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Each year Tosi Gilford, MD, PA-C, director of the Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program, shares a special message with her students in honor of National Physician Assistant Week, “Being a PA is more than a profession…it is a calling; it is a lifestyle.” 

Five students have been awarded a UAB School of Health Professions Blazer Forever Scholarship. The award is given to SHP students during Homecoming Week based on their answer to an essay question. This year, we asked the question: What makes you different? 

Muhammad Jan, a second-year student in our Physician Assistant Studies program, has been selected by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) for the 2021-2022 Future Educator Fellowship. He is one of only 15 from the entire country chosen for the prestigious position.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Physician Assistant Studies program has been awarded a grant of $1,492,465 from the HRSA to expand mental health training for their students, increase the number of underrepresented in medicine, and extend clinical care to more underserved patient populations.

Krystle W. Glasgow, MIS, CNMT, NMTCB(CT), NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, clinical coordinator in the UAB M.S. in Nuclear Medicine Technology program, has been elected as the 2021-2022 president-elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS). This is a three-year commitment as president-elect, president, and past-president of this national society.

Allyson Ferguson, a senior in our B.S. in Biomedical Sciences program and a member of UAB Honors College, has been named a semifinalist in this year’s Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition.

The UAB School of Health Professions has 16 people, including Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D., named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2020 Who’s Who in Health Care.

The School of Health Professions (SHP) Student Awards, for the fall semester of 2020, were managed by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) with endorsement from the Program Directors. Due to COVID-19, we were not able to recognize our exceptional students with an award ceremony. Nonetheless, it does not diminish their excellence or their accomplishments.

The UAB School of Health Professions has partnered with the School of Medicine and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB to offer a one-year post-graduation fellowship to a student in the M.S. in Genetic Counseling program. The fellowship will provide advanced clinical training, research and teaching opportunities in the area of cancer genetic counseling.  The student who is selected for the position will have full tuition support, be employed by the UAB Department of Genetics, and earn an educational stipend during the fellowship year in exchange for a four-year post-graduation commitment to work at UAB.

Many members of the School of Health Professions made service and service-learning a priority at the end of 2020. The SHP Staff Council hosted an SHP-wide holiday drive and the freshman course HRP 101: Experiencing the University Transition for Health Professions saw 14 teams of students support 11 community partners.

Krystle Glasgow, CNMT, NMTCB(CT), NMAA, a teacher in the UAB School of Health Professions, has been recognized as a Fellow by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – Technologist Section. She is one of only three in the state of Alabama to earn the prestigious honor.

On December 2, 2020, Dina V. Avery, DHSc, MA, MAEd, was elected chairperson of the Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition. The ACCCC is a statewide network of physicians, organizations, medical groups, cancer patients, cancer survivors and more. They are dedicated to reducing the incidence, morbidity and mortality of cancer in Alabama.

Emily Caffrey, Ph.D., supervised practice coordinator and adjunct faculty member of the UAB M.S. in Health Physics program, is the recipient of the 2020 Elda E. Anderson Award. At the age of 31, she is the youngest member of the Health Physics Society to earn the honor that has been delivered every year since 1962.

The Physician Assistant Education Association delivered awards to the UAB Physician Assistant Studies Program, Program Director Tosi Gilford, MD, PA-C, and to student Amber Rohrberg.

Benjamin Abney, a Physician Assistant Studies student expected to graduate December 2021, has been awarded a UAB School of Health Professions Blazer Forever Scholarship. The award is given to five SHP students during Homecoming Week based on their answer to an essay question. This year, there were nearly 100 submissions to the question: What makes you most proud to be a UAB Blazer?

The UAB School of Health Professions’ Wellness and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees collaborated to create tours of the murals and landmarks that celebrate Birmingham’s history in the Civil Rights Movement, plus, today’s efforts for justice and healing. These tours can be enjoyed walking, driving or online.

Kathy Nugent, Ph.D., has been named chair of the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences (CDS) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions. Nugent is a leader in technology and research commercialization who has been associate vice president and executive director of the UAB Harbert Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE) since 2014.

The UAB School of Health Professions had seven undergraduate students - all in the B.S. in Biomedical Sciences program - earn honors at the 2019 UAB EXPO. Every semester the EXPO celebrates excellence in research, creative activity and scholarship by showcasing the academic endeavors of undergraduate students in nine categories for oral and poster presentations.

Five members of the UAB School of Health Professions faculty earned certificates for completing the National Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy (NIXLA). Members of the Class of 2019 are Dina Avery, DHSc, Brenda Bertrand, Ph.D., April Rollins-Kyle, MAEd, Sarah Tucker, Ph.D., and Neena Xavier, M.D.

The UAB School of Health Professions has five people on the 2019 Birmingham Business Journal Most Influential Executives list.