Bradford A. Woodworth, M.D., FACS, James J. Hicks Endowed Professor of Otolaryngology in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, has been appointed to the rank of Distinguished Professor.

“Dr. Woodworth is a true innovator," said Justin Turner, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair, John S. Odess Endowed Chair in the Department of Otolaryngology. "It is wonderful to see him recognized with this prestigious and well-deserved University-wide appointment, and we as a department are incredibly proud and appreciative of his contributions and accomplishments over the last 17 years."

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Woodworth went on to earn his medical degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2001. He joined the UAB faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and was named associate scientist at the UAB Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and James J. Hicks Endowed Chair of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery that same year.

Woodworth was promoted to associate professor in 2012 and then professor in 2015, at which time the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery was formally established at UAB. Also in 2015, Woodworth was named Senior Scientist of the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center. Woodworth served as Interim Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology from 2021-2024.

Moreover, Woodworth is considered one of the leading figures both nationally and globally in the field of rhinology and sinonasal disorders. He has published two books, Sinonasal Surgery and Advances in ORL: Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis, has published 45 book chapters, has more than 214 peer-reviewed publications, and has been invited to more than 270 presentations at professional meetings. He has acquired extramural research grants totaling more than $11.2 million and has won 33 local and national research awards.

The UAB Faculty handbook describes the rank of Distinguished Professor as “a campus-wide appointment,” which “recognizes international accomplishments, is to be limited in number, and is to be recommended to the Board by the appropriate President and the Chancellor in order to confer richly deserved prestige and honor on those selected to receive this designation.”