Improving Outcomes One Patient at a Time
We conduct high-impact primary care research that is patient- and community-centered, including work that enhances health promotion, improves care for chronic diseases and advances health care delivery. It is our hope that we can provide better patient experiences and superior outcomes, while also improving provider well-being and support and decreasing health care costs.
We are working to implement these goals by engaging learners, residents, fellows and clinical faculty, as well as key institutes, centers, departments and organizations at UAB and beyond. As a department we are continuously developing programs, resources, mentorship opportunities and incentives to support research, scholarship and quality improvement (QI). Another key area of focus is ensuring that we prioritize resources to support the Alabama Practice-Based Research Network (APRBN) and community practices.
Our research staff consists of primary care physicians, clinical and behavioral psychologists, clinical dietitians, nutritional scientists and research and data scientists. Currently, several of our research studies address diabetes and cardiovascular disease, hypertension, weight management, HIV and lifestyle behavior interventions.
Featured Research Projects
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Behavioral Physical Activity Intervention with Peer Support for Women with HIV and Co-Occurring Hypertension
In 2021, Kaylee B. Crockett, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and assistant professor, received a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development (K23) award from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute for research focused on adapting a behavioral physical activity intervention with peer support for women with HIV and co-occurring hypertension.
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Exercise is Medicine
The Exercise is Medicine program, a partnership between the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Birmingham YMCA, offers patients a free two-month membership at the YMCA, along with support from UAB providers, to support their health goals. It is part of the UAB Grand Challenge, which supports projects tackling large, complex health problems in Alabama.
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Plant-Based Dietary Intervention in Primary Care
In April 2022, Ksenia Blinnikova, M.D., assistant professor, received a UAB Faculty Development Grant with seed funding to implement a two-week jumpstart intervention to educate participants on low-cost, plant-based healthy dietary modifications for sustained health benefits.
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Gamified Optimized Diabetes Management With Artificial Intelligence-Powered Rural Telehealth (GODART)
Vice Chair for Research Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., and Mohanraj Thirumalai, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration, were awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to employ Telehealth technologies to combat diabetes in rural, underserved areas.
Vice Chair for Research
