Brandi McCleskey, M.D. has been named the junior faculty recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award in Mentorship. McCleskey is an assistant professor in the Division of Forensic Pathology, UAB Department of Pathology.
McCleskey earned her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2012 and earned her board certifications from the American Board of Pathology for Anatomic and Clinical Pathology in 2016 and Forensic Pathology in 2017.
She joined UAB in 2012 as a resident in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and was named Chief Resident in 2015. McCleskey stayed at UAB to complete her fellowship in Forensic Pathology in 2016 and joined the Department of Pathology as a faculty member in 2017 as an assistant professor in the Division of Forensic Pathology. She has since been named Director of the Longitudinal Pathology Curriculum in the Department of Undergraduate Medical Education, the Director of the Department of Pathology’s Residency Training Program, and the Assistant Director of the Department of Pathology’s Forensic Pathology Fellowship Program.
“I feel like I entered a new family in 2012, and even though my roles have changed during my time here, I’m very much supported and respected by members of the department,” McCleskey says. “I am honored to receive this award as a reflection of my career at UAB, from trainee to faculty member.”
McCleskey serves as a forensic pathologist at the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office and has performed a total of 667 autopsies, 318 external examinations, and completed 219 death certificates with medical record review since 2017. She has been qualified as an expert witness in forensic pathology in Alabama since 2018 and has made 9 appearances before a jury, 1 appearance before a Grand Jury, and 5 appearances before judges.
She is a faculty member in the UAB Graduate School, and has served as a Career Advisor and Mentor for the UAB School of Medicine’s Medical Student Services since 2017 where she has mentored more than 10 students. In addition, she has mentored seventeen high school, undergraduate, graduate, resident trainees, and non-UAB medical students since 2018. It is for these outstanding efforts in mentorship that McCleskey is the recipient of the Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award.
“Brandi has been an incredible asset to the Department of Pathology,” says George Netto, M.D., Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair in the Department of Pathology. “She is not only a brilliant forensic pathologist, but also an impactful member of our faculty and outstanding mentor for students. She brings energy and dedication to each and every role and is a well-deserved recipient of this award.”