"B. I understand that Dr. Elliott earned <span>his M.D. at Columbia University" has correct punctuation since these are all proper titles, although it's not uncommon to see "MD" without periods. </span>
Adverbs often act like adjectives and they often come before a verb, so for example, this sentence: She <u>beautifully</u> walked down the aisle. Beautifully is the adverb.