanding clinical teaching by the fourth-year medical students in 2014.
Dr. Wright is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American Geriatric Society. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He is also a certified hospice medical director.