Penny Lynn Sappington graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biological Sciences from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1989.  She received her Medical Degree from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in 1994.  From 1994 through 1997 she completed a three-year residency in Internal Medicine at Howard University in Washington, DC.  Subsequently, she completed a two-year fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC (1997-1999), and this was followed by a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medial Center (1999-2000).  Dr. Sappington joined the Critical Care Medicine faculty in July 2000 as an Assistant Professor with appointment in Critical Care Medicine. 

She is currently an Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine in the recently created Department of Critical Care Medicine.  Dr. Sappington has been certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (1997), and has received certificates of added qualifications in Infectious Diseases (1999) and Critical Care Medicine (2000).  Dr. Sappington received a patent in 2002 for Ethyl Pyruvate is an anti-inflammatory agent.