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Sarah Larson, M.D., has joined the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery as a pediatric neurosurgery fellow. Her practice is located at Children’s of Alabama.
James “Jim” West, M.D., has joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery as a neuroendovascular fellow.
As the new academic year gets underway, renovation on Volker Hall 5 has now concluded. The floor is fully open for student activity. The goal of these updates was to refresh the spaces students use often on VH5 and to bring the rest of the floor the same care the relaxation space received in 2023.
The week of July 27, 2026 marked the beginning of the medical school journey for Heersink School of Medicine’s newest class of incoming first-year medical students. Each year, the incoming class is welcomed to the school through new student orientation week, acquainting the students with the academic leadership, current student body, and the offices and teams that will contribute to their studies at Heersink School of Medicine.
The Department of Medical Education continues to highlight the committed and passionate teams that contribute to the mission of Heersink School of Medicine. One of the foundational support structures for Heersink students is the Learning Communities Program, and for each learning community, a faculty mentor provides coaching and leadership to the students under their guidance.
As the Department of Medical Education highlights the teams that educate our students and carry out the mission of Heersink School of Medicine, we want to turn to the individuals who manage the operations of our pre-clinical modules.
UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Robert B. Kyle Endowed Professor and Chair Vu Nguyen, M.D., MBA, has been elected vice president of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), a global organization dedicated to advancing rehabilitation medicine, education, research and advocacy for people with disabilities.
UAB PM&R Assistant Professor Elizabeth Richardson, Ph.D., MSPH, and Director of Rehabilitation Psychology Casey Azuero, Ph.D., MPH, recently published a study in Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation examining how depression and resilience during acute inpatient rehabilitation affect pain outcomes one year after spinal cord injury. Azuero discusses the study’s findings and their implications for improving patient care in a related Q&A.
The Department of Pathology is thrilled to welcome two new faculty members, effective August 3. Awab Abdalhai, M.B.B.S., is joining the Division of Anatomic Pathology as an assistant professor, and Tina I. Bui‑Bullock, Ph.D., is joining the Division of Laboratory Medicine as an assistant professor.
In 2023, UAB obtained a Lunaphore COMET™ platform, which assists researchers in the examination of many proteins and mRNA transcripts on histological tissues. The investment in this technology was made by the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and the Heersink School of Medicine Immunology Institute and I-4ward research focus area.
Demario S. Overstreet, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, has received a two-year (L30) Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program (LRP) award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The highly competitive award renewal follows his previous L70 Research LRP award and supports his continued commitment to patient-oriented clinical and translational research. This award also marks his second consecutive award from the National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Programs.
The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to announce the upcoming arrival of Anji Wall, M.D., Ph.D., who will serve as the Vice Chair of Surgical Ethics and Division of Transplantation Director of Perfusion and Procurement Services, effective August 1, 2026.
University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate student Jonathan Ross Folmar has been appointed as a trainee to a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) training program to investigate the role of lipid signaling in Type 1 diabetes.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics and Children’s of Alabama is expanding access to a promising investigational therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), offering new hope for families affected by the progressive neuromuscular disease.
A new study led by Andrew Hardaway, Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, provides new insight into how GLP-1 medications suppress appetite by acting on specific brain circuits.
The Department of Urology is proud to spotlight Jordan Favors, M.S., Program Manager I, whose commitment and hard work reflect UAB's core values.
Saulat Sajjad Sheikh, M.B.B.S., assistant professor and surgical director of the liver transplant program in the UAB Division of Transplantation, has been appointed to serve as vice chair-elect of the Surgical Skills Committee for the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS).
Britney L. Corey, M.D., MACM, program director of the UAB General Surgery Residency Program, and Samantha Baker, M.D., MsHPE, assistant professor in the UAB Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, have co-edited a newly published textbook titled, “Graduate Medical Education in General Surgery: Processes and Strategies for Program and Learner Success,” released in April 2026 through Springer Publishing Company as part of their Excellence in Medical Education series.
The Montgomery Regional Medical Campus is celebrating two Montgomery-based medical legends who were named to this year’s Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame: the late J. Jack Kirschenfeld, M.D., and Wickliffe J. Many, M.D. They are joined in this year’s class of honorees by UAB President Ray L. Watts, M.D., and Dean of the UAB School of Nursing Maria Rodriguez Shirey, Ph.D.
Aurelio Galli, Ph.D., D.Sc., vice chair of basic research for the UAB Department of Surgery, in collaboration with Angela Carter, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, has been awarded $10,000 from the O'Neal Cancer Center to support research aimed at improving treatment for glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
What if too many antioxidants could be just as harmful as too many oxidants? This question brought together more than 70 scientists, clinicians, faculty, trainees, and students from around the world for the inaugural Reductive Stress Mechanisms in Chronic Diseases Symposium, hosted by Rajasekaran Namakkal-Soorappan, Ph.D., at the Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center on July 9.
For the inaugural installment of “Postcards from the Field,” a new series highlighting the people and partnerships advancing global health, we spoke with Mary Glory N. Ngong, author, midwife, and lead research coordinator of the Cameroon Health Initiative at UAB (CHI UAB), whose work focuses on maternal and neonatal healthcare in Cameroon. She shared her experience attending the 6th Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS) in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Partnership Research Summer Training Program (PRSTP), directed by Upender Manne, Ph.D., Professor, Division of Anatomic Pathology, completed a successful eight-week program for the 2026 cycle.
Do-Yeon Cho, M.D., professor in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and section chief of otolaryngology at the Birmingham VA Health Care System, has received a Path to a Cure Pilot & Feasibility Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) to support innovative research focused on regenerating damaged airways in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). regeneration in patients with cystic fibrosis.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce that Adolfo Molina, M.D., MSHQS, associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, has been named the W. Michael Warren Endowed Chair of Improvement Science.
For many people, navigating health care or making lifestyle changes can feel overwhelming. Oftentimes, a friendly, familiar face can make challenges like appointment follow-ups, transportation barriers, and healthy lifestyle changes feel more manageable. Community Health Coaches, also known as community health workers, are often those familiar faces. Whether they're encouraging neighbors to learn their health numbers at a local wellness event, supporting participants after a health screening, or helping residents get involved in exercise and nutrition programs, coaches play an important role in connecting communities with the resources they need to live healthier lives.
Yang Zhou, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received a renewal of her NIH R01 grant, extending her lab’s research into research into direct cardiac reprogramming, an emerging approach to regenerate damaged heart tissue by converting scar-forming cells into new muscle cells.
Andrew T. Hale, M.D., Ph.D., a PGY6 resident in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery, has been selected to receive the Academy Award for Best Manuscript from the American Academy of Neurological Surgery for his paper, “Integrated genomic-phenomic taxonomy of brain arteriovenous malformations.”
Tim Johnson, M.D., assistant professor, has been appointed residency program director in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, effective July 1, 2026.
The Southeastern Biosafety Laboratory Alabama Birmingham (SEBLAB) at UAB is one of 12 Regional Biocontainment Laboratories funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. The SEBLAB serves as a catalyst for scientific and translational discovery on biodefense and emerging infectious diseases, and aims to protect the United States from biothreats, emphasizing biodefense by supporting research for new therapeutics and diagnostics for emerging infections, and ensuring surge capacity during public health crises.