Heersink School of Medicine
The UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Dean's Excellence Awards for Faculty, recognizing exceptional faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, service, access and engagement, and mentorship.
At the Heersink School of Medicine, our ability to shape the future of medicine through biomedical discovery depends on the people who power it. Strategic research recruitment is not simply about increasing faculty or funding numbers—it is a deliberate, long-range approach in disciplines where we have strong foundations, where we see emerging opportunities, and where coordinated effort can enhance our impact across the region, the nation, and the globe.
Our alumni are among our most influential ambassadors, carrying the Heersink School of Medicine’s values into clinics, classrooms, laboratories, and communities across the globe, not to mention the many alumni who serve on our faculty. Few partnerships are as enduring and vital to our school as the one we share with our Medical Alumni Association.
Etty (Tika) Benveniste, Ph.D., senior vice dean at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, has been selected as a 2026 Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), one of the organization’s highest career honors. The title recognizes long-standing AAI members who have demonstrated exceptional scientific achievement, leadership, and service within the immunology community.
The UAB Heersink School of Medicine is proud to announce the 2026 Pittman Scholars. This prestigious honor recognizes assistant professors for their exceptional research achievements and their potential to make future contributions to their fields. To be considered, the honoree must have held the rank of assistant professor for fewer than five years. Named after former School of Medicine Dean James A. Pittman Jr., M.D., this award highlights the school's commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in medical research.
As we begin a new year, I want to thank each of you for the commitment, creativity, and resilience you bring to the Heersink School of Medicine. Our progress is driven not only by our research discoveries, clinical excellence, and educational mission, but by the people who make this work possible. As we look ahead to 2026, our guiding priority is clear: supporting our people and championing a culture that enables every member of our community to thrive.
As we close the year, I want to reflect on one of the Heersink School of Medicine's greatest strengths: our deep, aligned, and enduring partnerships with the UAB Health System, led by CEO Dawn Bulgarella, MSHA, CPA, and the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation (UAHSF) physician practice plan, led by President Cheri Canon, M.D. This triad is the cornerstone of our success as an academic medical center and remains essential to our mission of healing, discovery, and education.
The past month saw the culmination of years of planning and construction with the official openings of the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building (ALGEN) and the Volker Hall Atrium. Both projects exemplify the power of partnership, collaboration, and innovation.
Earlier this year, an IDEA Performance Survey was conducted to gather feedback on my performance as dean. In addition, UAB partnered with Modern Think on a Campus Engagement Survey to hear directly from faculty and staff about their workplace experiences and the university’s operations. Both surveys provided significant insight into what is going well and where there are opportunities to improve.
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.
On August 16, we had the privilege of welcoming our newest class of medical students during our annual White Coat Ceremony.
At the Heersink School of Medicine, biomedical research is not only a critical pillar of our tripartite mission, but also the fertile ground out of which advancements in medicine and health care grow. The “bench to bedside” research pathway translates discoveries of the cellular mechanisms of disease into cutting-edge treatments that offer hope for patients here in Alabama and around the globe.
Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, has been named the recipient of the 2025 American Cancer Society (ACS) Professor Award. This award is the most prestigious grant made by ACS and recognizes professors who have made seminal, high-impact contributions to cancer research across a wide range of disciplines, including fundamental, clinical, psychosocial, behavioral, health policy, and epidemiologic fields. It provides $400,000 in funding for five years and can be extended for another five years.
Carlos E. Cardenas, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, has been named the 2025 recipient of the McMaster University Emerging Science Co-op Employer of the Year Award. This award recognizes employers and supervisors who act as mentors for co-op students and provide a rich and fulfilling learning experience.
The UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center recently announced five winners of the O’Neal Invests grant awards, two generously funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA).
When you go to the doctor, the first thing you’re asked is, “Do you have a family history of X?” Do you know the answer?
Scott Austin, MBA, senior advisor for Faculty Affairs, and Shane Wiley, MBA, executive administrator in the Department of Medicine, have been named 2025 Will Ferniany Academic Medicine Leadership Award recipients.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that chronic kidney disease affects more than one in seven adults in the United States, an estimated 35.5 million Americans. Additionally, the risk of developing kidney disease increases with conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
In this facilities update, we will highlight our major projects that are both nearing completion and recently completed but will not discuss all ongoing construction or renovation projects.
The Heersink School of Medicine offers various programs designed to spur innovation and enhance leadership, communication, and networking skills in academic medicine. Join us this April for three upcoming events where faculty, staff, students, and trainees can explore key topics such as mentoring, career development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and work-life integration.
Nine faculty members recently graduated from UAB Medicine’s LEading Advancing Developing (LEAD) spring 2025 program. The program, presented by the UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office, recognized its graduates at a ceremony on March 13, 2025.
Thirty individuals comprising eight teams recently graduated from the UAB Medicine High Performing Care Collaborative (HPCC) spring 2025 program. The program, presented by the UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office, recognized its graduates at a ceremony on March 6, 2025.
For faculty in academic medicine, career growth and professional development often come with challenges. To explore these challenges and opportunities for growth, Sima Patel, M.D., FAES, FANA, an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, began collaborating in 2021 with Jane B. Allendorfer, Ph.D., FAES, an Associate Professor of Neurology at UAB, and 24 investigators through the Women in Neurology Collaborative Study (WINCS).
The Heersink School of Medicine transformed the UAB North Pavilion Atrium into a vibrant celebration of global traditions on February 6, 2025, during the Cultural Connections Food Fair. From the moment guests arrived, they were immersed in sights, smells, and sounds from around the globe, setting the tone for an evening of celebration, unity, and joy.
The Heersink School of Medicine is set to transform the North Pavilion Atrium into a global marketplace of flavors, traditions, and creativity with the Cultural Connections Food Fair on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 4:30 p.m.
For December, the Heersink School of Medicine Office of Access & Engagement set out to learn more about this season’s holidays by connecting with our faculty, staff, and students. In part one of our holiday series, we explored the history and traditions of Chanukah, celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev (the ninth month of the Jewish religious year) in the Hebrew calendar, as light triumphing over darkness. To capture the spirit and significance of the holiday, we spoke with Rabbi Levi Weinbaum from the Chabad of Alabama, first-year social work student David Kirby, postdoctoral fellow Anna Stoll, and former Jewish Medical Student Association President Ben Honan.
This December, the Heersink School of Medicine Office of Access & Engagement sought to connect with the medical community by learning about the season’s rich variety of holidays. In part two of our holiday series, we explore Kwanzaa, a weeklong celebration of African heritage, community values, and cultural reflection. To better understand the holiday’s significance, we spoke with Kim Ayers, nurse manager at the UAB Center for Psychiatric Medicine, who shared how Kwanzaa’s principles inspire her approach to health care and community building.
Faculty, staff, students, and their families gathered for an evening filled with cultural traditions, lively music, and a strong sense of community as the Heersink School of Medicine Office of Access & Engagement hosted its inaugural Hispanic Heritage Month Commemoration at University Tacos, located on 5th Avenue North.
The UAB Medicine Leadership Competency Model features five domains and 19 competencies. In this series, we’ll examine this model and how it can be used to empower leadership.
Twenty-eight UAB employees recently graduated from the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) Spring 2024 program. In its pilot year, the program, presented by UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO), recognized its first cohort of graduates at a ceremony on May 23, 2024.
Twenty exceptional faculty members were honored with the 2024 Dean’s Excellence Awards for their outstanding contributions across service, teaching, research, diversity enhancement, and mentorship within the School of Medicine.
Adam Agee has been named director of Information Technology for the Heersink School of Medicine, effective December 1, 2023. In this role, Agee leads Medical Education Information Services (MEIS) in its mission to guide, procure, develop, support, manage, and secure all aspects of information technology for the Heersink School of Medicine’s faculty, staff, and students.
Momentum in Medicine's third cohort includes an impressive list of 15 women leaders from a variety of roles, departments, and backgrounds within UAB Medicine.
On Wednesday, May 24, The All of Us Research Program at UAB Medicine hosted an enrollment event for physicians at The Kirklin Clinic.
Shaundra Blakemore, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded the junior faculty 2023 Dean’s Excellence Award for Mentorship.
Davis Bradford, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of General Internal Medicine, is the junior faculty winner of the Dean's Excellence Award in Service.
I’m deeply honored to have been appointed senior vice president for Medicine and Dean of the Heersink School of Medicine.
The Heersink School of Medicine communications staff sat down with Dr. Adrie Steyn to gain insights about the research of this study, UAB, and the science community.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine celebrated its recent accreditation, the highest level of accreditation available to a medical school in the United States by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
On Friday, January 13, I was honored to speak at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Event, hosted by the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI).
The Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion hosts a commemorative event for the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement.
On Jan. 18, the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion and UAB Health System hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration that brought together the entire UAB community.
For Black History Month, the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion sat down with a few employees and learners who are making a difference around UAB to hear why the commemorative month is important to them.
For Black History Month, the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion sat down with a few employees and learners who are making a difference around UAB to hear why the commemorative month is important to them.
For Black History Month, the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion sat down with a few employees and learners who are making a difference around UAB to hear why the commemorative month is important to them.
This Primary Care Week, see how primary care providers and leaders across UAB and beyond are working together to meet Alabama's health care challenges and address critical shortages.
The Department of Otolaryngology is pleased to announce Erin Buczek, M.D., as one of this year's recipients of the 2022 President's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Eighteen faculty members across Heersink School of Medicine’s departments have received 2022 Dean’s Excellence Awards in recognition of excellence in the areas of teaching, research, service, mentorship, and diversity.
Department of Medicine experts discuss ways seniors can take and maintain control of their health in several areas of wellness for Senior Health and Fitness Day.
The Heersink communications staff sat down with Dr. Zechen Chong to gain insights about the research of this study, UAB, and the science community.