News

Former UAB basketball player Trey Jemison’s journey from college athlete to the NBA highlights the importance of eye safety, early detection and protective eyewear, guided by UAB Eye Care experts who helped him manage myopia and prevent sports‑related eye injuries.

Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health in the Heersink School of Medicine, has been selected for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans Fellowship program. Asif is the first UAB faculty member to be selected for this prestigious fellowship, which started in 2001.

Before Trey Jemison III reached the NBA Finals, his sports vision care journey began at UAB. Now becoming the first former UAB Blazer to appear on an NBA Finals roster, Jemison's story highlights the importance of eye safety, prevention and specialized care for all athletes.

For Chris Grijalba, D.O., an assistant professor in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine, lacrosse is about speed, skill, and opportunity. One of the fastest games on two feet, lacrosse rewards athletes of all shapes and sizes who bring effort and skill to the field.

At the May public meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Standing Committee on Primary Care, Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean of Primary Care and Rural Health, joined national leaders to spotlight the value of primary care research. 

For nearly two years, Mabry Smyer has been a friendly, trusted face in UAB’s Family Medicine Clinic at UAB Hospital-Highlands.

Department of Family and Community Medicine Assistant Professor Taylor Taylor, Ph.D., M.Ed., has been accepted into the latest cohort of the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) Leadership Academy. Through additional training, mentoring, and skills development, Leadership Academy scholars hope to drive advances in research, policy,...

From sports nutrition and cutting-edge rehabilitation tools to real-world strategies for concussion care, the 2026 Robert A.

UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine is extending its educational impact beyond Birmingham, serving as a clinical training resource for athletic training programs across Alabama through a growing series of invited lectures and hands-on labs.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has approved a new UAB Family Medicine Residency training program with tracks in Birmingham and Selma. This model allows UAB’s Birmingham campus to function as the main educational hub, with Selma serving as a core rural training site where residents will live, learn and provide hands-on patient care.

UAB has developed the nation’s first adaptive CPR and defibrillation training for athletes with disabilities, filling a critical gap in emergency preparedness through evidence-based guidance.

The UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center convened federal, state, academic, industry, and community leaders on April 15 for its inaugural symposium, bringing together different perspectives to advance community-engaged research efforts across Alabama and the Deep South.

The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is leveraging additional federal support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to expand and strengthen nutrition education for students in its cornerstone Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience (CU2RE) program. This builds on the department’s long-standing...

The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine Chair Irfan Asif, M.D. outlined a year of program growth and strategic investments, this week, as well as spotlighted faculty and staff achievements during his State of the Department address.

A rise in research funding within UAB’s Department of Family and Community Medicine highlights its expanding research impact.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine recognizes 11 employees and their dedicated service to UAB. 

Three UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine experts offer their advice on starting an exercise plan, preventing injury and knowing when to stop. 

UAB experts discuss the life cycle of the metabolism, ranging from before birth to older adulthood, and provide tips on metabolic health for a lifetime. 

For thousands of medical students, Match Day marks the culmination of four years of hard work—when hours of study turn into a career of hands-on service.

UAB Family and Community Medicine dietitians are fielding questions about the new food pyramid. Released in the latest set of nutrition guidelines, the new take on a 1992 classic has some Alabamians scratching their heads.

For nearly two years, Lauren Picken has been a steady presence in UAB’s Department of Family and Community Medicine—first caring for patients in the clinic, then supporting primary care research. This fall, she will take the next step in her journey when she leaves Birmingham to begin medical school. It is a path shaped not only by her work at UAB but by her own search for a diagnosis.

UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine has developed the nation’s first training video on how to perform CPR and defibrillation on athletes with disabilities. The video and accompanying tools are designed for medical professionals and others who provide sideline coverage for adaptive athletes, offering detailed guidance on performing CPR both in and out of a wheelchair.

Twenty-nine employees were selected for the 2026 cohort of the Developing Emerging Administrative Leaders program, which exposes promising staff members to the essential components of administrative and management positions across UAB. Meet the new class.

Katie Ellison, Ph.D., RDN, LDN, a postdoctoral scholar in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine, recently received the Science for Public Good Fund Award from the Union of Concerned Scientists on behalf of the Science Policy Advocacy Network (SPAN) at UAB, where she serves as treasurer.

Behind every successful study is a network of people willing to participate, share their experiences, and contribute to knowledge that can improve health outcomes. At the Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center, that critical connection between investigators and participants is supported by the Participant Access to Research Core (PARC).

In 2025, the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine launched a transformative redesign of the Family Medicine Clerkship leveraging overhauled content and modern delivery platforms. Now implemented across all four UAB Heersink School of Medicine campuses, the initiative ensures a unified educational experience for every student that is aligned with national best practices.

For many Americans, a new year means new fitness goals. Three UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine physicians offer their tips for starting an exercise routine, preventing injury and even knowing if you are working out too much.

The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine made an impact at this year’s Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Conference on Medical Student Education.

Fatigue, unexplained weight changes, and mood swings. These common complaints can have many causes, but one often-overlooked culprit is the thyroid. This small, butterfly-shaped gland in the lower front of the neck produces hormones that influence every cell, tissue and organ in the body, controlling metabolism, heart rate and how quickly the body processes everything from food to sugar.

UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine Assistant Professor Haoyang Yan, Ph.D., received the Borrelli Family Lynch Syndrome Research Award at the 2025 Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer Annual Meeting in recognition of her research to improve cascade testing.