The UAB Department of Pathology recently welcomed a new faculty member to the Division of Anatomic Pathology, directed by Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D. Joshua Baalwa, M.D., Ph.D., joins the Department as an Assistant Professor in our Community Pathology Practice Program, coming to UAB from the Lyndon Baines Johnson General Hospital in Houston, Texas, where he served as medical director of the Clinical Pathology Laboratory.
This is not Dr. Baalwa’s first experience as a Blazer: He spent six years completing a Ph.D. in the UAB Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, earning it in 2012. In 2013 he completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Department of Medicine before moving to complete a residency with the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine. Baalwa continued his time at Baylor from 2017 to 2018 by securing a Surgical Pathology Fellowship.
Following the completion of his fellowship at Baylor, Dr. Baalwa accepted a fellowship in hematopathology with the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Dr. Baalwa has recently received multiple awards in his field for both teaching and in clinical pathology administration and leadership. In 2021, he received the UTHealth McGovern Medical School Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award, and in 2022 he received a Top Doctors peer recognition award for excellence in clinical pathology for the Houston area. Prior to coming to UAB, he also served on the medical school admissions committee for the UTHealth McGovern Medical School.
In addition to his medical work, Dr. Baalwa has participated in community projects for his home country of Uganda, where he worked as senior house officer, Department of Internal Medicine, at the Mulago National Referral Hospital from 2001 to 2004, and as registrar until 2006. From delivering medication donations to the construction of sanitary facilities, Baalwa has demonstrated his dedication to giving back to his country through the volunteer work he has done in the community there. He was also a regular volunteer with the Houston FoodBank.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Joshua Baalwa back to the UAB Department of Pathology, as a member of our faculty.
April 14 is the 10th annual Pathologists’ Assistant (PA) Day, a day of appreciation led by the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants. PAs are often responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the anatomic pathology service and play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare services in both surgical pathology and autopsy.
Today we are celebrating our five hardworking PAs, Matt Lurken, Joe Begany, Audrey Alexander Garcia, Christine Pasion, Taylor Dubose-Harris, and our PA students, Lauren Wheelock and Sidney Bushman with a celebratory luncheon alongside UAB Pathology trainees.
By Jacob Taylor
Adam Wende, Ph.D., associate professor of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, is a recipient of this year’s 2023 Graduate Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship.
The Dean's Excellence in Mentorship Award recognizes full-time regular UAB faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments as mentors of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows.
Wende joined the Department of Pathology in 2013 as an assistant professor. As a researcher, he has explored the regulation of metabolism and mitochondrial function with a specific focus on glucose utilization in heart and muscle. He is well-respected by his peers and his dedication to his students is evident in his support of their work and academic advancement and achievements. Mentoring has always been a part of his career.
Dr. Adam Wende with some of his many trainees (left) and with Graduate School Dean Dr. Shadi Martin (right). (Photos courtesy the Graduate School.) 
“Mentorship is one of the most important themes in my career, both the mentors I’ve had and the mentor I want to be,” he says. “I have tried to mold myself into someone who provides his trainees with the guidance they need while providing the freedom to discover themselves.”
Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., UAB Distinguished Professor and Robert W. Mowry Endowed Professor and Executive Vice Chair, Department of Pathology, has been elected president of the International Society of Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology (ISBSTP). Siegal was installed as president at the companion meeting of the society during the 2023 USCAP Annual Meeting.
Siegal was previously elected as vice-president of the ISBSTP in June 2021.
The ISBSTP is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 in order to:
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