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State of the School

Message from the Dean

As I reflect on 2024, the word that springs to mind most readily is momentum. The past decade saw tremendous transformation for our school, and 2024 was a year of building on our strengths and cementing our role as an engine for progress in Alabama.

We continued to make impressive strides in biomedical research, and our growing reputation was recognized in February when National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., delivered the Department of Surgery’s annual Kirby I. Bland, M.D., Endowed Lecture. In addition to presenting a fascinating lecture, Bertagnolli met with medical students, residents, and clinician-scientists to share her insights and learn more about our dynamic research enterprise.

The future of our patient care mission was strengthened when the UAB Health System assumed ownership of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System in central Alabama. This is a transformational opportunity to combine and optimize our collective strengths to fortify the health care landscape in Alabama for generations to come.

Our medical education mission has seen important advances, including increasing the size of the incoming class of medical students, and beginning construction on a new atrium at Volker Hall, our campus’ medical education hub.

Community engagement continues to be a key priority, and our valued partners are a crucial element of our success. You will learn more about these innovative partnerships and the good they bring about in this Annual Report.

I am immensely proud to share some of the myriad ways our school impacts the people of our city, state, and beyond. As I look to the year ahead, I am confident our momentum will propel us to new heights of excellence.



Agarwal HeadshotAnupam Agarwal, M.D.
Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean
James C. Lee Jr. Endowed Chair
UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine

Read the Annual Report 

Read about the people and programs powering science and medicine at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. 

View the interactive report Download PDF

Featured Stories


Building the Future

Building the Future

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. Several projects also advance the Heersink School of Medicine’s strategic goals across its mission pillars in clinical care, medical education, and biomedical research. 

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Advancing Care for Alabama

Advancing Care for Alabama

After thorough study and due diligence, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved an agreement with Ascension for UAB Health System Authority to assume ownership of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System in central Alabama to sustain patients’ access to the highest quality care in Birmingham and surrounding communities.

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Expanding Access

Expanding Access

UAB Medical West, an affiliate of the UAB Health System, became fully operational to serve West Jefferson County in early August. A ribbon-cutting July 11 began the transition from the former hospital location, where UAB Medical West has been since 1964, to the new state-of-the-art, full-service hospital.

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AI in Medicine Training Programs

AI in Medicine Training Programs

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping medicine, and one of the many ways the Heersink School of Medicine has responded is by developing new training programs, including an AI in Medicine Graduate Certificate and an AI in Medicine Master of Science (M.S.) degree, that prepare trainees for new opportunities in health care technology and innovation. Both programs are established collaboratively with the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation.

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CCTS Awarded $82 Million

CCTS Awarded $82 Million

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded four grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, part of the National Institutes of Health, totaling $82 million over seven years.

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LHSA Expands Beyond Birmingham

LHSA Expands Beyond Birmingham

Live HealthSmart Alabama, an initiative of the University of Alabama at Birmingham to improve the health of all Alabamians, is beginning to expand its programs and services beyond Birmingham and into central Alabama, thanks in part to a recent $2.47 million gift from Novo Nordisk Inc.

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