On August 9, local and state officials, policymakers, IT experts, and telehealth industry leaders from around the country attended the 5th Annual Alabama Telehealth Summit. Coordinated by the Alabama Partnership for Telehealth and Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center, the event summit focused on best practices in implementation and suggestions for expanding telemedicine in Alabama. Nephrology's Eric Wallace, MD, was a featured speaker.

David O. Freedman, MD (Infectious Diseases) has consistently provided expert commentary to media covering the Zika virus. Click here for the AL.com summary.

Surya Bhatt, MD (Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine) has been awarded a K23 Grant from the NHLBI. His project will investigate whether left ventricular diastolic dysfunction accounts for a significant proportion of pauci-inflammatory exacerbations in COPD.

Monica Baskin, PhD (Preventive Medicine) was elected to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

Anoma Nellore, PhD (Infectious Diseases) has earned a grant from the HIV Vaccine Trials Network to Investigate a novel biomarker that may help predict individuals who will have an enduring response to HIV vaccination.

Shawn Galin, PhD (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism) has been selected as one of four inaugural “Vertical Integration” Scholars in the School of Medicine. The scholars will employ a novel training approach that brings basic science faculty to the bedside to enhance clinical education.

Grateful patient turned fundraiser Jerry McEwen recently performed a concert with family and friends to raise $7,000 for the Interstitial Lung Disease Research Program at UAB.

The Department is delighted to welcome Tinsley Harrison Visiting Professor Jeffrey Samet, MD, to UAB on September 7. Dr. Samet is Professor of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health; Chief, Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston Medical Center; and Vice Chair for Public Health, Department of Medicine. As a national thought leader on opioid addiction, he will present two lectures during his visit:

• How to Build It: the "Massachusetts Model" of Office Based Opioid Treatment with Buprenorphine. Wednesday, September 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. in Medical Towers 634
• Caring for Patients with Substance Use: An Addiction Medicine Creation Story. Medical Grand Rounds. Wednesday, September 7, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium.