Nine faculty were honored for exceptional achievement and contributions through either Distinguished or University Professor distinction by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees this spring.
These distinctions are awarded to faculty who demonstrate sustained academic excellence, scholarly achievement and impactful contributions to their field, as well as UAB’s mission. Distinguished Professors are recognized for excellence within a specific discipline, while University Professors are recognized for their broader impact across multiple disciplines.
Distinguished Professors
Bradford A. Woodworth, M.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology. Woodworth is a surgeon-scientist and academic leader. He serves as a senior scientist in the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, where he directs the UAB Rhinology Research Laboratory.
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.” He has published 48 book chapters, has more than 222 peer-reviewed publications (with 11,209 citations and an h-index of 57) and has been invited to more than 300 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.
Woodworth’s research focuses on improving mucociliary clearance in chronic sinusitis. He is internationally recognized for his research regarding management paradigms for cystic fibrosis sinus disease, pioneering techniques for cerebrospinal fluid leak/skull base defect repair and skull base surgery, innovative methods to improve Draf III frontal sinusotomy patency, and inventing the revolutionary methods for the transnasal endoscopic management of frontal sinus trauma.
Louis Burton Nabors III, M.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology. He is currently professor and vice chair of Research for Neurology and Neurosurgery and director for the UAB Division of Neuro-oncology. He is an active participating member of the medical staff with the UAB Hospital Neurology Service and a senior scientist in the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Neuro-oncology Program. He has received several Argus Awards for Excellence in Teaching and serves as a mentor to medical students, fellows and junior investigators.
Nabors also has secondary appointments with the UAB departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neurosurgery, and Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.
Nabors leads the medical therapy for patients with brain tumors, using both conventional chemotherapy and cutting-edge experimental treatments to target tumors that surgery or radiation cannot remove. He also manages the complex medical and neurological issues these patients often face, such as seizures, infections and emotional challenges.
Suzanne E. Lapi, Ph.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology. She is currently vice chair of Translational Research in the department, as well as a professor with tenure in radiology and chemistry and director of UAB’s Cyclotron Facility. She is also a member of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Her research interests are in the development and translation of new PET radionuclides and molecular imaging agents. In particular, she has an active program investigating 89Zr radiolabeled antibodies as molecular imaging agents in preclinical and clinical trials in oncology. Her other main area of research interest is in the development of new isotopes for PET imaging such as 45Ti and 43Sc.
Lapi has been funded with support from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, and many foundations and industry partnerships. She has more than 80 publications and is a member of the board of directors of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. She has trained more than 20 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who overwhelming stay in the field of molecular imaging. She is also an active member of many initiatives with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As Cyclotron Facility director, Lapi oversees production of PET radionuclides and imaging radiopharmaceuticals for preclinical research and clinical trials. Her group has received approval on 10 Investigational New Drugs. They also supply isotopes, like 64Cu, 89Zr and 52Mn, to groups across the United States and internationally.
David W. Kimberlin, M.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics. He is the associate vice president for Clinical Trial Operations at UAB and holds the Sergio Stagno Endowed Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He is also vice chair for Clinical and Translational Research and co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
Kimberlin is also the principal investigator for the Collaborative Antiviral Study Group. Funded continuously since the early 1970s, the CASG is a network of pediatric academic medical centers that evaluates antiviral therapeutics in rare diseases with a large unmet medical need, including neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections, congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease, congenital Zika syndrome, neonatal and infantile influenza infection, and neonatal enteroviral sepsis syndrome. Current studies build upon previous CASG studies conducted by Kimberlin that have defined the standard of care for the treatment of neonatal HSV and congenital CMV infections.
Kimberlin also is editor of the 2021 AAP Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book) as well as an associate editor for the sixth edition of “Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.”
Kimberlin is a past president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. In 2016, he received the Ronald McDonald House Charities 2016 Medical Award of Excellence. He has received numerous education awards.
Elizabeth A. Beierle, M.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. Beierle came to UAB in 2009, after spending more than nine years on the faculty at the University of Florida. She specializes in the surgical care of children and neonates with a special emphasis upon pediatric surgical oncology. She has an active basic science research laboratory that focuses on novel therapeutics for pediatric solid tumors. She has mentored a number of undergraduate students, medical students, residents and graduate students in her lab.
University Professors
Four faculty members have been named University Professors, a title that honors those whose scholarly contributions span multiple disciplines and whose work has had a transformative impact across UAB and beyond.
Desiree E. Morgan, M.D., was named University Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology. Morgan is the vice chair for Faculty Affairs in the UAB Department of Radiology. She previously served as vice chair of Education, program director of the Diagnostic Radiology Residency, and vice chair of Clinical Research in the department. Her leadership has been instrumental in advancing education and collaborative research in clinical imaging, particularly in abdominal radiology, with a clinical focus on imaging of the pancreas and hepatobiliary system.
A dedicated researcher and educator, Morgan has introduced advanced MRI techniques and championed dual energy and spectral CT applications at UAB. She is a senior scientist in the Experimental Therapeutics Program and was the founding director of the Human Imaging Shared Facility at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research centers on imaging biomarkers, abdominal MR and CT imaging, and pancreatic disease in both neoplastic and inflammatory settings.
Morgan is a nationally recognized leader in radiology education and professionalism. She has received numerous awards for teaching excellence, including the HSOM Dean’s Excellence Award and the UAB Brewer-Heslin Award for Professionalism in Medicine. She has held leadership roles in major national radiology societies and boards, including the Society of Abdominal Radiology, the American Board of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America. She continues to lead and mentor at UAB through initiatives like the Healthcare Educators Academy and the Barfield Carter Learning Community.
Suzanne E. Judd, Ph.D., has been named University Professor in the School of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics. Judd is the director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and interim chair of the Department of Health Behavior.
Judd is multiple principal investigator on both the REGARDS and RURAL cohort studies, which are large, NIH-funded epidemiological cohort studies seeking to understand disparities in chronic disease in the United States. Her experience provided a platform to collaborate with European cohort studies in France through the Fulbright Scholar Program.
Judd’s research focuses on the role of diet and the environment as mediators of racial disparities in the risk of dementia and stroke. Her unique combination of training in engineering, epidemiology and nutrition, as well as industrial experience, have provided a solid foundation to guide her research, mentorship and collaboration. She has worked across campus on a variety of projects, including the COVID-19 Incident Command Team and the Signature Core Curriculum.
Barbara Gower, Ph.D., has been named University Professor in the School of Health Professions’ Department of Nutrition Sciences. She is chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences. Her research focus is on the interplay among diet, endocrinology and metabolism and their relation to chronic metabolic disease, with expertise in evaluation of body composition, body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function.
She has discovered that restriction of dietary carbohydrates has beneficial effects on human physiology, including depletion of ectopic fat and improvement in beta-cell function. She is currently leading studies concerning nutrition for precision health and predictors of pediatric Type 2 diabetes. She is an avid proponent of “food as medicine,” and strives to use this theme to integrate the research, education and clinical care components of the Department of Nutrition Sciences.
Peter M. Ginter, Ph.D., has been named University Professor in the UAB School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Organization. He has been a faculty member at UAB since 1983. Ginter’s academic focus centers on strategic management, leadership and health care organizations, with a particular emphasis on strategic thinking and the dynamics of the health care industry.
Ginter has co-written influential works in health care strategy and management, including the widely recognized textbook “Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations,” now in its ninth edition. His research interests explore the complexities of health care systems, strategic planning and organizational effectiveness. Ginter’s contributions have significantly shaped the understanding of leadership within health care organizations.
In addition to his academic achievements, Ginter has held several leadership roles within the UAB community, including serving as department chair of the Department of Health Care Policy and Organization from 1997-2012 and the interim dean of the School of Public Health from 2017-2018. In 2023, he was recognized for his 40 years of service at UAB, showcasing his longstanding commitment to the institution and the field of public health.