The UAB Department of Surgery Faculty Exchange Program hosted its latest cohort of participants in 2025 – featuring visits to partnering institutions across the United States:

- University of Michigan: Andrea Gillis, M.D., MSPH
- Northwestern University: Margaret Romine, M.D.
- University of California Davis: Emily Spangler, M.D., M.S.
- University of Texas Southwestern: Laura Stafman, M.D., Ph.D.

“The visiting faculty exchange program is a great vessel to spread knowledge, promote career development, and encourage discussions that foster cross-institutional collaboration. I hope the faculty members had productive trips and can apply insights gained from other institutions to the benefit of their futures, as well as that of our department,” said UAB Department of Surgery Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair Herbert Chen, M.D.

Similarly, the bilateral exchange between institutions has enabled visiting professors from the University of Texas Southwestern, the University of California Davis, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan to give grand rounds lectures to students, residents, staff, and faculty members at UAB.

About the UAB Department of Surgery Faculty Exchange Program

The UAB Department of Surgery Faculty Exchange Program was created to forge an academic relationship between participating surgical departments and to provide a mechanism for junior faculty to disseminate their research, expand their networks, and learn from other leaders and experts outside of their home institution. The beginnings of the program

In past years, a typical visit lasts two or three days, and the visiting faculty member usually gives a grand rounds lecture.

Faculty visiting the UAB Department of Surgery can expect to get to know faculty and trainees, tour facilities, experience Birmingham, and deliver the UAB Surgery Faculty Exchange Lectureship. Applicants are chosen through their home institutions.