Embarking on the graduate school journey can be a challenging experience, but it helps if you understand the major players involved in that experience. This new series, "Link to Leadership," features Q&As with UAB's Graduate School leaders and an opportunity for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to get to know these leaders on a deeper level.

The Graduate Student Government (GSG) is an organization designed to promote and protect the interest of all graduate students, to provide a forum to express graduate student concerns on academic and nonacademic issues and to enhance the quality of education and research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The UAB Graduate School will hold its Graduate Program Summer Recruitment Fair on Friday, July 6. Event attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about UAB's 55 masters and 40 doctoral programs and ask questions of program representatives. There will also be some fun giveaways.

The Spring 2018 UAB Doctoral Hooding Ceremony and Master's Student Commencement was held April 27 at the Bartow Arena. During the spring, 778 degrees were conferred, including 90 certificates, 607 masters/ EdS degrees, and 81 doctoral degrees. The Graduate School would like to congratulate all of the Spring 2018 graduates!

As far back as Samir Rana can remember he had been told stories of his ancestors and their work with herbal medicine.

For Rana’s family, medicine was more than just a means to an end. It was in their blood. His father and aunt worked in public health, and one uncle was a nurse, while another was a doctor. It was believed that Rana would also follow in the family’s footsteps and pursue a medical degree.

A mentor is not just an educator. A mentor is a person who inspires and motivates. A mentor is committed to excellence.

The UAB Graduate Dean's Excellence in Mentorship Award recognizes full-time regular UAB faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments as mentors of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows.

Hisham Abdelmotilib had always considered himself a consumer of knowledge. His thirst for discovery became even more apparent when he became a physician and he realized that knowledge could be used to change the health outcomes of his patients.

It all began with Ms. Sue.

Ms. Sue wasn’t famous, and she probably never set any world records. She didn’t have that exhilarating career that children typically dream of having. But for one young Vietnamese girl, a chance meeting with the kind nurse practitioner who worked at a small health clinic set her down a path that would shape the rest of her life.

The UAB Graduate School hosted its Fall 2017 Doctoral Hooding Saturday, December 16 at the Alys Stephens Center. During the fall 746 degrees were conferred, including 36 certificates, 584 masters/ EdS degrees, and 126 doctoral degrees.

Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine ...”.

These five words have been the foundation of one doctoral student’s research endeavors.

“Hippocrates didn’t just mean to eat, drink and be merry. He literally meant to let food be your medicine,” said 26-year-old Kendra Royston, a fifth-year Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant in biology. “Researchers are finding that what you eat and what is readily available in nature not only tastes good, but it also helps combat certain diseases. God says that what we need is in the land, so if we have a big laundry list of foods that are available to eat and we know they are beneficial, why aren’t we eating them?”

UAB Graduate School hosted its 2017 3 Minute Thesis competition Oct. 5 at the Hill Student Center Alumni Theater. There were nine finalists in both the Master's and Doctoral competitions. After much deliberation, the judges selected the top three competitors for the Master's and the top two for the Doctoral. The third place, or People's Choice, was chosen by the audience.

UAB Graduate School hosted its 2017 3 Minute Thesis preliminary competition September 26 in the Shelby Building. Student participants were divided into 7 sessions over the day, and winners were selected from a panel of judges from across campus. Below are the session winners. These winners will move forward to the semifinals which will take place Thursday October 5, 2017 in the Hill Student Center at 10 a.m.