Explore UAB

Left to Right: Troy Randall, PhD; Anupam Agarwal, MD; Martin Young, DPhil; Orlando Gutierrez, MD, MMSc; Sumanth Prabhu, MD; Amit Gaggar, MD, PhD; Stijn De Langhe, PhD; and Victor Thannickal, MDCongratulations to the five Department of Medicine faculty whose endowed chairs and professorships were approved at recent Board of Trustees meetings:

Martin Young, DPhil (Professor, Cardiovascular Disease) Jeanne V. Marks Chair in Cardiovascular Disease

Orlando Gutierrez, MD, MMsc (Associate Professor, Nephrology) Hilda B. Anderson Endowed Chair in Nephrology

Amit Gaggar, MD, PhD (Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care) Endowed Professorship in Airway Biology 

Troy Randall, PhD (Professor, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology) William J. Koopman Endowed Professorship in Immunology & Rheumatology

Stijn De Langhe, PhD (Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care) Endowed Professorship in Lung Development and Regeneration

L to R: Special Care Unit team members Jennifer Sellers, PA; Mary Margaret Basham, MD; Medical Director Tracy Luckhardt, MD; Eva Otoupalova, MD; and Ashlyn Byrd, CRNPSince October 2016, the UAB Special Care Unit has employed a high touch and early mobilization strategy to wean patients from ventilators. Thanks to their hard work, led by Medical Director Tracy Luckhardt, MD (Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care), the ventilator wean rates now exceed the national average by 21%, and hospital readmissions have dropped significantly among these very complex patients. Kudos to the entire team for outstanding patient care efforts.

Two assistant professors in the Division of Hematology and Oncology Racquel Innis-Shelton, MD, and Kelly Godby, MD, co-direct the Multiple Myeloma Clinic at UAB which celebrated its fifth anniversary this month. Over the past 5 years, they have seen a three-fold increase in Multiple Myeloma patients receiving treatment at UAB, and they are currently running 8 different clinical trials. Congratulations to all the hard-working faculty, staff, and investigators who are making life-changing treatments possible—like the stem cell transplant that helped one of our own UAB employees send her Multiple Myeloma into remission.

Did you know that you could get $50 for just 15 minutes and a finger stick? Well, you can, thanks to the UAB Employee Health Wellscreens campaign. John Kennedy, MD (Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care) is encouraging everyone in the DOM to adopt a wellness mindset and take advantage of this opportunity. It’s fast and easy! Just ask Jonathan Ingram (DOM-IT). Jonathan was able to do a walk-in wellscreen in North Pavilion this week, and he reports that the process is painless, and the results are informative. In fact, he may be swearing off pizza and cheese sticks for dinner! Get your own snapshot of your vital health statistics, and a $50 bonus in your paycheck this May. Find locations and program details online.

Did you see the giant inflatable colon in front of TKC on Friday!? It was there to highlight our newest multi-disciplinary clinic focusing on colon cancer treatment! The clinic opened last week, just in time for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The lead physicians—including DOM’s Grant Williams, MD (Assistant Professor, Hematology and Oncology) and Nipun Reddy, MD (Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology)—all participated in a Facebook Live event discussing prevention and treatment, and how patients now have access to colorectal cancer care in a “one-stop shop.” Catch up on their social media interview.