Adrian Billings

Adrian Billings, MD, PhD, serves as Associate Academic Dean for Rural and Community Engagement and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-Permian Basin. He is also a Senior Fellow at the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health and Adjunct Faculty in the School of Public Health, focusing on border health equity and workforce development.

Dr. Billings earned a BS from Texas A&M University (1993), PhD in Experimental Pathology (1998), and MD (2003) from UT Medical Branch. His training includes a CDC postdoctoral fellowship in virology (1999), family medicine residency as chief resident (2006), and surgical obstetrics fellowship (2007).

His research centers on healthcare workforce development in medically underserved rural and border regions, addressing critical gaps in maternity care access, provider recruitment pipelines, and binational health systems. He investigates structural barriers to rural healthcare delivery and evaluates policy interventions like the National Health Service Corps.

Recent publications reveal a sustained focus on rural health equity, with 2024-2025 works emphasizing community-driven solutions for healthcare droughts and rural-urban maternity care disparities. Earlier research spans clinical case reports in family medicine and foundational virology studies on hantavirus and rickettsial diseases, demonstrating exceptional range from bench science to health policy.

Dr. Billings' scientific recognition includes:

• Texas Super Doctors (2024, 2025)
• Student's Choice for Outstanding Community Faculty Award (2025)
• Gold Humanism Honor Society (2024)
• National Exemplary Teaching Awards (2015, 2016)

As a dedicated educator, he precepts medical students through the Texas Statewide Family Medicine Preceptorship Program and directs rural pipeline initiatives. His $8.1M grant portfolio includes HRSA-funded programs: Confianza Hispanic Medicine Enrichment ($3.4M), Campus Connect ($2.6M), and Behavioral Health Workforce Training ($1.92M), alongside community partnerships for rural student housing and summer camps.

Dr. Billings co-leads the Presidio-Ojinaga Binational Health Council, fostering US-Mexico collaboration on border health issues, and serves on boards for the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved and Texas Academy of Family Physicians to advance rural healthcare policy.