Dr. Dabney James was born in New Orleans where her father was in urology training, and moved to Chattanooga, her mother’s hometown, at age 3. She attended local schools and picked pre-med as her college major, and graduated from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences as an MD in 1976. Dr. James served her internship at City of Memphis Hospitals in 1977 and completed her residency at Emory University and Grady Hospital in Atlanta from 1978-80. In 1981, she started practicing in Chattanooga as a board certified internist. She joined the Diagnostic Center practice in 1999, which was subsequently acquired by HCA Healthcare. She has two grown sons living in Chattanooga, a daughter-in-law and young grandson with whom she spends family time, and also enjoys fitness, gardening, cooking, reading and fishing.