Last year, the Heersink School of Medicine welcomed exceptional new department chairs whose leadership is already making a meaningful impact. Bringing fresh perspectives and deep expertise, they are advancing excellence in education, research, and patient care while helping shape our school’s future.
Thomas Chi, M.D., MBA, became chair of the UAB Department of Urology, effective Jan. 1, 2025. A world-renowned innovator in treating kidney stones and enlarged prostates, Chi joined UAB from the University of California, San Francisco.
Mark Dransfield, M.D., was appointed chair of the UAB Department of Medicine, effective Sept. 1, 2025. Dransfield, who served as interim department chair since Sept. 1, 2024, is a professor of Medicine and served as director of the UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine since 2021.
Yung Lau, M.D., a leader in the field of pediatric electrophysiology, was named chair of the UAB Department of Pediatrics and physician in chief of Children's of Alabama effective March 24, 2025. Lau served as interim department chair since Nov. 1, 2024.
Mahmud Mossa-Basha, M.D., was named chair of the UAB Department of Radiology, effective Nov. 1, 2025. Mossa-Basha, who joined UAB from University of Washington Medicine, is nationally and internationally recognized for his contributions in neuroradiology.
Corey Speers, M.D., Ph.D., became chair of the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology effective May 12, 2025. Speers joined UAB from Case Western Reserve University and the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio. His work focuses on treatment of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.