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The UAB Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, in conjunction with the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, proudly announces the fifth cohort of pilot grant awardees.Four innovative projects have received pilot funding to encourage collaboration between UAB investigators and international partners, tackling critical global health challenges.

Since March 2022, UAB and McMaster University have advanced a shared vision to strengthen institutional collaboration across research, education and global health initiatives.

The 2025 AI and Technology in Global Health Symposium brought together an inspiring mix of global health leaders, researchers, clinicians, innovators, and students, all united by one goal: finding ways for AI and emerging technologies to help close the gaps that still exist in health around the globe.

As the current cycle of the NAF Heersink Family Charitable Foundation Scholarships wraps up, we’re proud to spotlight the journeys of this year’s two fellows: Cristian Ghergu from Maastricht University and Marcelo Malisano Barreto Filho from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The Cassell Family Bidirectional Training Program—empowered by the generous support of Ralph Cassell, Dr. Gail Cassell, and Dr.

The UAB Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health proudly announces the fourth cohort of pilot grant awardees. Three innovative projects have received pilot funding to encourage collaboration between UAB investigators and international partners, tackling critical global health challenges. Award recipients were notified on April 22. Congratulations to the 2025 selected teams!

Martina Gonzalez-Gomez, M.D., M.Sc., program manager for the Global Neurosurgery program in the Department of Neurosurgery, and James Johnston, M.D., professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery division, co-instruct the Global Surgery course.

This innovative program addresses global health initiatives and medical training in Peru with Partners in Health, known locally as Socios En Salud, in Lima, Peru.

Expressing a lifelong commitment to advancing global health, Gail H. Cassell, Ph.D., DSc (Hon.), and her family have generously donated $1 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Marnix E.

The UAB campus is rapidly being reimagined through numerous new construction and building renovation projects. These include projects that directly support the goals of UAB’s Forging Ahead strategic plan and Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose, which set a goal of increasing research expenditures to $1 billion, from $774.5 million in fiscal year 2023.

This partnership, an initiative of the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, represents a significant step toward enhancing the quality of medical education, research and health care delivery on an international scale.

The inaugural UAB Global Health Symposium was held September 28-29, bringing together a diverse group of health care workers from around the world to discuss equity in global health.

Students will have the opportunity to learn from experienced, diverse faculty with a range of international partners working in interdisciplinary, global health research and practice.

The UAB-led Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial has been named one of the New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) Notable Articles of 2022.