A recent trip to South Africa offered 11 entry-level OTD students and four faculty from the UAB Department of Occupational Therapy a chance to find out—and the opportunity to explore occupational therapy through the lenses of a culture and history with both striking differences and similarities to their own.

Ananda Basu, MBBS, MD, FRCP, M.D., has been selected as the director of the UAB Diabetes Research Center.

Phil Cendoma, Ph.D., MSHA, MBA, assistant professor in our Department of Health Services Administration, has been selected as a 2025-2026 Honors Faculty Fellow in the UAB Honors College.

Snekha Rajasekaran, a junior in the UAB B.S. in Biomedical Sciences program, completed summer research programs with the Stanford University School of Medicine Cardiovascular Institute, in California and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, in Illinois. She sat down with us to discuss her experience and share tips on how students can make the most of their opportunities.

William Reed, DC, Ph.D., professor and director of the UAB PhD in Rehabilitation Science program, received the George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year Award from the American Chiropractic Association.

W. Timothy Garvey, M.D., FACE, MABOM, was given the Gerald Reaven Distinguished Leader in Insulin Resistance Award by the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease (WCIRDC).

Nancy Borkowski, DBA, CPA, FACHE, FHFMA, distinguished professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, has been named recipient of the Gary L. Filerman Prize for Educational Leadership by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).

UAB students Cacia Billings and Eleanor Williams are heading into the new year with something to celebrate. Both first-year students in UAB’s Physicians Assistant Studies program were selected as Alabama Area Health Education Center Scholars.

“It was one of those moments where I just knew what I wanted to do.”

Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of undergraduate research in the UAB biomedical sciences program, was selected as the winner of the 2024 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research.

The UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) has awarded Seung-Yup (Joshua) Lee, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, a 2024 CCTS Pilot Award.

Shannon H. Houser recently received the AHIMA Triumph Influencer Award.

Nancy Borkowski received the 2024 Regent’s Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Award from the Alabama Healthcare Executives Forum, an officially designated chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

José Fernández, Ph.D., FTOS, was named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Distinction from The Obesity Society (TOS) for “leadership and scholarship in the field of obesity that has inspired a more diverse group of scientists and clinicians.”

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 an essay answer. This year, we asked students to talk about the ways classroom collaborations and/or team-based learning has made them stronger teammates.

Each summer, the Department of Occupational Therapy joins with UAB Arts in Medicine to host two 4-week virtual magic camps for children with disabilities. It’s a unique skill-building opportunity for both the children and graduate students in UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program, who complete one of their Level I Fieldwork experiences as camp coaches.

A multidisciplinary group of low vision practitioners and people with visual impairments gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early September at the Low Vision Matters conference. There, they heard Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, and Jason Vice, PhD, OTR/L, speak about low vision evaluation, assessment, and intervention, and spent a day in hands-on labs.

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Rachel Ashcraft, MS, OTR/L, TBRI Practitioner, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association’s (ALOTA) highest honor, the Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, at its 2024 Annual Fall Conference in Gulf Shores, AL.

Redemption Earned, an Alabama-based nonprofit, has appointed UAB Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Sarah Tucker, PhD, OTR/L, to its board of directors.

The UAB Graduate Programs in Health Informatics has announced a new scholarship, dedicated to the memory of Eta S. Berner, Ed.D., University Professor Emeritus.