Desiree Morgan, M.D., vice chair of faculty affairs and professor in the abdominal imaging section in the Department of Radiology, was appointed as University Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
"I am really proud of Dr. Morgan and her unparalleled contributions to the Department of Radiology, the Heersink School of Medicine, and UAB at large”, said Srini Tridandapani, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, interim chair in the Department of Radiology, vice chair and division director of Imaging Informatics, and professor in the cardiopulmonary imaging section. “She is a true triple threat contributing to all three missions of the department--clinical service, education, and research."
Raised in a military family, Morgan moved to Birmingham in 1989. She received her Bachelor of Science in microbiology from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. She completed her radiology residency at UAB and a transitional internship at Lloyd Noland Hospital and Clinics in Birmingham.
After working as a clinical instructor of radiology at UAB Heersink School of Medicine from 1993 to 1995, she was appointed as an assistant professor of Radiology from 1995 to1999. She was promoted to associate professor of Radiology and awarded tenure in 1999, then was promoted to professor of Radiology in 2007. She joined Advanced Imaging Associates of Alabama from 2001 to 2005, advancing to partner, before returning to UAB Heersink School of Medicine full-time in 2005.
Morgan served as vice chair of clinical research (2009 to 2015), vice chair of education (2015 to 2023), and serves as the inaugural vice chair of faculty affairs (2023 to present).
She served as program director of the UAB Diagnostic Radiology residency program from 2015 to 2017. In her tenure as program director, she led the residency through a formal strategic planning process in 2015, and successfully established the integrated and independent interventional radiology residencies, efforts that are bearing fruit in the dynamic training programs you will find in the department today.
Morgan created and served as the inaugural director of the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Human Imaging Shared Facility from 2009 to 2017, and as a senior scientist of the Experimental Therapeutics Program since 2010. As director of MRI from 2005 to 2015, she introduced new MR imaging techniques to UAB, including physiologic MR image acquisition and MR biomarker evaluation of intra-abdominal tumors. She is a tireless champion of abdominal and oncologic dual-energy and spectral CT at UAB. She is a 2022 Heersink Innovation Fellow, and participant of the UAB Medicine Innovation Academy.
Since 2021, she has mentored medical students as the Lead Mentor for the Barfield-Carter Learning Community, fostering longitudinal education in professionalism, medical ethics, and leadership for students during all four years of their undergraduate medical education. In 2024, she received a UAB Radiology Mentorship Award.
In addition to her extensive service to the department and university, Morgan has served on numerous national committees and councils, including the executive boards of the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) and the Society for Advanced Body Imaging, as well as the American Board of Radiology Board of Trustees and Board of Governors.
Morgan has been awarded many academic honors and in 2021, the Desiree E. Morgan Faculty Award for Continual Excellence in Teaching was named in her honor and is bestowed on faculty who also achieve greater than 15 “Top Ten” awards. She is the inaugural recipient of this award, with 17 “Top Ten” Faculty Awards. She has twice received both the UAB Department of Radiology Gary T. Barnes Distinguished Faculty Award and the Louisville Slugger Award. In addition, Morgan received the Dean’s Excellence Award in Teaching as a senior faculty member in 2023. In 2013, she served as the Society of Abdominal Radiology Igor Laufer Traveling Professor, an honor reserved for outstanding physician educators. In 2016, she was awarded the UAB Brewer-Heslin Award for Professionalism in Medicine, an annual honor reserved for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine faculty member who upholds the highest ideals of integrity, honesty, and concern for their patients.
In 2025, Morgan was selected as recipient of the Society of Abdominal Radiology Gold Medal, the highest recognition given by the Society, and is based on contributions to abdominal radiology, medicine, and patient health. It also takes into consideration service within the Society and is based on a lifetime of commitment to the SAR mission and values.
A visionary leader, educator, and mentor, Morgan exemplifies the academic mission of the Heersink School of Medicine and the values of UAB.