Faculty, staff, student and community innovators were recognized for their 2020 contributions to COVID-19 research, innovation and entrepreneurship during the fifth annual UAB Innovation Awards presented by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Oct. 29.

A faculty member in the School of Health Professions turns his own experiences running research projects into a vision for a comprehensive, automated digital solution with the help of funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

President Watts and other senior leaders responded to queries on the hiring freeze, student mental health, working from home in 2021 and more.

Shauntice Allen, assistant professor of environmental health sciences, is the winner of the 2020 Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award for her work to influence change in the greater Birmingham community and beyond through community engagement.

A novel detergent-like compound developed by UAB researchers that blocks HIV and HSV viruses from entering cells could have the same effect against the virus that causes COVID-19. The team is exploring the compound’s potential with a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Jeff Walker, professor and chair for the Department Criminal Justice, is the winner of the 2020 Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award for his interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts across campus.

ScopeAssist, invented by a physician and an engineer, is designed to help surgeons deal with the rigors associated with endoscopic surgeries.

Most PPE goes on the provider, not the patient. A solution to this problem from UAB faculty earned them a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Ten graduate faculty were honored with the UAB Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award during a virtual reception Sept. 9. See what the award recipients say they learned from UAB’s up-and-coming scientists.

For his dedication to aging research and science communication, biology Professor and Chair Steven Austad, Ph.D., has been awarded this year’s Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees awarded the Distinguished Professor rank to Nancy Borkowski, Louise Chow, George Howard and Virginia Howard and the University Professorship rank to Eta S. Berner.

Caroline Harada, Burel Goodin, Tina Kempin Reuter and Allison Shorten demonstrated extraordinary commitment to engaging undergraduate students in service-learning, undergraduate research, education-abroad experiences and team-learning environments.

David Chaplin, Harriett Amos Doss, Stuart Frank, William Grizzle, Wendy Gunther-Canada, Robert Kleinstein and Andrew Rucks have been designated emeritus professors for exceptional service to the university and their profession.

Get a glimpse into how employees are continuing their unique and important work during UAB’s limited business operations.

The three-year-old Green Labs program, once a cohort of just 18, anticipates 120 UAB labs will have My Green Lab certification by December — the largest number of any organization, academic or otherwise, worldwide.

In 1977, the world’s first effective treatment for a viral disease occurred at University Hospital when Richard Whitley, M.D., and Charles Alford developed vidarabine. Now, investigators across UAB have mobilized their research interests to help us better understand and fight coronavirus.

It’s predicted that 68% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. As urban areas trend toward tech use and digitization, the coronavirus pandemic is revealing both potential pitfalls and opportunities for growth, says human rights scholar Tina Kempin Reuter, Ph.D.

The physical locations are closed, yet UAB Libraries is busier than ever. It’s just all happening in a flurry of ones and zeroes: online requests for curbside pickup, chat with librarians, access custom remote instruction and soon — digitized print materials from the stacks.

Beginning with iron lung treatments in the 1950s, UAB has long been committed to the respiratory health of its patients. That continues with its COVID Respiratory Clinic to better evaluate treatments needed for coronavirus patients.

Uncertainty can fuel scientific endeavors, leading to more and better discoveries and understanding. But what happens when the public misinterprets that uncertainty? Associate Professor Kevin McCain, Ph.D., says education, rational thinking and trust in experts can help protect citizens from being misled.

Faculty, staff, student and community innovators were recognized for their 2020 contributions to COVID-19 research, innovation and entrepreneurship during the fifth annual UAB Innovation Awards presented by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Oct. 29.

President Watts and other senior leaders responded to queries on the hiring freeze, student mental health, working from home in 2021 and more.

Shauntice Allen, assistant professor of environmental health sciences, is the winner of the 2020 Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award for her work to influence change in the greater Birmingham community and beyond through community engagement.

UAB’s Benevolent Fund has been working in overdrive to meet the needs of Blazers and Birmingham residents. Making, restarting or increasing a monthly pledge via payroll deduction can help continue its work.

Jeff Walker, professor and chair for the Department Criminal Justice, is the winner of the 2020 Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award for his interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts across campus.

Doctors don’t have anything to reliably collect urine from neonates. A solution to this problem earned a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

The buses have a new Blazer-fied look, but they also incorporate new features to better help employees and students commute more easily and sustainably.

Nominations are being accepted for one of two new awards that will debut in 2021.

UAB continues to implement its Campus Master Plan through new facilities and renovations to enhance instruction, research, technology and student life.

UAB’s campus safety specialists are engaging with students, faculty and staff to boost compliance with health and safety precautions through education and accountability.

Most PPE goes on the provider, not the patient. A solution to this problem from UAB faculty earned them a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

UAB leaders shared insights on the first weeks of fall semester and upcoming parking changes and answered questions on flu shots, residence halls, spring semester and more.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected UAB because of the university’s continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion — even during a pandemic.

UAB leaders discussed data and reactions from the first weeks of fall semester and answered questions on mask compliance, work restrictions, benefits changes and more.

Ten graduate faculty were honored with the UAB Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award during a virtual reception Sept. 9. See what the award recipients say they learned from UAB’s up-and-coming scientists.

For his dedication to aging research and science communication, biology Professor and Chair Steven Austad, Ph.D., has been awarded this year’s Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction.

The newest project from UAB’s Bloom Studio is brightening up campus — this time from the Solar House and Sustainable Neighborhood at the corner of 11th Avenue South and 17th Street.

Twelve faculty have been selected to receive the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which honors those who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching. The 2020 honorees represent each school, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Honors College and the Graduate School.

Employees submitted more than 160 questions and comments during the virtual town hall Aug. 14; find answers to questions that couldn’t be answered live due to time constraints, including explanations of benefits, mask compliance, remote working expectations and more.

UAB leaders discussed data behind the university’s comprehensive reopening plan and answered questions on move-in, class schedules, mask distribution and more.

Learn how UAB bioinformaticist Jake Chen, Ph.D., and computer scientist Da Yan, Ph.D., shifted their venerable gathering online and aided the fight against COVID-19.

With funding from UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research grants, researchers are testing penehyclidine to halt the acute respiratory distress syndrome seen in seriously ill patients by defending crucial cell barriers.

Using extensive testing, diagnosis and clinical data from across the Deep South, this project will be the first to analyze multiple dimensions of inequality to clarify contributions to COVID-19 disparities.

Moon Nahm, M.D., has identified the crucial antibodies for pneumococcal vaccines and helped lower prices from $100 per dose to $2. With pilot funding from UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research initiative, Nahm is adapting his proven techniques to SARS-CoV-2.

In a new trial funded through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research program, investigators are comparing the widely available steroid methylprednisolone with dexamethasone, which lowered risk of dying by one-third in a U.K. trial this summer.

This summer’s COVID-19 Data Science Hackathon spurred many creative applications and several ongoing projects, including an automated genomic epidemiology pipeline and a machine-learning based viral transmission simulator.

In a new paper, Keshav Singh, Ph.D., outlines the case for the “powerhouse of the cell” as a hideout and unwitting ally for SARS-CoV-2.

Researchers from UAB’s Precision Medicine Institute have used AI to identify hundreds of potential treatments, which are now being tested through the COVID-19 research fund that the institute helped launch.

New microbiology faculty member Nicholas Lennemann is transforming the fluorescent virus assay he developed into a new tool against coronavirus in work supported through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research fund.

Bioreactors built to offer new insights on lung cancer are being adapted to study coronavirus infection and test new treatments in this project supported through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research fund.

Virologist Kevin Harrod, Ph.D., is the institution’s resident expert on SARS viruses. His lab is handling biological validation for innovative drug-repurposing studies supported by the School of Medicine’s Urgent COVID-19 research fund.

Microbiologists Troy Randall and Frances Lund are building key proteins from several coronaviruses to study antibody cross-reactivity and other crucial questions in this project supported through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research fund.

Uncertainty can fuel scientific endeavors, leading to more and better discoveries and understanding. But what happens when the public misinterprets that uncertainty? Associate Professor Kevin McCain, Ph.D., says education, rational thinking and trust in experts can help protect citizens from being misled.

In this project supported through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research fund, Professor Randall Davis aims to identify antibodies that block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells — information that could guide convalescent plasma therapy and more.

In this project supported through UAB’s urgent COVID-19 research fund, Assistant Professor Benjamin Larimer, Ph.D., adapts his lab’s work on phage display — normally used to identify new cancer treatments — to overcome limitations of antibody and vaccine testing.

Researchers in the School of Public Health illustrate how tweets labeling the novel coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” exploded across the United States.

Trial to rapidly identify and treat the immune overreaction that may be behind some cases of severe COVID-19 is made possible through UAB Medicine’s Urgent COVID-19 Clinical Research and Laboratory Research Fund.

Just in time to tackle COVID-19, the Informatics Institute launches a bigger, more capable version of its team-science data platform.