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I am very pleased to share with you the news that a leading figure in the field of precision medicine will join the School of Medicine in July. Matthew Might, Ph.D., a strategic leader appointed by former President Barack Obama to the White House Precision Medicine Initiative, has been named the inaugural director of the Hugh Kaul Personalized Medicine Institute at UAB. Dr. Might comes to us from

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Medicine as a field has always been one of continual evolution, a fact that has never been truer than it is today. The pace of biomedical discovery, the development of new technologies, and the accumulation of new knowledge increases exponentially year after year. Physicians and surgeons can spend a decade in training, but the critical necessity of learning doesn’t end with the completion of a

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Last year ended in a flurry of activity and so far in 2017 the pace shows no signs of slowing. On December 19, faculty, colleagues, and friends gathered for a retirement celebration to honor Dr. Robert Rich for his many years of service to UAB. He was dean of the School of Medicine from 2004 to 2010 and most recently served as associate vice president and associate provost of interprofessional education and

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If you follow the news, to say the past year has been a tumultuous one is an understatement. But when I consider the incredible faculty, staff, and leadership who daily commit their talents to helping the School of Medicine achieve its fullest measure of excellence, and when I talk with our medical students and experience their passion and enthusiasm, I am reminded of how much hope there is for

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Vickers BookcaseAs a recipient of a medical school scholarship myself, I can testify to the indelible impression such a gift leaves on a medical student. Not only does it relieve some of the heavy education debt burden most medical students graduate with today (averaging $190,000), it can also be a source of confidence for a young person to know that the donor believes in them and is rooting for their success. (This

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Vickers BookcaseUAB is currently engaged in the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic campaign in the university’s history. The Campaign for UAB has an ambitious $1 billion goal, and I am delighted to announce that the fiscal year that ended on September 30 was our most successful fundraising year to date. In fact, fiscal year 2016 was UAB’s third consecutive year of exceeding $100 million in

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VickersA mentor’s influence can echo throughout a physician’s career. My mentor, Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., was a native Alabama son, born in Montgomery, and a pioneer in both cardiac surgery and civil rights. Although denied admission to UASOM, he was the first African-American admitted to Vanderbilt School of Medicine, and for the four years until his graduation in 1970 he was the only student of color. He

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Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS

At this year’s White Coat Ceremony on August 14, Kevin Leon, M.D., R’02, associate dean for undergraduate medical education, delivered the keynote address. Dr. Leon talked about the many ways medical school will change the students and how much they will learn about themselves, calling medical school “a journey of self-discovery.”

He also spoke of the profound

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Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSThis month, I’d like to introduce you to the 2016 winners of the Dean’s Excellence Awards, who were honored at a reception on campus this week. This is a program I reinstituted last year to recognize exceptional contributions made by School of Medicine faculty in the areas of service, teaching, research, diversity enhancement, and mentorship. Eleven outstanding

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Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSLast month, hundreds of School of Medicine alumni gathered for the 43rd Annual Medical Alumni Weekend. Each year, the MAA does an outstanding job of providing opportunities for our graduates to connect with friends and colleagues, and to expand their knowledge with excellent CME programming, which this year focused on neurology and the neurosciences.

This year also saw

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Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS   

Residency profoundly shapes the kind of physicians that students will become. Other than the day they learn they have been accepted to medical school, Match Day is probably the most significant day in a medical student’s academic career. The Class of 2016 celebrated one of the most successful Match Days in our school’s history on Friday, March 18, with 99 percent of

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    Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FTeaching and learning at UAB aren’t limited to our students and trainees. Two recent programs on campus highlighted the key role UAB plays in helping experienced practitioners stay up to date.

On February 19 and 20, UAB hosted nearly 200 surgeons and administrators from hospitals in 26 states and several foreign countries for the 2016 Academic Session on...

Selwyn Vickers 7 LRSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSIn November 2015, second-year class president Corey Duke took to the podium at the School of Medicine’s Scholarship Dinner. He shared details of his journey to medical school, and the joy he felt the day he learned he had received the W. Hudson Turner, M.D., Endowed Medical Scholarship. Without that scholarship, Corey would not be here, following his dream to become a...

Vickers BookcaseFrom the introduction of new service learning resources for our medical students to major research grant awards and breakthroughs in patient care, 2015 was a banner year for the School, and I am proud of the hard work by our leadership, faculty, and staff that made our many successes possible. I invite you to click the link below for a glimpse of the many reasons we at the School of Medicine...

Vickers Bookcase
Talk to any of the 233 scholarship recipients at the School of Medicine, and they'll tell you that their scholarship has been critical in allowing them to pursue their dreams of a medical education. My own career might have been completely different if not for a 1,000-mile trip I took in the summer of 1982.

I had been accepted to medical school at Johns Hopkins and, having developed strong ties...

Vickers Bookcase2Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSOne of the most appealing aspects of a career in academic medicine is the opportunity to help shape future generations of health care leaders. Our faculty have committed countless hours to training our students to be skilled and compassionate physicians, and preparing them to adapt and excel in our ever-shifting health care landscape.

Created in 1996, the School of...

Vickers BookcaseSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSMedical school is one of the most significant crossroads in any physician’s life – it’s when many of us truly turn the corner into adulthood and begin to discover who we are as people. It’s also the most challenging experience that many medical students have faced up to that point in their lives. For those reasons and more, the relationships we forge in medical school...

Vickers at podiumSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSDonning the white coat for the first time is a potent symbol of a student’s entrance into the medical profession. Our annual White Coat Ceremony for entering students gives them the opportunity to celebrate that milestone with family and friends, and to take a moment to reflect on the commitment they are making to serve others.

At our White Coat Ceremony, held this...


Vickers BookcaseSelwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS           A gifted teacher touches the lives not only of his or her students, but of those who will someday benefit from what those students learn. Our alumni tell great stories about professors whose methods of instruction may have varied, but who shared a commitment to preparing highly skilled, intellectually curious, and deeply compassionate physicians.

      I am pleased to...

Vickers Bookcase2Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACSIn these weeks between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, I want to tell you about an aspect of commencement that is a source of particular pride to our School of Medicine.

In 2013, Laura B. Kezar, M.D., associate dean for students and a Navy veteran, created the Military Promotion Ceremony for SOM graduates who will enter military training programs. On the...