Beard Family Extends Legacy of Compassion and Care with Healthcare Communication Training Endowment
The Beard Family, longtime philanthropic partners of the UAB Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, has extended their legacy by establishing the Charles D. Beard Jr. Family Endowed Chair in Healthcare Communication. The endowment will support training that advances the understanding and practice of communication in the context of serious illness, a skill that Rodney Tucker, M.D., director of the Center for Palliative and Supportive Care, says is essential to becoming a true palliative care specialist. Thank you to the Beard Family for their continued support of UAB and its palliative care initiatives. We are grateful for your generosity.
Charles Beard Sr. with his wife Mary Sue Beard, 2005. Oil on canvas by Robert Siebold.
COERE Hosts 2025 Annual Methods Symposium
Last week, the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education hosted its 2025 Methods Symposium, focusing on modern data analytics in health services research. The event emphasized the benefits and real world applications of artificial intelligence in health care. Speakers included Drs. Danielle Bitterman, Matt Might, John Osborne, Sandra Safo, and Ryan Melvin. Young investigators Shan Chen and Kullen Sasse led an interactive session exploring how large language models retain and use information.
L to R: (top) Ryan Melvin, Ph.D., Danielle Bitterman, M.D., Shan Chen, Kullen Sasse, (bottom) Matt Might, Ph.D., Sandra Safo, Ph.D., & John Osborne, Ph.D.
Lee Named Director of the Division of Nephrology
Timmy Lee, M.D., MSPH, will become the next division director of the UAB Division of Nephrology, effective July 1. He will lead more than 180 staff, faculty, and trainees in providing patient care, training nephrologists and kidney scientists, and advancing discoveries to improve kidney health. Lee succeeds Orlando Gutiérrez, M.D., MMSc, who assumed several senior leadership roles in the Heersink School of Medicine last March. Congratulations, Dr. Lee, on your appointment.
UAB NTM Program Excels in Collaborative Care for Patients
Pulmonologist Bryan Garcia, M.D., in partnership with infectious diseases physician German Henostroza, M.D., has formed a multidisciplinary team of experts to provide individualized care, improve diagnosis, and enhance treatment outcomes for patients with Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease — a serious infection caused by bacteria that are commonly found in the environment.
Drs. Garcia and Henostroza (center) with members of the multidisciplinary NTM clinical team.
44 Interns Match to UAB IM Residency Program
On Friday, March 21, medical schools across the country celebrated 2025 Match Day. The Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program joined in the excitement by welcoming 44 interns to train here. The program matched 37 Categorical, 4 Med-Peds, 2 ABIM Research Pathway, and 1 Med-Genetics trainees from 21 medical schools. The new interns will join UAB this summer.
L to R: William Christopher Illiano, Jared Luke Ridgeway, Aly Nguyen, Salomon Alejandro Roman Soto, Tanvee Sinha, James Stallworth, Jr., Kameron Anderson Agerla, and Gnyata Patel