Our mission is to recognize and reward research excellence in the Department of Medicine, to foster mentorship, and to facilitate the career development of junior research faculty.

The 2023 DREAM Council.

The DREAM (DOM Research Excellence Advancement and Mentoring) Council plays a key role in advancing early-career faculty by selecting candidates for prestigious departmental awards that pave the way toward securing a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development Award (K award). These K awards provide critical support and protected time for faculty to develop their research skills, enabling them to become highly trained research scientists. The Council also helps select recipients of the Heersink School of Medicine Pittman Scholars Award and facilitates the placement of medical students into research labs through the Koopman Medical Student Research Excellence Award. In total, the Council oversees six departmental research awards and leads the organization of the annual Trainee Research Symposium, showcasing the achievements of rising researchers.

Serving on the DREAM Council offers junior faculty valuable opportunities to gain significant institutional service experience, while providing senior faculty with a platform to mentor the next generation of researchers. Our long-term vision is to turn the aspirations of research scientists within the Department of Medicine into reality, fostering a culture of research excellence that will have a lasting impact across the institution.

DOM DREAM Council Leadership

Jarrod Barnes, Ph.D., MBA

Chair

Carmen De Miguel, Ph.D., MS

Chair-Elect

Timmy Lee, M.D., MSPH

Ex Officio

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• Jarrod Barnes, Ph.D., MBA

  Jarrod Barnes, Ph.D., M.B.A., is an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. He began his work at UAB in 2017. Barnes’ research is focused on dysregulated glucose metabolism and its role in aberrant glycosylation in pulmonary vascular disease. Specifically, his work has demonstrated that glucose dysregulation impacts glycosylation and glycosyltransferases that drive cell proliferation in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). His research explores the molecular mechanisms that regulate metabolism and glycosylation in IPAH, as well as other pulmonary diseases including COPD and Cystic Fibrosis. Barnes’ laboratory not only engages in novel research, but also provides training and mentorship for students studying the fields of lung biology and glycobiology.

  Barnes trained in Glycobiology at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center at the University of Georgia. He was then recruited to the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, where he combined his basic research experiences with more translational approaches in the Department of Pathobiology within the Lerner Research Institute. While working at the Cleveland Clinic, Barnes became a Research Associate and the Director of the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center of Excellence Biorepository.

  Scholar's Profile

• Carmen De Miguel, Ph.D., MS

  Chair-Elect

• Timmy Lee, M.D., MSPH

  Timmy Lee, M.D, M.S.P.H., is a professor in the UAB Division of Nephrology and Section Chief of Nephrology at the Birmingham VA Medical Center. He also serves as Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

  Lee has been involved in hemodialysis vascular access research since 2002. He has active clinical trials, large epidemiologic studies in dialysis vascular access, and a laboratory-based translational research program in dialysis vascular access. The goal of his research program is to develop novel therapeutics to prevent and treat complications of hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction and to improve the delivery and processes of care for patients requiring hemodialysis.

  Lee received his medical degree at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and completed his internal medicine residency, nephrology fellowship, and Master of Science in Public Health program at UAB.

  Scholar's Profile

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DOM DREAM Council Committee Members