April Agne, MPH, program director II in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine and deputy director of the Forge AHEAD Center, has been selected as a recipient of the inaugural Heersink Dean’s Excellence Award for Staff.
In 2022, Agne volunteered to join the Department of Medicine’s newly created Task Force for Wellness, which aimed to explore and address concerns specific to work environments. She served as the staff representative co-chair, where she independently identified the literature used to create the framework for the task force. Agne leveraged her leadership skills to curate essential content, moderate meetings, and advocate for the expansion of the task force to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Serving on the Task Force underscored, for me personally, how many amazing, dedicated, and caring employees we have in the Department of Medicine. I am thankful to be one,” stated Agne.
After completing her master’s degree in public health, Agne joined Andrea Cherrington, M.D., professor of Medicine in the Division of Preventive Medicine, where she serves in a research role, overseeing a variety of community-based and clinical research studies and core activities within UAB’s Diabetes Research Center.
As deputy director of the Forge AHEAD Center (UAB’s Deep South Center to Reduce Disparities in Chronic Diseases), — a regional comprehensive research center that focuses on the prevention and management of cardiometabolic diseases — Agne has fostered relationships with academic and community partners throughout Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, improving health disparities.
Agne has also mentored over 35 early investigators, including graduate students, trainees, and undergraduate minority students for the Summer Enrichment program. She described the success of her mentees as one of her “greatest joys.”
Nominator Lisa Willet, professor of Medicine in the UAB Division of General Internal Medicine, proclaimed, “She makes UAB a better place. Her enthusiasm, innovative spirit, and dedication to everyone and everything at UAB are exceptional.”
The Heersink School of Medicine Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff recognize and honor individual Heersink staff members who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and significantly supported Heersink’s core mission areas of education, clinical care, and research.