The UAB Department of Surgery has added a new lactation room to its facilities, which will be available to all faculty, staff, and trainees.

UAB Surgery General Surgery Resident Dr. Clara Nicolas Martinez was selected as a recipient of the “Exceptional Award” from the faculty of the Department of Medicine from the University of Barcelona for her outstanding scholarship in her Ph.D. program.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist devices, heart transplant, adult cardiac surgery, vascular and endovascular surgery

The UAB Department of Surgery is highlighting faculty, residents and staff who have an intriguing out-of-the-office hobby. The goal of the series is to connect individuals across the department by helping illuminate out-of-the-office moments and achievements.

The Pancreatobiliary Disease Center has recently added a digital resource for patients to stay connected to their healthcare team after they leave the hospital.

UAB Division of GI Surgery Associate Professor Dr. Abhishek Parmar, General Surgery Resident Dr. Steven Cochrun, and Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Professor Dr. Jan Jansen’s study on “Surgeon perspectives on the STITCH trial: A mixed methods study” was recently published in the journal of Surgical Endoscopy.

UAB Division of Pediatric Surgery professors Elizabeth Beierle Chen, M.D., (who goes by Dr. Beierle), and Mike Chen, M.D., MBA, are not only two faculty members within the UAB Department of Surgery and pediatric surgeons at Children’s of Alabama- they are also spouses of 29 years - 30 years in March.

UAB General Surgery Resident Mallory Perez, M.D., has recently received a position in the Collaborative Northwestern Surgical Oncology Research Training program (CONSORT) funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) T32 training grant.

The UAB Department of Surgery's Pre-College Research Internship for Students from Minority Backgrounds (PRISM) and Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) programs have announced summer participants for 2023.

UAB Division of Pediatric Surgery Associate Professor Robert Russell, M.D., MPH, was appointed to the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine’s Faculty Council for a term of three years, beginning August 2023.

Services have launched for a violence intervention pilot program to support survivors of gun violence who are cared for by the trauma service at UAB Hospital.

UAB General Surgery Resident Connie Shao, M.D., recently discussed the intentional integration of telemedicine to ensure equitable treatment for all patients in the latest edition of Health Tech Magazine.

UAB General Surgery Resident Connie Shao, M.D., is responsible for creating the graphic design for the new Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) logo. 

Assistant Professor
Surgical Director, Pediatric Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support
Associate Program Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency
Surgical Director of Pediatric Heart Transplant, Children's Hospital of Alabama

Areas of Interest
complex congenital heart disease, neonatal cardiac surgery, single ventricle palliation, heart transplantation, pediatric mechanical circulatory support, adult congenital heart disease, valve repair, pediatric cardiac critical care, surgical outcomes research

UAB Department of Surgery Division of Pediatric Surgery Assistant Professor Laura Stafman, M.D., Ph.D, has been awarded the 2025 New Investigator Grant from the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI).

The UAB Department of Surgery welcomes its new communications manager, Emme Kirby Long Stewart. Stewart previously served the City of Decatur, Alabama as the primary media liaison for the municipality in the office of Mayor Tab Bowling.

Assistant Professor
Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Birmingham VA
Head of UAB Robotic CABG Program

Areas of Interest
adult cardiac surgery, aortic aneurysm and dissection repair, aortic valve repair, valvular heart disease, coronary artery bypass grafting, minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting, outcomes research

UAB Department of Surgery will be hosting a Virtual Open House for summer research internship programs on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. Highlighted programs will include Pre-College Research Internship for Students from Minority Backgrounds (PRISM) and Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE).

UAB Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy Assistant Professor Danielle Sutzko, M.D., M.S., FACS, recently addressed how physicians can prepare to tackle their student loan debt on the Association for Academic Surgery's blog.

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Montgomery Baptist

Areas of Interest
Adult cardiac surgery - coronary artery bypass grafting, heart valve repair/replacement, aneurysm repair surgery, robotic-assisted/open thoracic surgery, lung cancer surgery

The Department of Surgery is honored to welcome two new faculty members - Maria Helena Lima, M.D., and Demario Overstreet, Ph.D.

Lt. Gen. Robert Miller, the United States Air and Space Force Surgeon General, visited UAB to learn about the unique and successful military-civilian partnerships here.

UAB was well represented at the 2023 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Annual Meeting last month in Anaheim, California.

UAB Cardiovascular Imaging recently participated in a Living Heart Foundation screening event for former NFL players. Staff provided 62 comprehensive wellness screenings, along with echocardiograms, carotid ultrasounds, and EKGs, to the former players and their spouses.Photo Credit: Katherine Mozzone

The UAB Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) received the highest possible rating of three stars for its yearly participation in the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Quality Initiative (SVS VQI).

The UAB Department of Surgery is proud to announce the creation of the Surgery Advisory Council.

The UAB Department of Surgery, along with hospital leadership, marked the monumental accomplishment of 20,000 completed robotic cases on Friday, April 28 with a public celebration in North Pavilion. 

On Tuesday, April 18, the UAB Department of Surgery hosted its annual Resident Research Day. The yearly event serves as a platform for general surgery residents to present their ongoing research projects and discuss their findings with the UAB Surgery community at large.

The UAB Department of Surgery is making the most of the end of summer with several team-building exercises in the great outdoors.

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to welcome four new faculty members who have joined the department: Srikanth Iyer, Ph.D., William H. Cook, M.D., FACS, Angela Carter, Ph.D., and Russell G. Day, M.D., FACEP.

Members of the UAB Division of Pediatric Surgery recently volunteered at the UAB Habitat for Humanity 2022 Home Build.Photo Credits: Eiryn Mortellaro

The UAB Division of Surgical Oncology participated in the Steps against Melanoma Walk at Veterans Park on Saturday, May 20, in honor of Melanoma Awareness Month.

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to welcome ten new trainees this summer, including a preliminary resident for interventional radiology, PG2, and Integrated CT Resident.

The UAB General Surgery Residency Program commemorated chief residents, alongside supporting faculty and residents across the program, at awards day and a chief resident dinner.

The UAB Department of Surgery, in partnership with a host of generous contributors, has started a new program to help General Surgery Residents begin their careers with the tools they need.

The UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Fellowship program has been selected as one of only eight fellowship programs to participate in a Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery Fellowship program sponsored by The Fellowship Council (FC) and co-sponsored by the American Hernia Society (AHS) and SAGES.

UAB Medicine has recognized 12 Department of Surgery providers in the 2019 list of “Top-Performing” Providers:

The UAB Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Division of Pediatric Cardiology has been ranked in the top 20 children’s hospitals for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery by USA News & World Report.

UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Assistant Professor Robert Hollis, M.D., M.S.P.H., was recently interviewed in General Surgery News to describe the role of the UAB Surgery Community Network in addressing challenges for rural surgery in Alabama.

Members of the UAB Department of Surgery including Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, Assistant Division Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery Daniel Chu, M.D., MSPH, FACS, FASCRS, and Division of Surgical Oncology Division Director Vikas Dudeja, M.D., FACS, presented and participated in the 2023 Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty Association (AAPI) Leadership Course.

Pictured (L-R): Drs. Hollis, Sheikh, and HashmiSeveral members of the UAB Department of Surgery were conferred as fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) at this year’s clinical congress in Boston, Massachusetts.

The UAB Department of Surgery’s Section of Endocrine Surgery was honored to host the 2023 annual meeting of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES).

The UAB Department of Surgery has placed nationally as the 10th leading surgical institution for NIH funding in this year’s Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research report, with over $13.7 million awarded to faculty and researchers in 2022.

Photo credit: Aakansha Gosain, M.D.

Each year, the Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) convenes to create a platform for networking, scientific exchange, and well– fun. At the 15th annual ASC in Orlando, Florida, the UAB Department of Surgery had a large presence.

Get ready for an afternoon of adventure and fun!

The UAB Department of Surgery was honored to host Patrick Jackson, M.D., and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, as the featured guests for this year’s annual George Yang, M.D., Endowed Lectureship in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to welcome two new faculty members – Katie Novitski, M.D., MPH, and Rajamiyer Venkateswaran, M.D, MBBS, M.S.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and the UAB Trauma Survivors Network (TSN), gathered to recognize trauma survivors, their families, and medical teams at the second annual UAB Trauma Survivors Day event on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the American Trauma Society for the Trauma Survivors Network (TSN) at UAB.

Associate Professor
Associate Program Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency

Areas of Interest
coronary artery bypass grafting, valve reconstructive surgery, robotic cardiac surgery, transcatheter valve therapies, arrhythmia surgery, surgical education and mentorship