Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery

The Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery will host the 3rd annual Heroes and Healers event on Friday, May 1, 2026 at the UAB Alys Stephens Center. The event celebrates survivors of traumatic injury, as well as the medical care teams and first responders who saved their lives and helped them on the road to recovery.

Department of Surgery research resident Chandler Annesi M.D., won the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Resident Trauma Paper Competition, earning national recognition for her research on pediatric trauma care.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery hosted the first Loring W. Rue, III, M.D. Endowed Lectureship, welcoming Jeremy Cannon, M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania as the inaugural lecturer. The lectureship honors the legacy of Rue, an instrumental figure in the history of UAB’s trauma program.

Their love story began as it often does for two future doctors: in med school. Zain Hashmi, M.D., assistant professor in the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and Saulat Sheikh, MBBS, an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Transplantation, met in 2010 at a going away party for a mutual friend.

Jeffrey Kerby, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham Family Endowed Professor and director of the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, has been named the new medical director of trauma education for the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Acute Care Surgery, a service line of the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, was recognized as one of UAB Medicine's top ten service lines for timely and effective consults, according to results from the 2025 hospital-wide Consult Optimization Survey.

Rondi Gelbard, M.D., a professor in the UAB Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, has received the 2025 Alliance Committed Leader Award from the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance (The Alliance) which recognizes a leader who commits significant time and expertise to Alliance initiatives and taken on significant efforts to advance nationwide collaboration and engaged learning within the organ donation and transplantation community.

The UAB Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery led a holiday clothing and supply drive to support several local non-profit organizations, including Impact Family Counseling, the Offender Alumni Association, and the UAB Compassion Closet.

Herbert Chen, M.D., the Fay Fletcher Endowed Chair of the UAB Department of Surgery, gave the 2026 State of the Department presentation earlier this week, spotlighting achievements from the past year and reflecting on the 80 year history of the department.

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to congratulate five faculty members who have recently graduated from the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Emerging Leader Series (ELS) professional development program, which was developed by UAB Medicine's Leadership Development Office (LDO).

UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) celebrated the graduation of the 11th cohort from the Institute for Leadership on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

The UAB Department of Surgery is proud to highlight the outstanding research achievements of faculty, trainees, and researchers over the past quarter.

A Ph.D. candidate reflects on lessons learned about injury, recovery, and growth

The UAB Department of Surgery is excited to welcome two new faculty members in the month of November 2025: Drs. Eliot Gagne and Lauren Theiss Gleason.

UAB General Surgery ResidentEmily Baird, M.D., M.A., has been elected to serve as the Resident/Fellow Councilperson at-Large for the Excelsior Surgical Society (ESS), an organization affiliated with the Military Health System Strategic Partnership of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). 

Medical student Hari Pradhyumnan was recognized at the 2025 UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Medical Student Research Day (MSRD), where he was awarded first place in the Surgery category for his outstanding research presentation.

This year signifies a remarkable milestone for the UAB Department of Emergency Medicine—30 years of delivering life-saving care, excellence in clinical training, and driving innovation.

The UAB Department of Surgery was honored to recognize the second-annual awardees of the Moore-McDougal Staff Excellence Awards in Surgery on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at the annual Surgery Staff Town Hall.

Zain Hashmi, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, is a 2025 recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Support of UAB and Shared Governance.

Numerous members of the UAB Department of Surgery were recognized as new fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) at the 2025 Clinical Congress in Chicago, Illinois.

UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Professor Marty Vander Noot, M.D., is a 2025 recipient of the UAB Medicine Excellence Award.

The UAB Department of Surgery is proud to announce the recent promotion of ten faculty members.

UAB’s Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (WOC) team was recently featured on a podcast for WOC teams nationwide.

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to welcome five faculty members in the month of September: Drs. Juliet Blaskeslee-Carter, Michael “Frank” Gleason, Luis Hidalgo, Victoria Huynh, and Erin White.

The beginning of August marks the new step in the training process for our incoming fellows and an exciting new chapter for our graduating trainees.

UAB was well represented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery, with five faculty serving as presenters, discussants, and panelists thought leaders on the national stage.

Four doctors are set to join the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery’s Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship next August: Ben Hazen, M.D., Justin Leavitt, M.D., Paul Shadowen M.D., and Sierra Smith, M.D.

Kimberly Hendershot, M.D., a professor in the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, is now president of the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is pleased to announce a new endowed lectureship to honor the legacy of Loring W. Rue III, M.D., professor emeritus in the UAB Department of Surgery. Dr. Rue’s leadership and dedication to improving trauma care make him an instrumental figure in the history of the trauma program at UAB.

Rachael Rafferty McCurdy, DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, recently joined the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery as the new trauma performance improvement (PI) coordinator.

After more than three decades of unwavering service and leadership in trauma care, Holly Waller, RN, BSN, MPH, NE-BC, has been named a recipient of the UAB VIP Award, a recognition reserved for those who exemplify the values, integrity, and performance that define excellence at UAB.

Since its launch, the Compassion Closet has been embraced and supported by UAB staff and the community alike, and its mission continues to grow.

The UAB Department of Surgery’s Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery team highlights the dangers of red-light running and urges caution behind the wheel.

Four new fellows are set to join the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery this August as part of the 2025-2026 Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.

The UAB Department of Surgery’s Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is committed to training and equipping the next generation of trauma surgeons through theTrauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.

Toria N. Pettway, LMSW, a psychiatric social worker for the UAB Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, has been named the 2025 recipient of the UAB Social Work Partnership in Community Service Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to patient care, mental health advocacy and community engagement.

Dana Doriety, RN, BSN, MSHQS, a nurse burn educator in the UAB Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, recently represented UAB at the 48th Annual Alabama Fire Fighters Conference in Guntersville, Alabama on June 20.

UAB Hospital has been reverified as a Level I adult trauma center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT) and remains the only ACS-Level I adult trauma center in the state of Alabama. Learn what it takes to meet the rigorous standards set by the ACS.

The UAB Department of Surgery recognizes the outstanding research contributions from faculty, fellows, residents and research staff. This continued momentum in scholarly activity underscores our shared commitment to advancing surgical science and shaping the future of academic medicine.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery’s Wound, Ostomy and Continence care team received the 2025 Employer Recognition Award from the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB), joining an elite group of institutions recognized for outstanding support of nursing in wound, ostomy and continence (WOC) care.

Dylan Carpenter, MSN, RN, CWOCN, PCCN, MEDSURG-BC, a certified wound, ostomy and continence nurse in the Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, recently received two prestigious awards at the Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOCNext) Conference 2025 in Orlando, Florida.  

Krystal Lee Rivera, a Ph.D. candidate in the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and mentee of Jillian Richter, Ph.D., presented an abstract last week in Boston at ShockCon, the annual conference of the Shock Society.

Allie Hulcher, UAB Department of Surgery communications specialist and Trauma Survivors Network coordinator for the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, was recognized with numerous awards at the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Excellence in Communications Awards.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery honored survivors of traumatic injury and their families, as well as first responders and healthcare professionals, at the second annual UAB Heroes and Healers Gala on Friday, May 2, 2025.

Jillian Richter, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery published “Trauma promotes heparan sulfate modifications and cleavage that disrupt homeostasis gene expression in microvascular endothelial cells” in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology alongside her team, including UAB Department of Pediatrics associate professor Robert Richter, M.D.

Join the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery on Friday, May 2 for a special evening at the Heroes and Healers Gala, where we celebrate the incredible resilience of survivors of traumatic injuries and honor those dedicated healthcare professionals who support their journeys.

The American College of Surgeons has recognized the UAB Department of Surgery as a Surgical Quality Partner across numerous areas of patient care. This achievement is due to UAB's participation in five leading registries that focus on the highest standards of surgical care.

The UAB Department of Surgery was represented at the recent annual meeting for the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), which was held in Long Beach, California.

UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Associate Professor Rondi B. Gelbard, M.D., has been selected by the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance to serve as Chair of the National Donation Leadership Council (NDLC). Gelbard, a recognized contributor to the National Donation Leadership Council since 2019, began her term at the first of the year and will remain in that role until December 2026.

UAB Department of Surgery faculty are leading the way in education for trauma surgeons by creating guides for a new series published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. Both pieces are “need to know” articles on damage control resuscitation (DCR) in both adult and pediatric trauma patient populations.