Gift from UAB Urology leaders establishes endowed professorship
In 2012, urology care, research, and training at UAB entered a new era when the Division of Urology became a department. Dean Assimos, M.D., a globally recognized researcher and clinician with a focus on the role of oxalate handling and synthesis in kidney stone formation, was tapped to lead this transformation as the inaugural chair of the UAB Department of Urology.
Under Assimos’ leadership, the department approximately tripled its number of clinical faculty and expanded its educational offerings to include graduate students, postgraduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. Throughout his tenure at UAB, Assimos was actively involved in the establishment of practice guidelines in urology and served in numerous leadership positions in international, national, and regional organizations.
After a decade of service, Assimos retired in 2022 and is a professor emeritus in the Department of Urology. Now, he has joined forces with another eminent UAB Urology leader to ensure the department’s future success with a generous gift to establish The John R. Burns, M.D., and Dean G. Assimos, M.D., Endowed Professorship.
The endowment created by this gift will be used to recruit and/or retain an expert faculty member at UAB whose primary research is in the area of kidney stone disease.
It will foster cutting-edge research, improve patient care, and further solidify UAB’s leadership in urological health.
Burns, a professor emeritus in the Department of Urology, joined the UAB faculty in 1980 after completing a research fellowship in kidney stone disease. He spent his 32-year career concentrating on both the clinical and research aspects of urolithiasis, or kidney stones.
“This incredibly generous gift has inspired our UAB Urology family,” said Thomas Chi, M.D., MBA, professor and chair of the UAB Department of Urology and holder of the Anton J. Bueschen, M.D., Endowed Chair of Urologic Surgery and Research. “Drs. Assimos and Burns have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the success of our department through their endowment. They dedicated their whole careers to advancing our ability to treat patients with kidney stones and helped redefine our understanding of how stones form. Their work was a testament to the idea that life-changing discovery starts at the benchtop. Furthermore, this endowment will help us ensure we continue the Assimos and Burns legacy of a sustainable future in research that helps us cure stone disease. Retaining and recruiting the best talent is how we magnify our success, and gifts like theirs help us chart our future to dream big.”
“I remain indebted and committed to UAB for the many great opportunities and resources that were provided to me,” Assimos said. “The UAB experiences were truly the high points of my career. This gift is one of love for the department and institution. I know that it will be used for the continued propagation of research excellence.”
“After spending my entire career at UAB, I have watched us grow from a small division of three faculty members to a large department of more than 25 members,” Burns expressed. “I hope that this gift will enable continued growth and excellence for the department.”
To learn more about giving to support UAB Urology, contact Associate Director of Development Mary Jane Gibson at 205-934-5772 or