UAB General Surgery Residency Program resident Alizeh Abbas, M.D., has been selected as a recipient of the UAB Office of Postdoctoral Education Travel Award.

The UAB Department of Microbiology hosted the 31st Gail Cassell Microbiology Research Retreat Nov. 21-23 at Joe Wheeler State Park. The event represents a decades-long tradition bringing together faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and alumni for a weekend showcasing the best of the department’s research.

Martina Bebin, M.D., MPA., professor in the UAB Department of Neurology, was recently named chair of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Child Neurology. Bebin, who has served as co-chair for the past two years alongside Nina Schor, M.D., Ph.D., will assume the role in January 2026.

Nineteen providers in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery were recently recognized by the UAB Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for the exceptional care they delivered to patients during fiscal year 2025. These providers achieved a rating of 95 percent or higher in care satisfaction, based on patient feedback in Medallia.

Thanushri Srikantha, a participant in the UAB Department of Surgery Short-Term Research Experiences Advancing Medical Students (STREAMS) program, has earned national recognition for her summer research under the mentorship of Demario  Overstreet, Ph.D.

The Wiregrass Alabama AHEC is using its ongoing Pathways to Smiles initiative to introduce rural high school students to rewarding careers in oral health. This project to recruit future dental health providers comes as Alabama ranks No. 49 in access to dental care.

On Thursday, Nov. 20., the Heersink School of Medicine honored 20 faculty members at the Fall 2025 Endowed Chairs and Professorships Reception. This event recognizes Heersink faculty who have made major contributions to research, education, and clinical care.

Gregory Davis, M.D., M.S.P.H., Division Director, Forensic Pathology, was installed as the 2025-2026 president of the American Society for Clinical Pathology during the annual meeting on November 17-20 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Twelve providers in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery were recently recognized by the UAB Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for the exceptional care they delivered to patients during FY25. These providers achieved a top box rating of 95 percent or higher (n ≥ 30) in care satisfaction, based on patient feedback in Medallia.

Seven trainee abstracts from the lab of Jianyi “Jay” Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., professor and T. Michael and Gillian Goodrich Endowed Chair of Engineering Leadership, were selected for the 2025 American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions conference.

Justin Thomas, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, has been awarded a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging and the Office of AIDS Research to study the impact of insomnia treatment on cognitive health in older adults living with HIV.

Twelve providers in the Department of Radiation Oncology were recently recognized by the UAB Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for the exceptional care they delivered to patients during fiscal year 2025. These providers achieved a rating of 95 percent or higher in care satisfaction, based on patient feedback in Medallia.

UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) honored 33 graduates of the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) fall 2025 Cohort 4 during a ceremony held on Thursday, Nov. 12. The cohort completed a multi-session program designed to strengthen leadership capability for emerging leaders across the enterprise.

Forty-seven providers in the Department of Neurology were recently recognized by the UAB Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for the exceptional care they delivered to patients during fiscal year 2025. These providers achieved a rating of 95 percent or higher in care satisfaction, based on patient feedback in Medallia.

Elliott Gozansky, M.D., Ph.D., joined the UAB Department of Radiology as a professor and chief in the cardiopulmonary imaging section in September 2025. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Emory University and later completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at Purdue University. He then received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed both his radiology residency and cardiothoracic imaging fellowship at the University of Maryland.

The UAB Breast Imaging section marked another successful Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October with a variety of initiatives to promote breast cancer screening. The department’s sonographers and technologists led several coordinated campaigns, including giving screening patients gifts to encourage monthly self-exams and displaying custom-painted banners created by a local artist and daughter of a breast imaging technologist at each screening site.

Erin Eun-Young Ahn, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, has been named a 2025 Termeer Scholar. The Termeer Scholars Program provides mentoring, networking, and coaching for academic researchers, with the goal of helping them translate bench science into real-world impact for patients. 

Amplitude magazine announced their Reader's Choice Awards honoring outstanding prosthetic professionals. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Orthotics & Prosthetics Lab and team members Dylan Baas, Brandy Crawford, Brian Mueller, and Randy Odgers all received first place in their categories.

The Department of Pathology is thrilled to announce four faculty’s new appointments to endowed positions. Oyedele Adeyi, M.D., FRCPC, has been named the second holder of the C. Bruce Alexander Endowed Professorship in Pathology. Selvarangan Ponnazhagan, Ph.D., has been named the second holder of the Jay M. McDonald, M.D., Endowed Chair in Laboratory Medicine. Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., has been named the second holder of the Endowed Professorship in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics. Thomas Winokur, M.D., has been named the second holder of the Robert W. Mowry, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Pathology.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is recognizing 39 providers for delivering outstanding patient care throughout fiscal year 2025. These physicians, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives were acknowledged by the UAB Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for earning top box ratings of 95 percent or higher (n ≥ 30) in Medallia patient satisfaction surveys.

The UAB Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology (CDIB) continues its article series Meet the Minds of CDIB. The series spotlights the diverse faculty who power the department’s groundbreaking research. Through candid interviews, it gives readers a closer look at the career paths, passions, and real-world impacts of UAB researchers shaping the future of medicine.

The UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center announced its latest O’Neal Invests grant awardees, of which two faculty from the Department of Pathology are included. O'Neal Invests funds UAB investigators initiating new cancer-related projects to do key preliminary work to enable competitive extramural applications.

Two speech-language pathologists in the UAB Voice Center were recently awarded Distinguished Early Career Professional (ECP) Certificates from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Access to health care remains one of the most pressing challenges in Alabama’s rural communities. Many residents travel long distances to see a doctor or specialist, and shortages of primary care providers continue to affect both patient outcomes and quality of life. In honor of National Rural Health Day, celebrated on November 20 this year, the Heersink Office of Access and Engagement spoke with Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health, and co-director of the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center, to learn how UAB is expanding care and strengthening the state’s primary care workforce.

Denise Coston, administrative associate for Nick Van Wagoner, M.D., and Todd Peterson, M.D., is a vital member of Medical Students Services (MSS). She has been employed by UAB for a total of 35 years, and she has served MSS for the last 20 years. She was nominated to the inaugural cohort of Medical Education Unsung Heroes by Brook Hubner, Ph.D., director of Academic Success, and Jason Noah, program director for Student Success.

The UAB Systems Pharmacology AI Research Center (SPARC), led by Jake Y. Chen, Ph.D., director of SPARC and professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, has achieved a milestone recognition at the 1st Open Conference of AI Agents for Science 2025 hosted by Stanford University.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to highlight Rhiannon Jennings, registered nurse with the Department of Pediatrics Primary Care Clinic.

As sniffle season sets in, sinus infections are among the most common illnesses seen in doctors’ offices. For most people, they’re nothing more than an inconvenience and a few days of congestion, but, according to experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a sinus infection can become dangerous in severe cases.

Olivia Railey, RN, BSN, CIC, Nursing Services Program Manager, has been elected to serve as the 2026 president-elect of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Alabama chapter.

The UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is proud to have thirteen providers honored by UAB’s Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for delivering an outstanding patient experience. Each provider achieved a remarkable 95% or higher rating on patient satisfaction surveys ranking them among the top performers across UAB Medicine.