Erin White, Director of Pathology Research and Grants Administration, UAB Pathology, was recently awarded a grant for $2,500 through the Research Administrators Mobility Program (RAMP). White is a member of the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI), which partnered with RAMP to offer the grant.
From their website, "RAMP provides financial support to SRAI members to participate in short-term placements to enhance professional development. The goal of RAMP is to ensure funding for excellent and innovative research administration peer engagement."
Faculty, residents, and staff from the UAB Departent of Pathology are sharing their hobbies from home in an effort to connect across the department.
Greg Davis, M.D., Professor, Division Director, Forensic Pathology
Dr. Davis is continuing his lifelong hobby of bread baking. He says, "I began making bread as a teenager. I like well-made bread and coaxing the dough along to form a delicious loaf. It is easy to begin baking bread. The most important ingredient in bread making is patience. You must work with the bread, not against it."
Greg Davis, M.D. 
Dr. Davis milling wheat to make flour
The Department of Pathology is excited to highlight the work of several of our faculty who are conducting or planning clinical and translational research projects related to SARS-CoV2(summarized below). Please keep us informed on any interests your lab may have in this area. Importantly, prior to initiating any work please ensure your lab is compliant with occupational health requirements and studies have necessary IRB/IACUC approvals.
Sixto Leal, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine – Dr. Leal’s lab had developed a protocol for testing for SARS-CoV2 infection and is currently working to further optimize and increase capacity (4 fold) to include the detection of other viruses (Flu, RSV). This will speed up the time to an accurate diagnosis for patients and limit the need for unnecessary testing with expensive viral respiratory panels. Furthermore, in collaboration with Mike Crowley and Elliot Lefkowitz, Dr. Leal’s group aims to sequence all of the RNA in diagnostic samples and determine their prognostic significance. This information will allow modification of the test to not only detect the virus but provide information on whether that patient is likely to overcome infection or require more intensive care. Leal was awarded a School of Medicine grant to pursue this work.
Paul Benson, M.D. - Dr. Benson's proposed research includes autopsy of adult decedents whose death has occurred due to or with COVID-19. Information gathered from the histopathologic examination will be used for an autopsy report with a synoptic gross description, a histologic description of microscopic pathology, a list of diagnoses and findings (which could be coded to facilitate research) and a summary including an opinion regarding the mechanism and cause of death for each case. Specimens will be shared with the UAB research community for assessment of candidate mediators and markers that may provide insights into the underlying cause of disease and death.
It is our pleasure to announce that Hannah Weems, a senior at UAB studying communications with a concentration in public relations, recently received the "Best Internship" award from the UAB chapter of the Public Relations Society Student Association (PRSSA) / Public Relations Council of Alabama joint chapters for her internship with Communications Director Christina Crowe. Hannah is scheduled to graduate from UAB at the end of the fall 2020 semester. She started with the department in late 2019 and has been an asset to the team from the beginning, Crowe says.
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