Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of Outcomes in the Department of Pediatrics, is the senior faculty winner of the 2020 Dean’s Excellence Award in Mentorship.
Bhatia joined the Department of Pediatrics in 2015 and established the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship (ICOS). Prior to joining UAB, she was the chair of the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope and the associate director of Population Sciences at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Bhatia is the director of the ICOS and the associate director for Outcomes Research at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. She is a distinguished pediatric oncologist and researcher with a strong interest in cancer outcomes across all diagnoses and age groups.
Since arriving at UAB, Bhatia has made a significant impact on research activities and mentorship through her many leadership roles. She is extremely passionate and dedicated to her mentees and works tirelessly to help them succeed. Since 2015, she has recruited 14 faculty members in Pediatrics, Medicine, Surgery, and Radiation Oncology to UAB. She is the primary mentor for seven pediatric faculty and 18 faculty members across UAB and the country. Due to her commitment and dedication, nearly all of her mentees have successfully obtained funding and made significant contributions to the field of outcomes. In her role as vice chair of Outcomes in the Department of Pediatrics, she also serves as a mentor for a third of aspiring research faculty and many of the women faculty. She is extremely devoted to providing support to her mentees and places her commitment to them in the highest regard.
“I don’t think Smita’s accomplishments explain sufficiently how much I value her as a colleague, leader and role model for me and for all the faculty at UAB,” explained Mitch Cohen, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “I like to think as a child she never understood the word no and her first word was yes. I believe her first sentence was probably, ‘Yes we can.’ She does not rest, perhaps at all, but certainly not until her mentees have been successful.”