SHP Strategic Alignment Plan

President Watts has tasked every school and college at UAB to align our strategic plans with the university by November 2024. The timing of this actually works well for the School of Health Professions. We are at the halfway point of our Strategic Growth Plan 2024 - 2026, so this is the natural time to evaluate our progress and restructure our path.

Explainer

The video below provides an overview of our current approach for this process and outlines ways for you to be involved in shaping our future direction. Please note that as we progress, some details may be refined or adjusted based on new insights and feedback.

Plan Timeline

SHP Strategic Alignment Plan Focus Areas

Our success in all phases of our Strategic Growth Plan during the past two years is the result of exceptional work by faculty, staff, students, alumni and partners. The next two years will present new opportunities and challenges, and we must prepare to meet them with the same forethought and commitment to excellence.

Launched in June 2024, a school-wide Strategic Alignment Committee, along with several work groups based on our pillars and foundations, have been evaluating, refining, revising and updating our goals and strategies as we move forward. Below you will see everyone that is involved in this process.

Work Groups

Foundations

Pillars

Donna J. Slovensky SHP Dean’s Endowed Lecture

This lecture series is in honor of Professor and Senior Associate Dean Emerita Donna J. Slovensky, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA. Slovensky, a triple-alumna of UAB, served as a faculty member at UAB for more than 40 years where she taught more than 100 different courses to thousands of future health care leaders on ethics, law, management, quality, safety and leadership. Every year we bring leading and innovative thinkers to UAB's campus in her honor.

Photo Courtesy: Men'sHealth

Noah Galloway to deliver Slovensky Lecture

Noah Galloway, renowned Purple Heart awarded veteran, double amputee, athlete, and motivational speaker, will deliver this year's Slovensky Lecture on March 5, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., at the Alumni Theater in the UAB Hill Student Center.

Known for his resilience and determination, Noah’s story of overcoming adversity will leave you empowered to tackle life’s challenges.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot today and take the first step toward living your life with no excuses! Let Noah Galloway’s powerful message inspire you to conquer obstacles and embrace your best self.

As a special treat, everyone in attendance will receive a signed copy of Noah’s bestselling book, "Living with No Excuses: The Remarkable Rebirth of an American Soldier."

This compelling book goes from growing up in Midfield, Alabama, to his military service, and the battle to accept his "new normal" after losing his arm and leg during combat in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and beyond.

Questions? Please contact Amanda Sherman via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

🗓️ March 5, 2024
⏰ 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
📍 Alumni Theatre, Hill Student Center

About Noah Galloway

Sergeant Noah Galloway, a Birmingham, Alabama native, is the personification of valor and resilience. This Purple Heart awarded, double amputee decided to join the military as a result of the September 11th terror attacks. However, his battles didn’t end in the field when he was forced to adapt to a life with only two limbs after an IED attack during Operation Iraqi Freedom which would take his left leg above the knee and his left arm above the elbow. Noah’s incredible journey to mental and physical wellness is one that he shares in his memoir titled Living with No Excuses; the Remarkable Rebirth of an American Soldier. Those words, “No Excuses,” became Noah’s mantra, as he rose out of a post trauma depression via his reinvigorating passion for fitness.

His victories at what one would expect him to see as impossible competition and obstacle races would find Noah gaining a national spotlight. He become the first veteran and amputee to be featured on the cover of Men’s Health magazine earning their “Ultimate Guy” title in 2014 and landing him on the Ellen show. Noah also became a finalist on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars and would win the debut season of FOX’s American Grit.

Click here to visit his website.

More About Donna Slovensky

Professor and Senior Associate Dean Emerita Donna J. Slovensky, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA, is a triple-alumna of UAB who served as a faculty member here for more than 40 years.

She taught more than 100 different courses to thousands of future health care leaders on ethics, law, management, quality, safety and leadership. In addition, she taught at all levels, from freshmen to doctoral students, and in both traditional and online formats.

She has always been a forward thinker who consistently demonstrated integrity in leadership and encouraged diversity, inclusion, and respect within the academic health care system to which she has devoted her life’s work. Slovensky had a positive impact on the many faculty and students who continue to contribute to improving and maintaining the health of the citizens of Alabama and beyond.

Through her longevity of commitment, pursuit of excellence, dedication to education, and development of health care–focused leaders, Donna J. Slovensky has truly elevated the status, stature, and influence of our school all around the world.

Past Lecturers

2024: Matt Might, Ph.D.

Matt Might, director of the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at UAB, illustrated how AI has crossed from the realm of science fiction into practical, life-changing applications in health care (and beyond). He shared insights into the fundamental nature of AI and how it is reshaping diagnostics, health care administration, patient care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition and research. Click here to watch his presentation.

2023: Phil Hansen

Phil Hansen, a world-renowned artist, guided everyone in attendance to create several personalized art pieces using only a stylus and their mobile devices. He turned all of those works of art into one giant piece of art. Click here to watch Phil unveil the final artwork.

Research Acceleration Holistic (REACH) Program

The SHP Office of Research and innovation (SHP-R&I) is committed to supporting our faculty’s academic research and scholarly development through structured mentoring, coaching, and grantsmanship training. The REACH program, designed to promote REsearch ACceleration through a Holistic approach, gives SHP faculty the tools to find their own unique paths to becoming fully funded scholars and researchers.

Who is REACH for?

REACH supports all faculty with 100% appointments in SHP who are pursuing steady funding for their research groups. REACH uses a combination of mentoring, coaching, and training to help faculty be more productive with less stress. REACH also supports senior faculty who wish to develop program/center grants, training grants, or grants with multiple coordinating projects.

What does REACH involve?

REACH seeks to grow a community of independent investigators from diverse backgrounds who will benefit from a holistic approach to research. SHP-R&I meets with faculty members individually to determine which of the program’s offerings are most beneficial. Together, we create a professional development plan, including timeline and deliverables.

REACH can teach you the soft skills that help you manage your time and make long-term research sustainable. Through mentoring and coaching, you’ll attain the skills required to run a research group, including:

• Laboratory and research development, management, and leadership
• Creating a positive lab culture (hiring the right people, navigating difficult conversations, ensuring creativity and confidence among lab members so that they can do their best work)
• Building team connections and trust while equitably managing the logistics of allotting time and shared equipment for faculty, students, and trainees

REACH can equip you with the hard skills related to grant application preparation by training you directly in researching, writing, and submitting grants. Our REACH Writing Group for junior and mid-career investigators provides support and accountability and serves as a feeder program for the UAB Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education’s Grant Writing Intensive Cohort (GRIT), which has a proven track record of graduating federally funded investigators. If you are ready to pursue your first K grant or R01 and would like additional support in grant writing and other aspects of the application process, joining the REACH Writing Group is a good start.

Our commitment to you

We want your feedback and will continue to refine REACH to ensure we provide the tools SHP faculty members need. Our goal is to help you reach your academic goals and your true professional potential.

REACH out to us:

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to learn more about engaging editorial services and research support resources at the university and school for grant writing.

Proposal Due Calculator

At least a month before your grant is due to NIH or any other external funding agency, please declare your intent to submit here. A member of our team will reach out to you within two business days to confirm your grant submission timeline and will provide a list of required documents and relevant templates. We will work with you closely to help prepare your budget documents for submission and will serve as your liaison with OSP.

Note: The proposal due date calculator above displays OSP deadline as well, so you don’t have to check their website separately. We will work with OSP so you do not have to directly contact them.

R01 Guidance Summary

Below are guidelines for NIH R01 submission, multidisciplinary studies (R01 Clinical Trial Optional).

Application Components

Click the button below for a PDF with general guidelines of NIH R01 appclication components. Pleae refer to the specific Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for specific instructions.

General Information

Project Period

• The maximum project period is five years.

Budget

• Direct Cost Limit: $500,000 per year
• Indirect Cost Rate: five percent (5%) MTDC for On-Campus Research
• Cost Share: Not Required

Submitting to SHP–R&I

• Only submit final versions of required items (excluding the budget).
• Please submit required items upon completion. Do not submit at the deadline.
• Additional items may be requested throughout the application.

Post Submission

• After you submit, you will receive a series of emails from the OSP Officer. Feel free to check the assembled application in eRA Commons.
• When you receive your Summary Statement from the sponsor, please forward to Jill Meredith via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

General Formatting

• Font Type: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia.
• Font Color: Black.
• Font Size: 11-point or larger.
• Symbols: May be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; font size requirement still applies.
• Figures, Graphs, Diagrams, Charts, Tables, Figure Legends, and Footnotes: May be a smaller font, but must still be black color.
• Margins: At least one-half (1/2) inch at the top, bottom, left and right.
• Header and Footer: Do not include any information in the header or footer of the attachments. The header and footer will be system-generated.
• Application: Must be submitted by the OSP Officer via ASSIST by 5:00 pm central time on the due date.
• ASSIST ID: 0000000 https://public.era.nih.gov/assist
• SHP – OR stands for School of Health Professions Office of Research
• You may follow this link to the Application Form Instructions NIH website for a detailed submission guide.

SHP R&I Grant Resources

Feel like you have too little time and too much stress? We are here to provide you with support.

New to conducting research or lost in the process? We are here to provide you with guidance.

We understand that research is a critical part of your role as a faculty member. That being said, the research environment is constantly changing and successfully securing funding opportunities can be challenging. We understand and are here for you.

Brainstorming Ideas

Questions as You Prepare to Submit?

A Month Before Your Grant Is Due...

R01 Guidance Summary

Managing Your Award

Please inform Jill Meredith upon notification of your grant award. SHP R&I will work with you to confirm/update your budget and have the award processed by OSP. OSP will send the finalized award to Grants & Contracts Accounting to have an account created. SHP R&I will distribute the account number to the PI and others as needed, add any applicable effort, and initiate any funded subawards.

SHP R&I post-award administrators will monitor your account to ensure expenditures are accurate and spending is on track as budgeted. We will send out account summaries and projections quarterly, and we are available to meet as needed. We will inform you of upcoming progress reports and/or extension due dates.

Helpful Links

Managing Your Award

Make sure you notify the SHP Office of Research and Innovation (SHP-R&I) and the UAB Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) once your grant is funded and you have received your award. If you have not contacted each of them already, please notify This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Steps Following Notification

• Once notified, the PI and SHP-R&I team will review the Notice of Award in its entirety, specifically noting the terms and conditions along with reporting requirements.
• OSP will request a detailed budget upon receipt of the Notice of Award.
• The SHP-R&I team will meet with you to discuss and determine your budget needs prior to submitting the internal budget to OSP.
• Once an account has been established by the SHP-R&I team in collaboration with UAB Accounting, a member of the SHP-R&I post-award team will monitor account expenditures including personnel effort and salary on a monthly basis.
• The SHP-R&I team will schedule quarterly meetings with the PI to discuss grant spending.
• The SHP-R&I team will also assist with the financial portion of progress reports that are required by the sponsor.

Changes to Budget or Personnel

Any changes to the budget or personnel should be discussed with the SHP-R&I team, as prior approval may be required by the sponsor.

Helpful Links

• UAB OSP Website: Common tasks managing your award
• NIH Other Support Instructions
• Other Support Format Page
• Other Support Sample

Additional SHP-R&I Post-Award Services

• Other Support Assistance/Review
• Effort Review/Discussions
• Subaward Renewals
• Progress Reports
• Rebudgeting Requests
• No-Cost Extensions

Speaker Series

This is a series of quarterly lectures featuring nationally and internationally renowned luminaries who address such interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary topics as health inequity, food insecurity, racial disparity, precision health, and nutrition and wellness. Lectures will be open to all of UAB and will be followed by a meet and greet, allowing for a cross-pollination of ideas among colleagues from different departments and schools across campus.

Dr. Saad Ahmed: Healthcare Delivery in the Sub-Sahara and Federal Medical Centre Abuja

On June 1, 2023, Dr. Saad Ahmed, CEO and medical director, Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, came to UAB to present: "Healthcare Delivery in the Sub-Sahara and Federal Medical Centre Abuja." We had many join us to hear from the 2022 Health Advocate of the Year by the Commonwealth Medical Association.

SHP R&I Internal Support

We are here to support you throughout the grant application process. Following are programs and tools created for School of Health Professions faculty, as well as helpful UAB links.

Research Acceleration Holistic Program (REACH)

The REACH program reflects SHP R&I’s commitment to supporting early- & mid-career, as well as senior faculty members in academic research and scholarly development. REACH is designed to promote research acceleration in a holistic manner. To that end, REACH comprises structured mentoring and coaching and grantsmanship training to help you forge your unique path to becoming fully funded scholars and researchers.

Learn More

SHP Faculty Grants

These one-time grants from the school were established to incentivize junior faculty to gain external research funding.

Submit your application.

SHP Research Travel Award

This program supports junior faculty members who wish to present oral talks/posters on their original research at conferences, with the goal of advancing their own research programs and enhancing SHP’s visibility.

Learn More

SHP R&I Speaker Series

The SHP-R&I Speaker Series is a series of quarterly lectures featuring nationally and internationally renowned luminaries who address such interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary topics as health inequity, food insecurity, racial disparity, precision health, and nutrition and wellness. Lectures will be open to all of UAB and will be followed by a meet and greet, allowing for a cross-pollination of ideas among colleagues from different departments and schools across campus.

Learn More

SHP Budget Templates

• Simple
• K01
• R01
• R01 with Subawards
• R21

Helpful UAB Links

• UAB Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
• UAB OSP General Information
• UAB Office of Research Training Hub
• UAB Grant Development Continuum Toolkit
• UAB Proposal Submission Requirements

Helpful NIH Links

• NIH Application Guide
• NIH Facilities & Other Resources