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 shared global health challenges. Award recipients were notified on March 31, 2026. Congratulations to the 2026 selected teams!
“A UAB-AHRI Artificial Intelligence Program for Discovery of Novel Tuberculosis Pathology in Human Tissue”
Principal Investigator: Adrie JC Steyn, Ph.D, UAB Department of Microbiology
Multiple Principal Investigators: Sandeep Bodduluri, M.S., Ph.D., UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine; Paul V. Benson, M.D., Division of Anatomic Pathology, Autopsy Section Head; Threnesan Naidoo, M.Sc., MBChB, Department of Forensic Medicine, Walter Sisulu University, Umtata, South Africa
Trainees: Nicholas Eisele, D.O., UAB Department of Pathology; Kapongo Lumamba, M.Sc., AHRI, Durban, South Africa
"DUAL-SCREEN India: Integrating Opportunistic Lung Cancer Screening into Head and Neck Cancer Screening Programs for Dual Tobacco Users"
Principal Investigator: Soumya Niranjan, B.Pharm., M.S., Ph.D., UAB Department of Health Services Administration
Multiple Principal Investigator: Subita Patil, M.D., Department of Preventive Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital
Co-Investigators: Ashutosh Tamhane, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., UAB Division of Nephrology; Rachel Sequeira, M.D., Department of Radiodiagnosis, Tata Memorial Hospital
Trainee: Mary Aboraa Aboagye, UAB Department of Health Services Administration
“Natural History of Epidermolysis Bullosa in Heterogeneous Populations – A Retrospective Study of Clinical Outcomes”
Principal Investigator: Ravi Hiremagalore M.D., UAB Department of Dermatology
Co-Investigator: Divya Gupta M.D., Centre for Human Genetics, Bengaluru, India
“The fight against HIV/AIDS: Comprehensive in silico strategies for the discovery of novel allosteric PROTACs (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras) against HIV-1 Integrase”
Principal Investigator: Robert Reynolds, Ph.D., UAB Division of Hematology & Oncology
Multiple Principal Investigators: M. Elizabeth Sobhia, MSc, M.Phil, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacoinformatics, NIPER; Christina Ochsenbauer, Ph.D., UAB Division of Hematology & Oncology