The NIH has awarded $34 million to the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). The award more than doubles the CCTS’ previous funding and is one of the largest at UAB. The grant includes funding for 10 annual pre-doctoral training awards, 10 summer training awards, and eight career development awards for senior postdoctoral fellows or faculty-level candidates. In addition, it will enable the CCTS will continue to build major capacities in training, clinical trial implementation, drug discovery, study design and methodology, informatics, pilot investigation, and clinical research services. Congratulations to UAB CCTS Director Robert Kimberly, MD, as well as other dedicated DOM faculty and staff, for their success in earning this important grant.

The 2015 Community Health Innovation Awards (CHIA) is an annual grant competition for organizations in the greater Birmingham area. CHIA supports out-of-the-box approaches to improve education, advance health care, promote safety, and strengthen our most valuable community asset—its people. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to local organizations whose innovative ideas address community health issues. All applicants are required to attend an Innovation Workshop on Saturday, September 19, 2015.

Ashita Tolwani, MD (Nephrology) recently led the 10th Annual Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) Academy at UAB. The two-day seminar and simulation course drew nephrologists, critical care physicians, fellows, nurses, and other providers from all across the United States for a hands-on learning experience managing patients with acute kidney injury.

G.M. Anantharamaiah, PhD (Gerontology, Geriatric and Palliative Care) has identified a novel analog of the Apo E mimetic peptide with a 400% greater cholesterol-lowering efficacy and a several-fold increase in drug tolerability in animal models. A U.S. patent is pending for its use as a therapeutic agent.

Tiffany L. Carson, PhD (Preventive Medicine) has received a 5-year National Cancer Institute KO1 award to study “The Interplay of Behavior, Environment, and Microbiota in Colorectal Cancer Risk.”

Stanford Massie, MD (General Internal Medicine) and colleagues have published “The Impact of Stigma and Personal Experiences on the Help-Seeking Behaviors of Medical Students With Burnout” in Academic Medicine (e-pub ahead of print). Their survey of students at six medical schools reveals that only one third of medical students with burnout seek help. Perceived stigma, negative personal experiences, and the hidden curriculum may contribute.

Do you know what RIME Week is all about? Click here to learn more about the 5th Annual “Research and Innovations in Medical Education” symposium coming to West Pavilion Conference Center on September 16-18, 2015.

Coming Next Week: Adetola Kassim, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Adult Sickle Cell Disease Program will present information on Sickle Cell Disease.


View this week's slides here.


Do you have Good News to share? If so, please email the Department of Medicine's Director of Communications, Carolyn Walsh.