Focus Areas - Heersink School of Medicine

Precision Medicine and Genomics

Precision medicine is a concept that is reshaping the way we think about human health, diagnosis and treatment of disease. It focuses on individual patients, to understand how their lifestyles, behavior, environment, and genetics interact to affect their health.

Informatics

In a learning healthcare system, data are continuously collected, shared, analyzed and used to propel the clinical care, research and educational missions of an enterprise. The optimization of patient service, by both enhancing the quality and safety of clinical care and developing new advances to further the science driving improvements in patient outcomes, lies at the core of UAB’s vision of a learning healthcare system.

Fundamentals of Basic Science Discovery

Basic science research is critical to the mission of UAB Heersink School of Medicine to improve health. Fundamental discovery science research serves this mission even if there is no immediate translational potential. Fundamental scientific research is scientific capital and illuminates the path for future translation.

Inflammation, Infection and Immunity

Inflammation, infection and immunity (I3) impact almost all diseases studied and treated at UAB. I3 integrates the expertise and resources at UAB to build unified, interdisciplinary programs in inflammation-based fundamental and clinical research.

Population Health, Health Disparities and Outcomes Effectiveness Research

Outcomes and effectiveness research compares different diagnostic and treatment approaches and tests those methods to improve care delivery and patient outcomes. Health disparities research investigates different biological, social determinants, healthcare use, and outcomes between general population and groups who experience obstacles to health. Population health research uses observational and interventional studies to understand delivery and reimbursement models of healthcare.