Our mission and vision is to optimize the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and populations through collaborative research, training, and dissemination of knowledge. We aspire to: reduce burden of disease, increase opportunities for healthier living, and enhance the quality of life for all people.

The Division of Preventive Medicine is a research-oriented division of the UAB Department of Medicine.  It contributes to medicine and the health of the public through research and dissemination of knowledge, leading to improved health outcomes.  The development and training of new investigators is central to its mission.  From its inception in 1967, the Division of Preventive Medicine has played a key role in the many groundbreaking trials contributing to the knowledge of medical and health systems, behavioral aspects of disease, epidemiology, prevention, control, and disease outcomes. Special concern with health disparities and a desire to promote women’s health guide many Division activities.   

The overall structure of the Division includes its faculty, which are organized into four sections – Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Obesity, Cancer Prevention and Control, Addiction, Pain, Vulnerable Populations. We also have five crosscutting themes: Health Disparities and Health Equity, Community-Based/Behavioral, Biostatistics Methodologies and Dissemination and Implementation Science.  In addition to these faculty groups, there is a Research Clinic; a Weight and Wellness Research Unit; IT team and an Administrative Group that includes the Personnel Office, Business Office and administrative support personnel.  Also housed within the Division is a University-wide Center, the Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center (MHERC); and two UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Shared Facilities in the Division; 1) the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Facility and 2) the Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility (RRSF).  

      Current projects are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Veterans Administration (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), among others.  The division currently has 67 active awards for a total funding annual budget of $19.3M.