The General Endowment Fund of the UA Health Services Foundation has announced the recipients of its annual faculty grants. For 2025, these grants totaled $1.5 million awarded to UAB faculty for projects in patient-oriented research, medical education, clinical care and laboratory research. Each project must be multidisciplinary and demonstrate strong potential for long-term success.

The HSF-GEF grants program was established to support institutional initiatives that often fall outside traditional funding mechanisms. It 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.

“The core mission is to provide funding for institutional initiatives that are difficult to fund on their own,” said Orlando Gutierrez, M.D., senior associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research and associate vice president of Medicine and Biomedical Research at the Heersink School of Medicine.

“Over the years, the definition of research has expanded,” said Robert Kimberly, M.D., senior associate dean for Strategic Initiatives. “We’ve intentionally included patient-oriented research, and there’s been strong encouragement for creativity and innovation in medical education. We’ve also emphasized collaborative, team-oriented initiatives aligned with support from centers and departments.”

“Frequently, proposals consider emerging opportunities that combine research, workforce development and clinical care,” added Jennifer Croker, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine. “It creates a rising tide mentality in which faculty-led innovations advance multiple aspects of our mission.”

Recipients of the 2025 HSF-GEF awards:

Patient-oriented research

• “Establishment of a Shared Negative Pressure Facility for Human Subjects Research” 
  Principal investigator: Suresh Boppana, M.D., professor, Department of Pediatrics
• “Enhancing Data Coordinating Center Capability for Clinical Trial Readiness” 
  Principal investigator: Jeff Szychowski, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Biostatistics

Medical education

• “Mini Med School: A STEM Anatomy Initiative for Young Learners” 
  Principal investigator: William Geisler, M.D., professor, Division of Infectious Diseases; associate dean for Physician Scientist Development, Heersink School of Medicine
• “FUSION: A Multidisciplinary Robotic Surgery Training Program” 
  Principal investigator: Ching Man Carmen Tong, D.O., associate professor, Department of Urology
• “UAB Montgomery Teaching Kitchen and Lifestyle Medicine Center” 
  Principal investigator: Bryan Strickland, M.D., assistant professor, Montgomery Internal Medicine

Clinical care

• “Providing UAB Patients with Gliomas Clinical Access to FET-PET/MRI” 
  Principal investigator: Christopher Hensley, M.D., assistant professor, Department of Radiology
• “Establishment of the UAB Sexual Health Clinic” 
  Principal investigator: Olivia Van Gerwen, M.D., MPH, assistant professor, Division of Infectious Diseases

Laboratory research

• “Multi-Specimen Holder for Cryo-Electron Microscopy” 
  Principal investigator: Terje Dokland, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology; director, Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility
• “Equipment Upgrades for the UAB Genomics Core” 
  Principal investigator: Michael Crowley, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Genetics; director, Heflin Center for Genomic Science Core Laboratories
• “Multi-parameter, Spectral Cell Sorter with Imaging Capability” 
  Principal investigator: Troy Randall, Ph.D., professor, Division of Immunology and Rheumatology; director, Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
• “Expanding Super-Resolution Cell, Tissue, and Extracellular Vesicle Imaging at UAB HRIF with the ONI Nanoimager” 
  Principal investigator: Alexa Mattheyses, Ph.D., professor, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, director, High Resolution Imaging Facility

The next request for HSF-GEF applications will tentatively launch in spring of 2026. Learn more about the program or submit an application by clicking here.

Interested in learning more about the characteristics of funded projects? Gutierrez, Kimberly and Croker share keys to a successful proposal in this story from UAB Medicine News.