Tuesday, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine honored its 2025 Dean's Excellence Award recipients during a reception at the Wallace Tumor Institute. The event recognized 19 distinguished faculty for their exceptional contributions in service, research, mentorship, teaching, and access and engagement. In addition, the school presented the Will Ferniany Academic Medicine Leadership Award to two deserving staff. Congratulations to the six DOM leaders recognized at the ceremony.

Six DOM leaders recognized at the ceremony:

Steven Fox, MD
Assistant Professor in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Teaching; Junior Faculty

Eric Judd, MD
Associate Professor in Nephrology
Teaching; Senior Faculty

Gabriela Oates, PhD
Associate Professor in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Access and Engagement; Senior Faculty

Michael Mugavero, MD, MHSc
Professor in General Internal Medicine and Population Science
Mentoring; Senior Faculty

Rodney Tucker, MD, MMM
Professor in Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Service; Senior Faculty

Shane Wiley, MBA
Executive Administrator for the Department of Medicine
Dr. Will Ferniany Academic Medicine Leadership Award

Payne Uncovers Cellular Behavior inside Artery Plaques

Greg Payne, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in CVD, has been named the latest recipient of Heersink's Featured Discovery award for his research which provides an unprecedented view of cellular changes that drive coronary artery disease.

Alcohol/Salad Diet Shows High Risk of Incident Hypertension

Cardiology fellow Kara Morton, M.D., first-authored a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension that found the Alcohol/Salad diet — a dietary pattern primarily composed of salad, greens, tomatoes and alcohol — was associated with the highest risk of incident hypertension, suggesting diet is a contributing factor, but not the sole cause, of incident hypertension.

Lertwilaiwittaya Wows Attendees with NORD Talk

After a stellar presentation of “Transplant Genetics” at the National Organization for Rare Disorders' Clinical Grand Rounds, Medicine-Genomics resident Pong Lertwilaiwittaya, M.D., PGY-3, has been contacted by multiple institutions to share his expertise. Great job, Dr. Lertwilaiwittaya!