Paul R. Cunningham

Paul Raymond Goldwyn Cunningham (born 1949) is a Jamaican American surgeon and medical educator known for pioneering as one of the few African American medical Deans existing in the United States. Their number becomes even smaller when only considering non-minority Med schools. Cunningham was appointed Dean of The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 2008. (Greenville, North Carolina), where he became a tenured Professor of Surgery in 1989. He graduated as an MD from the University of the West Indies in 1972, and further specialized in surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital and Medical Center (Manhattan). In 2016 he was honored Dean Emeritus after serving Brody School of Medicine for 29 years, eight as dean. He is a current member of the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.

Biography Dean Paul Cunningham was born on July 28, 1949, in Mandeville, Jamaica, the son of Winston P Cunningham and Sylvia F Marsh. He grew up in Jamaica, where his grandfather was a veterinarian. in 1966. He is married to Sydney Keniston and has two biological children (Rachel Cunningham Filler and Lucinda Cunningham Lathan) and two children by marriage (Shawn Thornton and Tifanie Thornton Kingston).

Career After medical graduation in Jamaica in 1972, Cunningham completed his residency in Surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1979, and also worked as a surgeon at Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital and City Hospital at Elmhurst, all in New York City. Moving his practice to NC in 1981, he became vice-chief of medical staff at Bertie Memorial Hospital, where he began teaching ECU medical students. Cunningham joined the ECU faculty full time in 1984, became medical director of trauma the following year, and chief medical staff at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in 1991. For six years (2002–2008) Cunningham became Professor & Chair at the Department of Surgery of SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York. He returned to Greenville NC in 2008 to become Dean of The Brody School of Medicine and Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs of East Carolina University, positions he presently holds.

When announcing his appointment as a Dean, ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard is quoted to have said: Member and past president of North Carolina Medical Review Board. Member and past President of the North Carolina Medical Society. Member of the Board of Directors at ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.

Honors Cunningham has received awards such as: In 2013, the Presidential Award from the National Medical Association for his continued dedication to medical education. In 2016, he was named Dean Emeritus at East Carolina University. In 2018, the Jacobi Medallion from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Memberships Dean Cunningham has held numerous professional representations and memberships at different levels in the US. A list of current memberships includes: American Medical Association, 1979 National Medical Association, 1983 Association for Academic Surgery, 1985 American College of Surgeons, 1986 American Council on Transplantation, 1986 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, 1986 Pan American Trauma Society, 1988 The Society of Critical Care Medicine, 1989 The Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 1989 Academy of Surgical Research, 1989 Association for Surgical Education, 1990

Research Topics covered by Cunningham´s research articles include: Management of vascular trauma Clinical and experimental gastric bypass surgery Allografts and organ transplantation