The Department of Pathology is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2026 Chair's Excellence Awards. These awards celebrate faculty members in the Department of Pathology who exude clinical, research, and educational excellence. This year's winners are Melad Dababneh, M.B.B.S., Chair's Award for Clinical Excellence, Daniel Tyrrell, Ph.D., Chair's Award for Research Excellence, and Megan Amerson-Brown, Ph.D., CIC, MLS, Chair's Award for Educational Excellence. Winners are chosen by Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D., Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair.
Chair’s Award for Clinical Excellence
The department’s primary clinical goal is to care for patients through accurate and timely diagnoses and testing, continually working on more effective ways to treat patients through precision medicine. The Chair’s Award for Clinical Excellence recognizes a faculty member’s impactful clinical efforts for the previous fiscal year.
Melad Dababneh, M.B.B.S., an assistant professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology and section head of Head and Neck Pathology, is the recipient of the 2026 Chair's Award for Clinical Excellence.
Dababneh joined the department as an assistant professor in 2024 from Cleveland Clinic Foundation's Robert J. Tomsich Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute where he served as a head and neck pathology fellow since 2023. He earned his medical degree from Jordan University of Science and Technology in Alrumtha, Jordan in 2017 before finishing a one-year anatomic pathology residency there in in 2018. He completed his anatomic and clinical pathology residency and medical education residency at Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in 2023. In 2026, Dababneh began serving as director of the newly established Head and Neck Fellowship and was awarded the Leonard H. Robinson Award for Resident Education in Anatomic Pathology.
"Dr. Dababneh has led and continues to lead the Head and Neck Pathology Section with excellence," said Oyedele Adeyi, M.D., FRCPC, C. Bruce Alexander Endowed Professor and director of the Division of Anatomic Pathology. "Among other achievements, Dababneh has established himself as a visible expert to ENT surgeons and medical and radiation oncologists at UAB. His knowledge is excellent. Dr. Dababneh has developed curriculum for the new Head and Neck Pathology Fellowship, and successfully recruited the first fellow to the program. Melad personifies good citizenship."
Chair’s Award for Research Excellence
The Department of Pathology’s research spans the range of fundamental mechanisms of disease to identification of biomarkers and development of novel therapeutics. The Chair’s Award for Research Excellence seeks to recognize a faculty member’s impactful research efforts for the previous fiscal year.
Daniel Tyrrell, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, is the recipient of the 2026 Chair's Award for Research Excellence.
Tyrrell joined the department as an assistant professor in 2022. He received his Ph.D. from Wake Forest School of Medicine in Integrated Physiology and Pharmacology and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan studying cardiovascular aging in the Department of Internal Medicine. Tyrrell's laboratory is interested in understanding how the blood-brain barrier changes during aging. Breakdown of the blood-brain-barrier impairs leads to a poor neurovascular microenvironment and ultimately impairs cognitive function and can contribute to neurodegeneration. Tyrrell's lab is also interested in exploring how CD8 T cells change with age, infiltrate tissues like the brain and athersclerotic plaques, and contribute to disease. In 2026, Tyrrell was awarded $3 million to study atherosclerosis in aging adults.
"Dan received his first R01, marking a significant milestone in his career," said Rakesh Patel, Ph.D., Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D., Endowed Professor and director of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology. "He has also maintained a strong record of publications over the last 3 years and is excelling in trainee mentorship."
Chair’s Award for Educational Excellence
UAB Pathology is committed to advancing the education of our students and trainees through robust, hands-on programs. The Chair’s Award for Educational Excellence seeks to recognize a faculty member’s impactful educational efforts for the previous fiscal year.
Megan Amerson-Brown, Ph.D., CIC, MLS, an assistant professor in the Division of Laboratory Medicine, is the recipient of the 2026 Chair's Award for Educational Excellence.
Amerson-Brown joined the department as an assistant professor in 2022 from Baylor College of Medicine, where she completed a fellowship in Medical and Public Health Microbiology. She received her Ph.D. in Human Pathophysiology and Translational Medicine in 2019 from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences before working as an Infection Control Consultant in response to COVID-19 with Hospital Executive Interim Management and Consulting at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York. She has served as a Graduate Research Assistant at UTMB Galveston and as adjunct faculty, infection preventionist, and medical technologist in Microbiology at MD Anderson School of Health Professions and Cancer Center. In 2022, Amerson-Brown was named a member of the board of directors of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology. In 2024, she was named a recipient of the 2024 Extraordinary Service Award from the American Society for Microbiology.
"The exceptional breadth, sustained commitment, curricular leadership, mentorship, and demonstrated impact of Dr. Amerson-Brown's education contributions make her highly deserving of this honor," said Sixto M. Leal Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Jay M. McDonald Endowed Professor in Experimental Pathology and director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine.