Recipients of the second-ever Professional Excellence Award were announced this past Friday (2/4) after the annual Diversity Grand Rounds featuring Dr. George Mensah. 

To be nominated, faculty members must be a member of one of the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion's Faculty Associations (Hispanic and Latin American, Black/African American, and Asian-American/Pacific Islander) and demonstrate career excellence in the areas of research, teaching, and service. Priority is given to those faculty who emulate Minorities in Medicine & Science principles.

Winners get a prize of $500 each. 

This year, three people were selected for the award. 

 Winners include:

Dr. Danielle Powell
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Dr. Powell served as interim chair of PM&R when the COVID-19 pandemic began and provided leadership for the department to meet novel challenges in education and patient care.  She also led an effort to change our residency program from an advanced to a categorical residency program, which brings us one step closer to becoming one of the premier residency training sites in the nation.

Dr. Carlos Estrada
Department of Medicine

As director of the Division of General Internal Medicine (GIM), Dr. Estrada has built a welcome and inclusive environment that has grown the faculty who are URiM from <5% to nearly 15% today, and GIM was recently ranked among the top 3 GIM Divisions nationally.  He also has implemented programs to provide direct support for URiM faculty to lead recruitment efforts that have enhanced diversity in our residency program.

Dr. Daniel Chu
Department of Surgery

Dr. Chu is principal investigator of a K23 award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and multi-PI with Dr. Maria Pisu of a recent R01 award also from the NIMHD.  Additionally, he demonstrates a strong aptitude for teaching and mentoring as evidenced by receipt of the 2019 Medical Student Teaching Award for the UAB Department of Surgery and the 2016 Marshall M. Urist Junior Faculty Teacher of the Year.