Department of Pediatrics
With great pride and excitement, we announce the appointment of John Bridges, M.D., M.S., assistant professor, in the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology as assistant program director for the Combined Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program, effective Oct. 1, 2026.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce that Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, distinguished professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been named the 2026 recipient of the American Cancer Society Trish Greene Quality of Life Award.
The Dixon Foundation supports the Dixon Pediatric Fellowship training program for fellows who intend to pursue an academic career with a research emphasis (ranging from basic and translational science to education or QI-centric research) in approved pediatric subspecialties.
The Chu Family has generously donated funds to Children's of Alabama and the Department of Pediatrics to support educational initiatives. A portion of this donation has been set aside for the pediatric fellows to fund scholarships for fellows who apply. Candidates were selected on a competitive basis. These awards will provide funds for tuition, books and fees related to their educational endeavors.
The UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Dean's Excellence Awards for Faculty, recognizing exceptional faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, service, access and engagement, and mentorship.
The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to honor our 2025-2026 Department of Pediatrics Faculty Achievement Awards. They have attained a level of excellence recognized by their peers due to their exceptional contributions for the development of the department and in turn, the achievers of tomorrow - our children.Please join us in congratulating the winners in each category.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics is proud to recognize Melinda D. Chance, M.D., third-year pediatric fellow in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, for being selected as a recipient of the American Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Award at the ASH Annual Meeting in December 2025.
For more than a decade, Geeta Chhabra has supported research efforts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics. As a Research Grants Manager, Chhabra works closely with faculty and staff to ensure grant submissions are accurate, timely and compliant.
When Babajide Ojo, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, was completing his doctoral degree at Oklahoma State University, one of his peers had a child with Crohn’s disease. Ojo was so struck by the burden of the condition and its treatment on the child and his classmate, who eventually had to drop out of the program, that he decided his research must focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics would like to introduce the 2025 Department of Pediatrics Staff Recognition Awards. These awards were created to honor staff members throughout the department for their contribution and commitment to the department's mission. Our staff are essential to making our department run, and this is an opportunity to show our appreciation.
UAB Medicine's Leadership Development Office (LDO) recently celebrated the graduation of a group of clinical and operational leaders who successfully completed the High Performing Care Collaborative (HPCC) program. This initiative brings together functional leadership teams from across the institution to strengthen collaboration, enhance performance, and drive meaningful improvements in patient care and operations.
For more than nine years, Elizabeth Alfano has helped support the daily operations of the Division of Academic General Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics. As an Administrative Office Specialist IV, Alfano plays a key role in coordinating schedules, maintaining important clinic resources and supporting the teams who care for patients and families.
After more than 25 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and nearly a decade with the UAB Department of Pediatrics, Cathy Turner, MSHA, CPA, CGMA, is retiring as executive administrator, concluding a career defined by steady leadership, operational strength and an unwavering commitment to the people who power pediatrics.
After nearly three decades of leadership, Carl Coghill, M.D., professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, will step down as medical director of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children’s of Alabama as he prepares for retirement in May 2026. Stepping into the role is Allison Black, M.D., professor in the Division of Neonatology, who previously served as associate medical director.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce that Matthew Alexander, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurology, has been awarded a $149,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research focused on a rare neuromuscular disease.
For more than five decades, Richard Whitley, M.D., distinguished professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, has helped shape not only the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics, but the field of pediatric infectious diseases on a global scale.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce that Daniel Cooper, M.D., resident in the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program, has been selected as the 2026-2027 Med-Peds Chief Resident.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to recognize the recipients of the 2025 Pediatric Health Services Foundation (HSF) Clinical Program Development Grant. These grants support innovative, multidisciplinary initiatives designed to enhance pediatric care, strengthen clinical programs and improve outcomes for children and families.
2025 marks 80 years of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a milestone that reflects decades of advancement in clinical care, research and education. What began in 1945 as a small academic unit with a local focus has grown into a statewide leader shaped by a longstanding partnership with Children’s of Alabama. Across eight decades, faculty, staff and trainees have contributed to this growth and helped define the department’s mission.
UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) celebrated seven distinguished faculty members from the seventh cohort of the Sharing Authentically to Inspire and Lead (SAIL) program at a graduation ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The program, facilitated by Celeste Morgan, Ph.D., CDMS, senior leadership development specialist, is designed to help early-career faculty strengthen their leadership skills, refine their academic identities, and chart clear, sustainable paths toward long-term success.
UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) celebrated ten distinguished faculty members from the seventh cohort of the LEading, Advancing, Developing (LEAD) at a graduation ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23. Facilitated by Kellie Carter, Ph.D., senior leadership development specialist, this cohort demonstrated a culture of growing leadership skills and advancing academic impact in the UAB community.
Congratulations to the 19 faculty promoted effective October 1, 2025!
Ten Heersink School of Medicine staff have been honored with the 2025 Dean’s Excellence Awards. Now in its third year, the Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff recognize individuals who have made significant and meaningful contributions to the school’s mission through their work in education, service, and research.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to introduce Dayna Cook-Heard, MAEd, a valued staff member of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease UAB Family Clinic! Cook-Heard has been a part of the Department of Pediatrics for 19 years. As Program Manager II, she supports quality management initiatives funded by Ryan White Part B and Part D federal grants while helping to strengthen program accountability and improve patient outcomes.
The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Jamie Aye, M.D. associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, as director of the Developmental Therapeutics (DVL) Program within the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation (BMT) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
In the face of a bacterium that easily resists common antibiotics, members of UAB established testing to identify it in human disease. Mycoplasma, that is. Mycoplasmas are the smallest free-living organisms. They can cause drug-resistant bacterial infections that target various parts of the body, including respiratory and urinary systems and genitalia. Mycoplasmas commonly cause lung infections and often require a special antibiotic to treat the bacterium. Most antibiotics weaken bacteria by penetrating their cell walls. Mycoplasmas, however, don’t have cell walls to weaken.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics David Askenazi, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, was recently recognized with the Nephrology Kidney Collaborative (NKC) Founder’s award at this year’s Pediatric Academic Society Membership dinner.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics congratulates Melinda Chance, M.D. on receiving the 2024-2025 Spring Research Roundtable & Fellow Core Conference Attendance Award!
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce that Drs. Amelia Hartje, Michael Padgett, Suzannah Patterson, Maddie Southall, Jemma Thompson and Danielle Windom are our 2025-2026 McDonald Scholars!
The Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine is excited to announce that Andrew Watson, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, will assume the role of inpatient complex care (Teal Team) medical director.
Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, a pediatric oncologist and distinguished professor in the UAB Department of Pediatrics, received the inaugural UAB Department of Surgery Mentorship Award. The award recognizes her for her role in supporting the success of faculty members, especially in the area of research.
Academic medical centers (AMCs) are among the United States’ most active hives of biomedical innovation thanks to their often robust research enterprises. Increasingly, AMCs like the Heersink School of Medicine play a central role in another realm of innovation: the biomedical/biotech start-up space.
Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, has been named the recipient of the 2025 American Cancer Society (ACS) Professor Award. This award is the most prestigious grant made by ACS and recognizes professors who have made seminal, high-impact contributions to cancer research across a wide range of disciplines, including fundamental, clinical, psychosocial, behavioral, health policy, and epidemiologic fields. It provides $400,000 in funding for five years and can be extended for another five years.
Congratulations to our UAB Pediatric Fellowship Class of 2025. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate the graduates at a reception in their honor on May 28th. Please see below where they will be going after completing fellowship training.
We are honored to announce Claire Doss, M.D., Meredith Goldenberg, M.D., and Sam McCartney, M.D., as our pediatric co-chief residents for the 2026-2027 academic year.
The UAB Heersink School of Medicine is proud to announce the 19 winners of the 2025 Dean's Excellence Awards for Faculty.
The UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office recently recognized eight individuals in its sixth cohort of Sharing Authentically to Inspire and Lead (SAIL). The spring 2025 graduates were honored at a ceremony on April 8.
After more than three decades of dedicated service, Susan Branscum is retiring from her role in the Department of Pediatrics (DOP) at UAB, leaving a significant legacy in research and education.
Cynthia Ye, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Alan T. N. Tita, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health (MHIGH) and associate dean for Global and Women’s Health, co-instruct the Global Health Research Methods course. In 2023, we met with Ye and Tita to learn more about their vision for the course, which launched with the introduction of the UAB Master of Science in Global Health (MSGH) program offered by the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and the UAB School of Public Health (SOPH).
Yung Lau, M.D., has been named interim chair of the UAB Department of Pediatrics, effective Nov. 1. Lau is a professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics. He holds the Thomas N. Carruthers Endowed Chair in Cardiology. He also serves as division director for Pediatric Cardiology.
Twenty-eight UAB employees recently graduated from the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) Spring 2024 program. In its pilot year, the program, presented by UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO), recognized its first cohort of graduates at a ceremony on May 23, 2024.
Twenty exceptional faculty members were honored with the 2024 Dean’s Excellence Awards for their outstanding contributions across service, teaching, research, diversity enhancement, and mentorship within the School of Medicine.
UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office recently recognized 12 individuals in its fourth cohort of Sharing Authentically to Inspire and Lead (SAIL). The spring 2024 graduates received their certificates on April 9.
Thirteen faculty members recently graduated from UAB Medicine’s LEading Advancing Developing (LEAD) Spring 2024 program. The program, presented by UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO), recognized its graduates at a ceremony on March 14, 2024.
The UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine is pleased to announce the newest cohort of James A. Pittman Jr., M.D., Scholars.
Sixteen remarkable faculty members have been named winners of the 2023 Dean’s Excellence Awards for Faculty.
Shaundra Blakemore, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded the junior faculty 2023 Dean’s Excellence Award for Mentorship.
Department of Pediatrics Professor and Ralph Froshin Endowed Chair in Pediatric Endocrinology Ambika Ashraf, M.D., co-edited a book “Pediatric Dyslipidemia” alongside colleague Bhuvana Sunil, M.D.
Medical Student Research Day celebrates the research accomplishments of medical students and provides them with the opportunity to present their projects to fellow students and faculty.
Eighteen faculty members across Heersink School of Medicine’s departments have received 2022 Dean’s Excellence Awards in recognition of excellence in the areas of teaching, research, service, mentorship, and diversity.