Trauma is the leading cause of death for those up to age 45, and those that survive their injuries are often left with physical and emotional challenges.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery has a unique connection with the military. Twelve faculty members are either veterans or active duty military.

Professor
Vice Chair, Perioperative Services
Chief of General Surgery, Birmingham VA Hospital
Associate Chief Quality Officer, UAB Medicine

Areas of Interest
minimally invasive colorectal surgery, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis), diverticulitis, and rectal prolapse

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
gallbladder disease, abdominal wall hernias, health services research, surgical education, and bariatric surgery

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Riverview Medical Center Gadsden

Areas of Interest 
robotic surgery, bariatric surgery outcome improvement, patient education

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
Health disparities, pain research

Associate Professor

Areas of Interest
gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, abdominal wall hernias, gallbladder disease, resident education and health outcomes research

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.

The team involved in the rescue operation reunited with Arnoldo Vasquez-Hernandez and his family to speak for the Hearts of Heroes episode.

Associate Professor

Areas of Interest
health services research, biostatistics

UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Surgery Assistant Professor Jillian Richter, Ph.D., alongside her colleagues including Department of Pediatrics Assistant Professor Robert Richter, M.D., published “Glycocalyx heparan sulfate cleavage promotes endothelial cell angiopoietin-2 expression by impairing shear stress-related AMPK/FoxO1 signaling” in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
laparoscopic and robotic minimally invasive general surgery, including foregut, bariatric surgery, and complex abdominal wall hernias

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Mobile Infirmary

Areas of Interest
colon cancer, rectal cancer, anal cancer, endoscopic treatment of colonic disease

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.

Irshad Chaudry, Ph.D., professor emeritus with the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery within the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been a mentor to many but also remembers what it’s like to need help himself.

Professor
Medical Director, Bariatric Surgery
Program Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship

Areas of Interest
surgical treatment of obesity and metabolically related diseases; minimally invasive and open gastric bypass surgery, adjustable gastric banding, and sleeve gastrectomy

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Russell Medical Center, Alexander City

Areas of Interest
Robotic minimally invasive surgery, abdominal wall inguinal and hiatal hernia repairs, gallbladder disease, colon and rectal cancer and diverticulitis, skin and soft tissue procedures and endoscopy

Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery Prasanth Patcha, M.D., MEng (left), as well as Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Clinical Assistant Professor Omar Rokayak, D.O. (middle), and Assistant Professor Jon Winkler, M.D., Ph.D. (right), have been named fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), effective Oct. 24.

Today is National Injury Prevention Day. Although this awareness day was created by the Injury Free Coalition for Kids to focus on injuries in that population, this year, UAB’s Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is focusing on fall safety in older adults.

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.

The Center for Injury Science (CIS) at UAB  has partnered with CSL Behring to support the management of one of the largest ever trauma clinical trials.

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.

Brandon Blake, a respiratory therapist with UAB’s trauma team and master sergeant in the United States Air Force, has been named as one of the Air Force’s Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022.

UAB Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the promotion of eleven faculty members, effective October 1.

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.

A recent episode of Behind the Knife, a popular surgical education podcast, featured research findings from a study by several faculty members and residents from the UAB Department of Surgery, including principal investigator Jonathan Black, M.D., an assistant professor with the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

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.

President & CEO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Voluntary Professor, UAB Department of Surgery

Areas of Interest
gastrointestinal surgery, pancreatic cancer, hepatobiliary tumors, health disparities, hernia surgery

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery celebrates Women in Medicine month by highlighting women in UAB's trauma, burn, and wound care services.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
minimally invasive surgery, bariatric surgery

Arlesia Jones, a wound care technician with the UAB Medicine burn dressing team and hydrotherapy, recently received a 2022 Clinical Excellence in Nursing Award, the highest honor available for nursing staff within the UAB Health System.

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Russell Medical Center, Alexander City

Instructor

Areas of Interest
Membrane physiology, dopamine and gut-brain axis, bile acids and neurotransmission, neuromodulation