Jessica Lilley, M.D.
Jessica was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and grew up in the nearby small town of Belmont. She decided to become a pediatric endocrinologist as a teenager after two of her cousins (now Vanderbilt patients) were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Another close family member was successfully treated with growth hormone following growth failure resulting from treatment for leukemia. She majored in biochemistry and molecular biology at Mississippi State University and graduated summa cum laude. She first came to Vanderbilt as a medical student, where she was an Amos Christie Scholar. Jessica then moved to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for pediatrics residency and at graduation was honored with the Humanitarian Award by her fellow housestaff and faculty based on her devotion to her patients. She is very excited to return home to Vanderbilt for fellowship. Based on her family experiences, she is interested in studying the prevention and treatment of endocrine late effects of chemotherapy.

Yaa Kumah-Crystal, M.D.
Yaa was raised in Baltimore, Maryland and attended college at Johns Hopkins University. She came to Nashville to attend medical school at Vanderbilt in 2003, then stayed on for her pediatric residency at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Yaa is now pleased to be doing a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Vanderbilt as well. Yaa acquired an interest in Type 1 diabetes when her childhood friend, and now her husband, developed diabetes in high school. She hopes to combine an interest in disease management of diabetes mellitus type 1 with her interest in bioinformatics to develop tools and techniques to improve patient compliance and outcomes in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Yaa is excited to be working with a wonderful and caring group of individuals, and to be mentored by the best.

Justin Gregory, M.D.
Justin was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he developed a strong love for the people and culture of his state. He attended the U.S. Air Force Academy with the dream of becoming an F-15 fighter pilot. At the end of his second year there, however, he developed Type 1 diabetes, ending his Air Force career, but sparking a life-long interest in caring for individuals dealing with the same medical condition. He transferred to the University of Tennessee where he graduated magna cum laude in mechanical engineering. He then moved across the state to Memphis, where he attended medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. After medical school, he stayed in Memphis to complete pediatrics residency at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. He is thrilled to be working in Nashville at Vanderbilt as a fellow in pediatric endocrinology. His research interests include exercised-induced hypoglycemia and the development of the artificial pancreas.