Mariah Payne

Mariah Payne

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The Heersink School of Medicine could not provide groundbreaking research, world-class medical training, and nationally recognized patient care without its incredibly hardworking and talented faculty and staff. We believe that recognizing exceptional individuals within our organization is crucial to expressing our gratitude to them as well as our value in their work. We celebrate our faculty and staff both through internal awards and by recognizing their external honors.

The annual ArtBLINK Gala returned to the UAB Kirklin Clinic Feb. 4 and raised more than $900,000 for the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

UAB is an ever-expanding community, and growth begins with leadership. That is why we are so proud that, from February 1-June 30, 18 new full-time faculty members joined the Heersink School of Medicine, and a number of existing faculty members assumed new leadership roles. Two examples of these dedicated, engaging, innovative and inspiring individuals who bring fresh ideas and perspectives to our school are Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, and J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, Ph.D.

In March 2023, UAB celebrated the Medical Alumni Association’s 50th Annual Medical Alumni Weekend, the 70th Anniversary of Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the 15th Anniversary of UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center. These milestones serve as an excellent opportunity to look at where we started and a reminder to look forward to all we wish to achieve.

Elizabeth Jackson, M.D., MPH, director of the Cardiovascular Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Program, graduated from The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program in April 2023.

Merida Grant, Ph.D., director of the Trauma-Related Disorders Clinic, and Rebecca Rampe, Psy.D., director of the Initial Psychotherapy Practicum Psychology Clinic and the Developmental Trauma and Traumatic Grief Clinic, are conducting research to learn more about treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related disorders.

The Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health hosted guest seminar speaker German Henostroza, M.D., on June 6, 2023. 

Javier Neyra, M.D., M.S.C.S., associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology received a $3.8 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH for his project "Artificial Intelligence to Predict Outcomes in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT)."

J. Edwin Blalock, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, has received a seven year $7 million R35 Outstanding Investigator grant from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH for his project “Pathogenic Exosomes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).”

Andrew Smith, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair of innovation in the Department of Radiology and clinical director of AI in the Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation, recently published a study on the use of ChatGPT in Radiology with Asser Abou Elkassem, M.D., a Department of Radiology resident.  
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