The department employs leading faculty, residents, fellows, and staff. The department offers graduate and post-graduate education for students. The department is divided into seven divisions based on subspecialties. Ranking consistently among the top in funding from the NIH, the department’s key research areas include free radical biology, inflammatory diseases, acute lung injury, cardio protective effects of alcohol, and mechanisms and treatment of pain.

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Department Chair: Dan Berkowitz, MBBCh

The department offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional education to students and trainees. Ranking consistently among the top in research and training, the faculty receives millions per year in extramural grants. Key research areas include cancer biology, chromatin, and epigenetic signaling, metabolism, and signaling, regulation of gene expression, structural biology, DNA synthesis and repair, and disease mechanisms.

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Department Chair: David Bedwell, PhD

The department is jointly affiliated with the Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, fostering the highest levels of research while offering a world-class education. The department offers bachelors, fifth-year, two-year masters, and doctoral degree programs. It ranked fourth nationally in research funding from the NIH. Key research areas include biomedical imaging, implants and devices, cardiac electrophysiology, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

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Department Chair: Jay Zhang, MD, PhD

The department is a nationally ranked basic science department within the prestigious Heersink School of Medicine. Currently, the faculty members direct five robust and diverse research programs. Educational programs for students include undergraduate, graduate, professional, and postdoctoral degrees. The research funding received by the department is robust; key research areas include cell and developmental biology, cancer biology, exercise physiology, immunology, cartilage and bone biology, regenerative medicine, and neurosciences.

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Department Chair: Bradley Yoder, PhD

The department is committed to providing comprehensive dermatological services through high-quality patient care, innovative basic science, clinical research, and comprehensive education. Currently, the department provides comprehensive training programs for medical students, residents, and fellows interested in cutaneous biology or skin disease. Faculty members are also actively engaged in NIH-funded research. Key research programs are immune-dermatology, vaccine development, allergic contact hypersensitivity, photo immunology as well as chemoprevention. 

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Department Chair: Boni Elewski, MD

The department excels in patient care, teaching, and research. Currently, it offers a residency program, along with multiple fellowships and a medical student clerkship. The primary responsibility of the department is the provision of patient care in emergency departments at UAB Hospital, UAB Hospital-Highlands, and the Freestanding Emergency Department in Gardendale. The department maintains an active NIH-funded clinical research program focused on acute resuscitation and systems of emergency care delivery.

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Department Chair: Marie-Carmelle Elie, MD

The department is a recognized leader in the fields of clinical care, premedical education, practice-based research, and student health services. The department provides education programs and curricula for medical students including residencies, fellowships, and preceptorships. It also coordinates practice-based research on a local, regional and national scale. Key research areas include health disparities and chronic disease, lifestyle medicine, women’s health, mental health, and brain health.

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Department Chair: Irfan Asif, MD

The department is committed to genetics and genomics research, education, and clinical care. The faculty focuses on performing laboratory and clinical research, providing consultation services, and offering state-of-the-art genetic diagnostic testing. The department offers undergraduate, graduate, and clinical training, and seminars for students. The key research focus is along the continuum from fundamental studies to preclinical investigations, to bench-to-bedside translation, to clinical practice and community implementation.

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Department Chair: Anindya Dutta, MD, PhD

The department oversees the academic and training mission of the school: to educate physicians and scientists in all the disciplines of medicine and biomedical investigation for careers in practice, teaching, and research. The faculty’s research has been published in renowned national and international journals. Key research areas are trainee wellbeing, methods for trainee enrichment, grading validity, and reliability, educator development, best practices in admissions and enrollment management, predicting trainee performance, and improving clinical skills.

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Department Chair: Craig Hoesley, MD

The department is driving medical education, accelerating discovery, and delivering competent and compassionate patient care. It offers clerkships, residencies, fellowships, and professional development for students. The department ranks #17 in the nation in NIH research and has award-winning scientific discovery programs. Research focuses range from whether pig kidneys can alleviate the transplant shortage to how to encourage healthy lifestyles in disadvantaged communities. 

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Department Chair: Seth Landefeld, MD

The department is home to a highly collaborative research community committed to excellence in research, service, and teaching. Its faculty participate in teaching classes to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students and serve in leadership roles in the undergraduate Immunology Program. The department ranks #8 in NIH funding and is amongst the best microbiology departments in the country. Key research areas include microbial pathogenesis, immunology, virology, structural biology, and cancer.

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Interim Department Chair: Carlos Orihuela, PhD

The department is committed to impacting fundamental neuroscience research nationally and internationally. The faculty teach graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and train them in advanced research techniques and the neurobiology of disease. Key research focuses include Alzheimer's disease, brain/spinal cord injury, epigenetics, epilepsy, glial biology, neurotransmission, non-coding RNAs, normal learning and memory, neurodevelopmental disorders with intellectual disabilities, Parkinson's disease, and perceptual disorders.

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Department Chair: Craig Powell, MD, PhD

The department is home to eight comprehensive divisions and seven centers. The faculty offer residences and fellowships to train students in balancing clinical duties, time for study, and research activities. The department’s experienced neurologists offer patients advanced neurological care. Key research topics include cerebrovascular ultrasound as well as neuroimaging and neuro-interventional procedures, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, and brain tumors.

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Department Chair: David Standaert, MD, PhD

The department is committed to innovative scientific research and compassionate neurosurgical care. The faculty teach and train medical students, residents, fellows, and doctoral and postdoctoral fellows. The department’s neurosurgeons provide treatment for brain tumors, neurovascular conditions, spinal disorders, functional disorders, and pediatric conditions. The goal of robust research is to translate discoveries into new potential treatment options for patients.

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Department Chair: Jim Markert, MD, MPH

The department consists of nationally ranked programs in the southeast. The faculty teaches and trains clerks, residents, and fellows. The department offers its patients access to cutting-edge clinical trials and the latest advances in female reproductive healthcare. The research focuses on the reproductive health and survival of all women, predominantly minority and under-served women and offspring, and their families.

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Department Chair: Warner Huh, MD

The department consists of an interdisciplinary group of faculty focused on innovative research, quality education, and compassionate patient care. The faculty provide comprehensive training programs for medical students, residents, and fellows. The department’s ophthalmology specialists offer patients advanced vision care. The department has robust funding for research advancement. The key research focus is helping to reverse and prevent blinding diseases.

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Interim Department Chair: Brian Samuels, MD, PhD

The department is dedicated to maintaining excellence in clinical care, education, and research. The department’s training programs include programs for students, residents, and fellows. The faculty are nationally recognized and focus on developing the future leaders of orthopaedics. The research involves strong collaborations with investigators in rheumatology, pathology, microbiology, and biomedical engineering. Key research topics are the discovery of new drugs, laboratory testing in cells, biomechanical testing, cadaver studies, and the use of animal models.

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Department Chair: Steven Theiss, MD

The department stands proudly among the nation's leaders in the field. It provides advanced care across the spectrum of head and neck disorders with surgeons practicing in six areas of specialty. The faculty teaches and trains medical students, residents, and fellows. Key research areas are head and neck oncology therapies, including optical imaging, mucosal disorders and treatment, molecular imaging, and the development and clinical translation of novel imaging agents.

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Interim Department Chair: Bradford "Brad" Woodworth, MD

The department advances pathology through clinical and translational research and shapes the future of treatment through precision medicine. Faculty in this department train graduate students, residents, and fellows to ensure their success as leaders in the field. Key research areas include fundamental mechanisms of disease to the identification of biomarkers and the development of novel therapeutics using innovative pre-clinical animal models of disease, analytical techniques, and bioinformatics and genomics.

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Department Chair: George Netto, MD

The department is dedicated to improving the health of children; discovering and applying important new knowledge to improve the outcomes for pediatric disorders. The faculty educates patients, families, and health care providers to become future leaders in children’s health. Ranking among the top 20 departments of pediatrics in the country in NIH funding, the research focuses on neonatology, infectious diseases, and rare diseases.

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Department Chair: Mitch Cohen, MD

The department spans basic mechanisms of drug discovery, action, metabolism, and distribution, along with studies of the therapeutic or adverse effects of chemicals/drugs on biological systems. The department’s faculty train students, fellows, and post-docs in the lab, workshops, and classrooms. Key research goals are identifying new drug targets and biological pathways for human disease, developing repurposed therapeutics, determining the mechanisms of drug distribution, and developing quantitative clinical pharmacology capabilities.

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Department Chair: Mary-Ann Bjornsti, PhD

The department enhances and restores functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. The faculty trains residents, fellows, and interns interested in rehabilitation medicine. With millions in funding, the department’s research focuses on rehabilitation medicine, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury. The department’s rehab specialists also help patients achieve their goals by emphasizing individual care.

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Department Chair: Vu Nguyen, MD

The department advances understanding of psychiatric disorders and facilitates translational integration of research findings to develop innovative and novel clinical interventions. Faculty train residents and fellows to transform them into future academic leaders, clinical investigators, and psychiatrists. Research focuses on schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder, neurodegenerative disorders, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders. The department also provides patient care through an inpatient facility, community-based clinics, and other patient-focused programs.

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Department Chair: Adrienne Lahti, MD

The department is integrated with the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and works as a team with medical oncology and surgical oncology to develop comprehensive and individualized treatment plans for patients. Faculty train medical students, residents, clerks, and fellows. Key research examines the fundamental response to radiation and therapeutic prevention and treatment interventions in patients. The department is devoted to technically advanced radiation therapies with compassionate care for patients.

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Department Chair: James Bonner, MD

The department is committed to diagnostic and therapeutic services in every sub-specialty. Faculty teach and train medical students, residents, and fellows to become leaders in performing and interpreting a wide range of radiologic procedures. The key goal of the research is to gain expertise in pre-clinical, translational, and advanced imaging applications. The department also provides leading-edge clinical imaging for patients through inpatient and outpatient facilities.

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Department Chair: Cheri Canon, MD

The department is committed to impacting the field of surgery through innovative clinical, basic and translational research, paving the way for improved treatment options for patients. Faculty lead residency programs and fellowships dedicated to training a new generation of surgeons. With millions in funding, the research focuses on understanding and application of advanced surgical procedures. The depth and breadth of the department’s faculty’s expertise provide patients with superior care and surgical treatments.

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Department Chair: Herbert Chen, MD

The department is one of the few nationally ranked urologic programs in the Southeast United States. Educational programs include residencies and fellowships that encompass practical experience and learning a wide range of surgical skills. Key research areas are urologic cancer, renal ischemia, chemoprevention of bladder and prostate cancer, the feasibility of tissue engineering, and bladder replacement. The department’s physicians practice general urology and subspecialties to provide quality care and advanced surgical treatment.  

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Department Chair: Soroush Rais-Bahrami, M.D., MBA