This month, our department welcomed Adjunct Professor Chevis N. Shannon, Ph.D.

A clinical researcher and leader in higher education with over 20 years of experience, Shannon will serve as an Adjunct Professor and the director of Neurosurgical Resident Research Excellence and Innovation.

Shannon previously served as the director of the Surgical Outcomes Center for Kids at the Monroe Carell Jr Hospital at Vanderbilt University, was a research professor of neurological surgery and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and a bench-to-bedside research director for the Vanderbilt University Medical School Research Immersion Program.

Her educational background includes a bachelor of science degree in finance, a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in public health (epidemiology), and a doctorate in public health (maternal and child health).

As a funded investigator, Shannon’s research includes the natural history, epidemiology, and outcomes related to neurosurgical, urologic, plastics, cardiac, and high-risk fetal/neonatal-related diagnoses. She is the lead investigator in the development of the Chiari Health Index for Pediatrics (CHIP), the first disease-specific patient-centered outcome for Chiari Malformation Type I and Syringomyelia in children. She also maintains research expertise in comparative effectiveness, health disparities, and cost-effectiveness analysis.

In recognition of her devotion to her trainees and her commitment to scientific integrity, in 2018, Shannon was the recipient of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Elaine Sanders-Bush Award for Excellence in Teaching. Since 2020, Shannon has served as the Chief Education and Science Officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) where she oversees all professional development for trainees and professionals in the field of reproductive medicine and directs the $15 million endowed ASRM Research Institute which provides bench-to-bedside research funding.

The department is thrilled to have her join the team. “Dr. Shannon is an expert researcher and educator who brings added experience and knowledge to the team,” says James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery James Markert, M.D., MPH. “I am excited to see the strides she takes here at UAB.”