March 19, 2021

Dustin and Dana Hipp

Dustin Hipp photo essay on February 25, 2021. Photos by Donn Jones/Vanderbilt University Medical Center

By: Diana Duren

Members of the VUSM class of 2013

Dustin is an assistant professor of Pediatrics, critical care medicine, and Dana completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry.

They recently moved back to Nashville where they are raising their three daughters.

Photography by Donn Jones

After graduation, the Hipps moved to Houston, Texas, for residencies and fellowships. Dustin now works in the cardiac ICU at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Having moved back to Nashville in the middle of the pandemic, Dana has been a full-time mother and plans to join a practice this spring where she will see pediatric and adult patients.

One of Dana’s hobbies is playing the piano, which she enjoys sharing with her girls, along with arts and crafts and spending time exploring Nashville’s parks.

Dustin and Dana met during their first year of medical school, married the second year, and were expecting twins by their fourth year. One of the twins, Clara, passed away shortly after a premature birth. Their family includes Grace, 8, top right, Cecilia, 6, and Lucy, 1. “We certainly had many ups and downs, but we feel most grateful that we have had each other along the way,” Dana said.

“I’ve taken care of a lot of bone marrow transplant patients during my career and knew the significance of what a transplant means to a family,” said Dustin, who registered with bethematch.org as a medical student and became a donor in October 2020.

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