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Amsler honored for Antarctic expeditions, explorer’s spirit by international organization
Maggie Amsler, a benthic ecologist and longtime member of UAB’s Antarctic research team, has been selected for membership in The Explorers Club inaugural Explorers 50 program, which recognizes remarkable people working to change the world and extend the meaning and impact of exploration.
These employees went from pandemic to ‘Pomp and Circumstance’Meet four more hardworking staff who completed their degrees this month.
Docu-series tells stories from Alabama’s past to forge a better futureThe first installment, “Bending the Arc: The Vote,” which tells the stories of Black people and white allies who fought for racial justice during the 1960s, is the collaborative effort of retired and current UAB employees and community partners.
For these employees seeking degrees, 2020 brings stress — and successWhat was it like to complete a degree while working full-time during a pandemic? Three employees share their stories ahead of this weekend’s commencement ceremonies.
Paustian named associate provostThe newly created role will advance effective learning, teaching, scholarship and service as detailed in UAB’s strategic plan, Forging the Future.
Meet the student contact-tracers fighting COVID one call at a timeFour students tracking COVID spread for the School of Public Health and Alabama Department of Health share what a typical shift is like, the reactions they get and what they wish the public knew about contact tracing.Children’s book explores the roles of moms working in health care“Is Mommy a Doctor or a Superhero?,” written by emergency medicine physician Amy Faith Ho, M.D., uses colorful illustrations and whimsical characters to show that doctor moms are heroes and children can find superheroes within themselves.
Kilgo’s longtime dedication to interdisciplinary education provides ‘invaluable, real-world experience’University Professor Jennifer Kilgo, Ph.D., is the recipient of the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching, the highest award for teaching presented by UAB.
Problem to product: New way to navigate twisted blood vesselsWith his idea for a coil that travels through the vasculature much like a sailboat riding the breeze, a UAB neuroradiologist has earned a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Campus and community innovators get due praise for work combating the COVID-19 pandemicFaculty, 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.
Problem to product: Creating a smart software assistant for researchers and research participantsA 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.
Allen channels passion for community service into ‘bringing out the power in other people’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.
Problem to product: Targeting SARS-CoV-2 entry into cellsA 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.
'Institutional treasure' Cartner propelled UAB research forward behind the scenesColleagues explain say retiring Animal Resources Program Director Samuel Cartner, DVM, Ph.D., has helped shape the institution’s research.
Walker is dedicated to ‘building bridges within the university and the community’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.
Problem to product: Protecting surgeons and their scopesScopeAssist, invented by a physician and an engineer, is designed to help surgeons deal with the rigors associated with endoscopic surgeries.
Problem to product: Building ZorroFlow to help babies thriveDoctors 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.
Chief Human Resources Officer Alesia Jones to retireJones has announced she will retire from UAB in February, after 27 years of service to UAB and 12 as the institution’s senior HR leader.
New awards to elevate UAB’s shared valuesNominations are being accepted for one of two new awards that will debut in 2021.
Problem to product: Building a better helper for vaccinesThe vaccine pipeline rests largely on a single tree in Chile. A sustainable, cost-effective solution from this UAB chemist earned him a commercialization grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Problem to product: Shielding providers from COVID-19 particlesMost 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 team wins AHA prize for project mapping links between health disparities and COVID-19An interdisciplinary team of faculty and graduate students are using machine learning to identify geographic areas in which social determinants contribute to the COVID-19 burden as a way to improve the public health response.
Cyprès named associate provost, Robinson to serve as School of Education interim deanSchool of Education Dean Autumn Tooms Cyprès, Ed.D., has been named associate provost for lifelong learning, effective Oct. 1. She will lead a university-wide strategic review of UAB’s continuing education efforts. Michelle Robinson, DMD, senior associate dean in the School of Dentistry, will become the interim dean of the School of Education.What 10 mentors learned from teaching graduate students and postdocsTen 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.
Provost to ‘share the mic and work toward racial justice’Provost Pam Benoit and YWCA Central Alabama’s CEO LaRhonda Magras will team up Sept. 18 for #Sharethemicnow, a national campaign to amplify the voices, perspectives and work of Black women in America.
What is the answer to aging? 35 years into his research, Austad is still askingFor 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.
Messina honored for support of UAB, shared governanceFrank Messina, DBA, professor of accounting and faculty athletics representative, exemplifies core values that propel institutional excellence.
12 honored for excellence in teachingTwelve 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.
COVID-19, virtual medicine and teaching an old doc new tricksNeurologist Peter King, M.D., shares his experience coming to terms with telehealth.
Siegal named to inaugural Sigma Xi Fellows cohortGene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., interim chair of Genetics and executive vice chair of Pathology, is one of 20 named Fellows of the scientific research honor society for his distinguished contributions as a physician scientist, scholar and leader in academic medicine.
Arts and Sciences poised to play unique role in uncertain world, new dean saysScience, medical sociology, health communication, foreign language and the social and behavioral sciences are crucial at this time of a pandemic and protests, says new College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kecia Thomas, Ph.D., who begins her tenure at UAB Aug. 1.
SVP Allen Bolton to retireSenior Vice President for Finance and Administration Allen Bolton has announced he will retire from UAB effective Jan. 1, 2021. A national search will be launched to identify his replacement.
5 faculty elevated to Distinguished, University professorshipsThe 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.
4 honored with Provost’s Award for Faculty ExcellenceCaroline 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.
7 honored as emeritus facultyDavid 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.
Booker is new UAB ombudsAlicia Booker has been selected as the new university ombudsman in a newly expanded office that also will support university staff in conflict and dispute resolution.
Researchers honored with major prize for work with vulnerable communities in the CaribbeanAssistant Professor Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., co-led a cross-disciplinary project that was recognized with the Robert Carr Research Award at the International AIDS Conference July 8.
See how Blazers are working well in midst of COVID-19 crisisGet a glimpse into how employees are continuing their unique and important work during UAB’s limited business operations.
Hybrid fall semester will ‘harness the strengths’ in Engineering, new dean saysDespite being thrown a coronavirus curveball, new Engineering Dean Jeffrey W. Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., who began his tenure at UAB July 1, says he is looking forward to what the future holds for the School of Engineering: opportunities for growing and diversifying its student population, defining and developing new research areas and constructing a new building, to name a few.
Meet the scientists who volunteered to face the coronavirus up closeMembers of the lab of tuberculosis researcher Andries Steyn, Ph.D., have provided crucial assistance in UAB efforts to combat COVID-19.