Explore UAB

Marnix E. Heersink, M.D., and Mary Heersink, longtime supporters of UAB, have made a gift of $1,040,000 gift to the UAB School of Health Professions. The donation, which established the Heersink Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship in Health Professions, is the largest single scholarship gift in school history.

Jewell J. Dickson-Clayton, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, ATP, FAOTA, and M. Tosi Gilford, MD, PA-C, each received a First Award from the UAB African American Faculty Association (AAFA) at an event on February 22, 2024.

UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy Program reached two major milestones in early December. It received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and on December 8, graduated its first class.

The second annual UAB PT/OT Outside Hospital Simulation saw 240 students from the Doctor of Physical Therapy and Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy programs learning first-hand what it means to walk into an acute care hospital setting.

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.

Chris Eidson, Ph.D., MBA, OTR/L, FAOTA, assistant professor, UAB Department of Occupational Therapy, was inducted into the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Roster of Fellows earlier this year.

Valley McCurry, Ph.D., MBA, OTR/L, FAOTA, assistant professor, UAB Department of Occupational Therapy, was inducted into the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Roster of Fellows earlier this year.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions recently launched a new undergraduate degree in disability studies and rehabilitation science. The new program is already accepting applications.

Governor Kay Ivey, during a bill signing ceremony on Thursday, signed into law the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program to provide income tax credit incentives for certain health professions students who train in rural and underserved counties across Alabama.

The Department of Occupational Therapy’s first education abroad group spent two transformative weeks in South Africa last spring that included a low vision screening for students at the Athlone School for the Blind. All students who attend this public school on the outskirts of Cape Town have visual deficits, and some have multiple disabilities, including cognitive impairments.

For the third consecutive year, the UAB School of Health Professions (SHP) has awarded members of the SHP faculty with faculty grants. This year’s winners are Alexandra Evancho, PT, DPT, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy; Seung Yup (Joshua) Lee, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration; and Megan Carpenter, OTD, OTR/L, SCFES, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Elizabeth Wylie, PT, DPT, NCS, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy.

Brooks Wingo, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Amy Goss, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences, are part of a team awarded a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The investigators will look at diet’s impact on mobility, physical and cognitive function, as well as on pain, fatigue, sleep, mood and anxiety in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

The UAB School of Health Professions has 12 people, including Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D., named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 Who’s Who in Health Care.

Jewell J. Dickson, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, ATP, FAOTA, associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, was named to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Roster of Fellows for her contributions to championing change through leadership, service, and advocacy.  

The UAB School of Health Professions has 12 people, including Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D., named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 Who’s Who in Health Care.

Valley McCurry, Ph.D., MBA, OTR/L, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association (ALOTA) Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, the highest honor within the organization. It is presented to those who have made significant contributions to the profession's body of knowledge. 

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? 

Kerry McAlpine, administrative supervisor for our Department of Occupational Therapy, is one of the first six honorees of the UAB Shared Values in Action Program (UAB VIP Award), launched in January to honor employees whose work exemplifies and embodies one or more of values of integrity, respect, diversity and inclusiveness, collaboration, excellence and achievement, accountability and stewardship.

Four faculty and staff from the School of Health Professions have been selected to receive the inaugural President’s Award for Excellence in Shared Values. The award honors Blazers who demonstrated one or more of UAB’s shared values in the course of their work during the extraordinary times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Gavin Jenkins, Ph.D., chair, UAB Department of Occupational Therapy, has been named to the 2020-21 UAB Faculty Fellows in Education Abroad program. His course will take students to Entebbe, Uganda, to work with adults and children with disabilities.