Smita Bhatia, M.D., MPH, professor and vice chair for outcomes in the Department of Pediatrics and director of UAB’s Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship, has received the Northwestern Mutual Award for Excellence in Childhood Cancer Survivorship from The American Society of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology (ASPHO). The annual award recognizes an individual who is translating research findings into intervention-based approaches and/ or making outstanding contributions to the clinical care of survivors of childhood cancer.
Bhatia’s research focuses on cancer outcomes with a special emphasis on the long-term health and wellbeing of cancer survivors across all cancer diagnoses with the overarching goal to reduce the burden of morbidity among cancer survivors.
"This is a tremendous honor and I am very grateful for this recognition," said Bhatia. "This award renews my resolve to maximize the cure rates for our children with cancer while optimizing their quality of life as survivors."
The award includes complimentary trip to the 2019 ASPHO Conference in New Orleans and a $10,000 honorarium to be used to further her work in survivorship. She will be recognized as the recipient on Thursday, May 2 during the conference.