Ten Heersink School of Medicine staff have been honored with the 2025 Dean’s Excellence Awards. Now in its third year, the Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff recognize individuals who have made significant and meaningful contributions to the school’s mission through their work in education, service, and research.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce that Chibuzo Ilonze, M.D., MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been selected to serve as an ambassador for the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Since 2019, the UAB OB/GYN Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, led by Akila Subramaniam, M.D., MPH, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine division director, has actively participated in UAB’s Green Labs Program, reducing environmental impact while maintaining research excellence.

UAB’s Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (WOC) team was recently featured on a podcast for WOC teams nationwide.

Since its inception, the Health Services Foundation General Endowment Fund (HSF-GEF) has played a pivotal role in advancing UAB’s mission of excellence in research, clinical care, and medical education. Established to support institutional initiatives that often fall outside traditional funding mechanisms, the HSF-GEF has become a cornerstone for building cutting-edge capacities within the academic health center. The program empowers faculty innovation, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensures UAB remains at the forefront of medical advancement.

Brien Washington, M.D., joined the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology as an assistant professor in August 2025. 

Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Yet myths and misconceptions often prevent people from getting the screenings they need. Stefanie Woodard, D.O., associate professor and chief of breast imaging in the Department of Radiology, helps separate facts from fiction.

The UAB Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) hosted the Southeastern Medical Scientist Symposium (SEMSS) on September 27-28 at the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation. SEMSS is a student-run conference designed to bring together both current and aspiring physician-scientists from around the southeastern United States and beyond to share research and build community.

Jennifer Lockman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology and the leader of the Suicide Prevention and Recovery in Healthcare initiative at UAB, said that more healthcare providers at all levels of care at UAB are being trained on best practices to establish a recovery culture in suicide care.

Finding your way in academic medicine can feel like a puzzle, with many pieces competing for attention. Daniel Chu, M.D., Division Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery at UAB, has identified ten “threads” that, when woven together, provide guidance and structure. At the September Heersink Faculty Leadership Seminar, he shared practical advice on using these threads to build a successful career.

The UAB Department of Surgery is proud to spotlight the exceptional research accomplishments of our faculty, trainees and research staff.

About half of Americans between 45 and 84 have atherosclerosis without knowing it. Diseases linked to atherosclerosis are the leading cause of death in the United States. The condition develops when fats, cholesterol and other substances form plaque in the arteries. As plaque builds, arteries narrow and block blood flow, or can burst, which may lead to blood clotting. The initiation and progression of atherosclerosis are largely driven by genetic and environmental risk factors, but in between, how epigenetic regulation contributes to this pathogenesis remains largely unknown.

The 9th Annual Birmingham Ride to Eradicate Parkinson’s, part of the Team Rowland Road Series, will be Saturday, Oct. 4 at Oak Mountain State Park. This event, in conjunction with the Par Fore Parkinson’s golf tournament Oct. 3, benefits the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Parkinson Association of Alabama.

UAB Department of Surgery Professor and Vice Chair of Basic Research Aurelio Galli, Ph.D., D.Sc., and UAB Division of Surgical Oncology Assistant Professor Angela Carter, Ph.D., along with their research team, were featured on the cover of Science Signaling and in ScienceAdvisor.

The UAB Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) has been awarded its third consecutive three-star rating in the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Quality Initiative (SVS VQI) during its annual evaluation.

Lei Ye, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and his lab team have published groundbreaking research that proves specially designed nanovesicles—tiny particles made from human stem cells—can help restore blood flow and repair blood vessels in animal models with blocked circulation in their limbs.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine students can enjoy a week-long celebration of Primary Care Week from October 6-10, 2025. This event-packed week aims to educate physicians-in-training and students across the health spectrum on the pivotal role of primary care in the health care system. 

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation is pleased to name Elizabeth Twist, M.D. the new assistant program director for the PM&R residency program, effective September 1. She will work closely with Dale Colorado, D.O., program director, and Michelle Turnley, M.D., associate program director, on all aspects of the PM&R residency program.

The UAB Department of Pathology recently funded travel awards to two trainees, Sajal Kumar Halder and Dr. Kenneth Long, who will present their research at national meetings this year.

The 2025 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress is almost here! As many members of the UAB Department of Surgery begin to pack their suitcases and double-check their conference itineraries for their arrival in Chicago, Illinois, make sure to keep the following event details in mind.

Michel Kmeid, M.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology, will serve as medical director of the gross room and frozen section lab, effective October 1.

Suresh Boppana, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, will assume the role of interim co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, effective Oct. 1, 2025.

The UAB Department of Pathology celebrated the 30th year of its Paulette Shirey Pritchett Endowed Lecture in Pathology on September 25 with an outstanding lecture by Mark T. Gladwin, M.D., Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, and the John Z. Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean. Gladwin delivered the talk, titled, “Translating Redox Biology to Medicine: Lessons Learned, Taking Risks, and Going NO Where.”

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery is pleased to welcome Justin Coleman and Mohammad Hamo. Coleman joins the department as a revenue cycle manager and Hamo joins as a research technician in the lab of James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery James Markert, M.D., MPH.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery is pleased to announce that Zhihong Yu will join the department in October 2025 as a lab manager in the research lab of Associate Professor of Neurosurgery Jianmei Leavenworth, M.D., Ph.D.

John Knight, Ph.D., tenured associate professor in the UAB Department of Urology, has been named the Inaugural Holder of the John R. Burns, M.D., and Dean G. Assimos, M.D., Endowed Professorship. The appointment was approved at the Board of Trustees’ September 2025 meeting.

John Kearney, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor in Immunology in the UAB Department of Microbiology, will officially retire from UAB on Sept. 30, 2025, after more than five decades of service to the institution.

Kirk Habegger, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine in the UAB Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, has received funding from Eli Lilly and Company to continue investigation of glucagon receptor activation in incretin-based obesity therapies.

The UAB Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) welcomes two rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral fellows. Heather Clark, Ph.D. and Cassandra Mondesir, Psy.D. joins the department’s rehabilitation psychology division to enhance their skills through training, research opportunities, and mentorship.

Rani Al-Senan, Ph.D., joined the UAB Department of Radiology in August 2025 as an associate professor in the Division of Physics and Engineering. He completed his undergraduate studies in radiological sciences at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. He then earned his master’s degree in medical physics from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He obtained his doctorate in medical physics from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.