Dana Rizk, M.D., and Cynthia Joiner, Ph.D., MPH, R.N.Dana Rizk, M.D., has been appointed associate dean for Clinical Trials and Cynthia Joiner, Ph.D., MPH, R.N., has been named assistant dean for Clinical Research Operations in the Heersink School of Medicine, effective March 1, 2025. Both of these newly created roles will work closely with Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Orlando Gutiérrez, M.D., to lead the Heersink School of Medicine’s efforts to advance clinical trials.
Both roles will be key operational leaders for the school’s clinical trials administration, developing standard operating procedures, streamlining workflow processes, and ensuring adherence to regulations and guidelines from sponsoring agencies and oversight bodies. They will identify key areas of clinical trials growth and optimize clinical trials operations across the school’s departments and centers and will serve as leaders in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), with the primary focus to expand the CCTS’ clinical trials activities.
“I am very pleased that Drs. Rizk and Joiner have accepted these important leadership positions, which will be critical for optimizing our clinical trials infrastructure in the Heersink School of Medicine,” Gutiérrez said. “Together, they bring decades of experience in managing clinical trial teams and resources that will be essential for us to build the right processes to accelerate the growth of our clinical trials portfolio. I am excited to get started working with these exceptional leaders.”
The need for these positions arose from listening sessions with faculty conducted by Huron Consulting Group and Urban Impact Advisors during a limited engagement with Heersink in 2024, which highlighted how organization and alignment could accelerate our ability to conduct clinical trials.
As associate dean for Clinical Trials, Rizk will establish the vision and strategy to expand and enhance the clinical trials portfolio by providing comprehensive oversight of clinical trials across the school, in close collaboration with the UAB Office of Research and the UAB Health System; identifying key areas of clinical trials growth; and optimizing clinical trials operations across all departments and centers in the school. In addition, the associate dean for Clinical Trials will develop novel programs and infrastructure to facilitate training in these areas, assessing gaps and setting a strategic plan to address them.
Rizk is the Anupam Agarwal Endowed Professor of Medicine and the director of Clinical Trials Research in the Division of Nephrology, Medical Director of the UAB Glomerular Kidney Disease Clinic, and Medical Director of the Clinical Trials Administrative Office.
Rizk has a demonstrated record of excellence in clinical research, especially as a principal investigator in the design and conduct of clinical trials. Her clinical and research interests revolve around glomerular diseases, in particular IgA nephropathy (IgAN). She has served as the site principal investigator on numerous clinical trials and is part of several multidisciplinary translational research projects focused on the role of biomarkers in IgAN. Her research efforts have resulted in more than 75 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine.
“I am very excited to start this new role,” Rizk said. “Clinical trials play a pivotal role in patient care, advance science, and save lives. UAB as a premier academic center is well positioned to lead the way in clinical research. I hope to leverage my expertise and collaborate with investigators in the Heersink School of Medicine to achieve this vision.”
In the assistant dean for Clinical Research Operations role, Joiner will work closely with Rizk and Gutiérrez to establish the strategy and infrastructure to operationally expand, enhance, and align clinical trials activities across the school, in close partnership with the UAB Office of Research and the UAB Health System. Working with the associate dean for Clinical Trials, Joiner will standardize study start-up and recruitment and will integrate clinical research and clinical care. The role will also implement and oversee onboarding and continuing education programs for all clinical research staff, trainees, and investigators to aid in the recruitment and retention of employees and develop a pipeline of future research staff and investigators.
“I’m thrilled to embrace this new role and contribute to the advancement of clinical research,” Joiner said. “It’s an exciting time for clinical research at UAB and I look forward to collaborating with stakeholders and colleagues within Heersink School of Medicine and across the institution.”
Joiner serves as an associate professor of Medicine and the vice chair for Research Operations and Development in the Department of Medicine, as well as the executive director of the Department of Medicine’s Clinical Research Enterprise (CRE).
Joiner successfully created the CRE, a shared services unit that provides clinical research and grant management services to nine departments within the Heersink School of Medicine. In collaboration with Heersink, the UAB Health System, and UAB Facilities, she also played a key role in establishing the research clinic in the CH20 building on UAB’s campus, which provides outpatient research space for multiple departments across the school.
Joiner’s research interests focus on leadership development in research administration. She has served as principal investigator for the DEAL (Developing Emerging Administrative Leaders) program and as co-investigator for the Clinical Investigator Training Program.
“I am delighted to partner with Dr. Rizk and Dr. Joiner as we collaboratively seek to improve clinical trial processes across the Heersink School of Medicine and indeed the entire university,” said David Kimberlin, M.D., professor in the Department of Pediatrics and associate vice president for Clinical Trial Operations for UAB. “Both of these leaders bring tremendous expertise through literally decades of successful programmatic development. This is a unique time with unique challenges. I truly believe that we can leverage our strengths throughout UAB to not only weather the challenges we face, but to truly advance our mission of improving the health of people throughout Alabama and the entire country.”
“Throughout their time at UAB, both Dr. Rizk and Dr. Joiner have demonstrated unwavering commitment to excellence and continual growth,” said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine. “Their wealth of expertise in clinical trials design, operations, and administration make them ideally suited for these important new roles. I look forward to supporting them as they work to expand and enhance our clinical trials enterprise.”