Research News

Division of Plastic Surgery documents changing medical student recruitment

Former UAB Division of Plastic Surgery Professor Timothy King, M.D., Ph.D., in company with his colleagues, published “Changing Dynamics in Medical Education during COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Integrated Plastic Surgery Programs Adapting for Residency Applicants?” in the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

George wins Anderson Innovation Award for COVID-19 in Kidney Diseases

UAB Department of Surgery Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Research James George, Ph.D. has been awarded the Anderson Innovation Award for COVID-19 in Kidney Diseases, made possible by an generous donation from the Anderson Family.

Whitt, Chen to collaborate with BME department on SBIR grant

UAB Department of Surgery Research Associate and member of the Chen Lab Jason Whitt, Ph.D., and Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, in partnership with the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering, have won a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) one-year grant in the amount of over $240K.

Member of Bibb Lab awarded T32 Cognition Research Fellowship

UAB graduate student and member of the Bibb Lab, Alan Umfress has been awarded a one-year National Institute of Health (NIH) Institutional National Research Service Award (T32) for $34,820 beginning on Jul. 1, 2020.

Orandi, Spangler named CCTS KL2 Scholars

UAB Department of Surgery faculty members Babak Orandi, M.D., Ph.D., and Emily Spangler, M.D., were recently named two of this year’s UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science Deep South Mentored Career Development Program Scholars. Dr. Babak Orandi Dr. Emily Spangler The program culminates in lead-author manuscripts and an extramurally funded research grant submission for scholars, including Orandi’s project, “The Role of Bariatric Surgery in Obese Liver Transplant Candidates and Recipients,” and Spangler’s project, “Assessment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Imaging Surveillance Practices in Veterans.” The mentored career development – or KL2 award – program at the CCTS is sponsored[…]

Marayati receives UAB GSG award to attend, present at ACS Clinical Congress

General surgery research resident Raoud Marayati, M.D., recently received a $400 travel grant from the UAB Graduate Student Government to attend the American College of Surgeons 2019 Clinical Congress next month in San Francisco, California. Dr. Raoud Marayati During the four-day conference Oct. 27-31, Marayati will present her research project, “Novel Retinoic Acid Derivative Induces Differentiation and Growth Arrest in Neuroblastoma.” Don’t miss Marayati’s oral presentation on Oct. 28 during Pediatric Surgery Session 1, which will be part of the event’s annual scientific forum.

Rose awarded NCI grant for neuroendocrine research

UAB Pancreatobiliary Disease Center Director J. Bart Rose, M.D., MAS, received nearly $800,000 in funding from the National Cancer Institute this summer for his research on neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. J. Bart Rose Rose, who also serves as an assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, received a K08 Clinical Investigator Award in July for his project, “Targeted treatment of metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.” Through this grant, Rose will receive more than $150,000 in support each year from the NIH for five years.

MacLennan named statistical editor of AJT

Associate Professor Paul MacLennan, Ph.D., MPH, joins the American Journal of Transplantation Editorial Board this month as a statistical editor.

PRISM, SURE students present summer research

Alabama School of Fine Arts and UAB PRISM student Oluwatosin Badewa presents her research, "A Novel Application of Artificial Intelligence to Assess Diversity in Surgical Performance," at the PRISM and SURE presentation reception in Wallace Tumor Institute on July 24. (Photo by Rebecca Turner) Last month, five high school students from the Department of Surgery's Pre-College Research Internship for Students from Minority Backgrounds and 10 undergraduate students from the department's Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience presented the research projects they completed this summer under the mentorship of UAB Surgery faculty.

Marayati wins best resident research presentation at regional ACS meeting

General surgery resident Raoud Marayati, M.D., a researcher in the lab of the Division of Pediatric Surgery’s Elizabeth Beierle, M.D., received the award for best resident research presentation at last month’s annual meeting of the Alabama and Mississippi Chapters of the American College of Surgeons.

Hattaway awarded summer research fellowship

UAB medical student and Ren Lab member Reagan Hattaway is preparing to wrap up the last of her research training next week as this summer’s UAB School of Medicine Physician Scientist Development Fellow.

Surgery residents present at Resident Research Day

Dr. Samantha Baker, a UAB general surgery resident, presents her research, "Enhanced Recovery Pathway after Surgery Benefits Elderly Patients at the VA," at the Department of Surgery's 2019 Resident Research Day on June 11. (Photo by Ashton Cook) UAB Department of Surgery residents came out to the West Pavilion Conference Center earlier this month to present their research at the 10th Annual Resident Research Day.

NIH awards Chu $430K research grant

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health recently awarded Daniel Chu, M.D., a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award for his research project, “Enhancing Health Literacy in Surgery to Eliminate Surgical Disparities for African-Americans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.”

Balentine honored for Virtual ACE research at American Geriatrics Society meeting

[widgetkit id="115" name="NEWS: Balentine AGS Slideshow"] Former assistant professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Courtney Balentine, M.D., MPH, recently presented his research on Virtual Acute Care for Elders at the American Geriatrics Society’s 2019 meeting, where he was also named one of the recipients of this year’s AGS Jeffrey H. Silverstein Memorial Award for Emerging Investigators in the Surgical and Related Medical Specialties.

Comeaux receives research grant

Beth Comeaux, MSN, CNP, lead outpatient nurse practitioner in liver transplant and hepatobiliary surgery at UAB, was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners to support her work on the UAB Hepatobiliary Outcomes Database.

Kirklin receives ISHLT Lifetime Achievement Award

Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes James K. Kirklin, M.D., was recently named the recipient of the 2020 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Students selected for Department of Surgery summer research programs

More than 20 students will join the Department of Surgery this summer to participate in one of three summer research programs hosted by the department every year:

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