On Wednesday, Jan. 24, Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine, presented the annual State of the School address in person at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium and via live stream.
Introduced by MS3 class president James Stallworth, Agarwal opened the presentation by remembering leadership and faculty members lost during the previous year. He thanked UAB leadership, including President Ray Watts, M.D., and Health Services Foundation President Tony Jones, M.D., as well as the Board of Visitors, for their dedication to the school’s success.
“I’m truly honored and humbled to serve as your dean, and to share with you your accomplishments over the past year, as I close out my first year as dean,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal also thanked the UAB community, including nurses, advanced practice providers, physicians, staff, faculty, students, and trainees for their commitment to excellence in the past year. He then outlined UAB Medicine’s five strategic commitments, as well as the new mission and vision statements for UAB Medicine and the Heersink School of Medicine.
Education
In fall 2023, UAB opened both the new Heersink Family Active Learning Center and a Student Relaxation Space. The Heersink Family Active Learning Center aims to promote tech-based learning and case-based collaborative learning, allowing students to develop the skills of lifelong learning. The Student Relaxation Center was designed to assist students in building communities among their peers, as well as allowing them to relax between medical school assignments and responsibilities. Agarwal recognized the Department of Family and Community Medicine, whose generous contribution made the space a reality.
Regional campus news was shared, including an application to start a new UAB Psychiatry Residency in Huntsville, the grand opening of UMC-Northport in Tuscaloosa, and the hosting of the inaugural Health Policy Meeting in Montgomery.
Research
The Heersink School of Medicine has more than doubled its research funding in the last 10 years. Multiple Featured Discovery recipients were highlighted for the substantial impacts of their research at UAB. Agarwal also recognized the exceptional score received by the Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
In August 2023, UAB Medicine received national attention when the National Institutes of Health announced that Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., was chosen to succeed Anthony Fauci, M.D., as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Agarwal highlighted a $25 million award from the Department of Defense that will extend funding for the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium (NFCTC) for an additional 10 years. The funding for the NFCTC started in 2006, and was renewed in 2011, 2016, and late 2022.
Clinical Care
The last year saw substantial growth in UAB’s clinical enterprise, with nearly 2 million patient encounters. Agarwal also announced that Cheri Canon, M.D., has been selected as the next president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, P.C., and chief physician executive of the UAB Health System.
In early 2023, the UAB Comprehensive Smell and Taste Clinic was opened. The clinic is the first of its kind in the state, and aims to provide comprehensive and state of the art care to patients who have lost the sensations of taste and smell following COVID-19.
UAB remains a leader in robotic surgery, as UAB surgeons across 15 medical disciplines surpassed more than 20,000 robotic surgeries since 2004, when UAB Hospital starting performing robotic surgeries. Half of these surgeries happened from 2018-2023.
Facilities
Agarwal gave updates regarding several new facilities coming to campus, such as the Spain Rehabilitation Center, the Biomedical Research and Psychology Building, the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building, and more.
Agarwal also highlighted a new Cooper Green Mercy Health building, which will replace the current clinical building.
Building Partnerships
Agarwal highlighted the visit from Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The purpose of the visit was to discuss health equity with subject matter experts. UAB was also visited by Patrick Jackson, M.D., and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The two were guests for this year’s annual George Yang, M.D., Endowed Lectureship in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery.
Agarwal thanked the many donors who generously contributed to the excellence of the faculty, facilities, and programs. In December 2023, Marnix E. Heersink committed an additional $5 million to his initial $95 million gift that named the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine in 2021. This brings the total naming gift to $100 million, increasing what was already the single largest philanthropic commitment in university history.
Faculty and Staff Excellence
Agarwal recognized this year’s of the Pittman Scholars. He also highlighted the 16 faculty members and nine staff recipients of the Dean’s Excellence Awards.
Agarwal closed by thanking those in attendance for their dedication and passion, as well as expressing optimism for the future of the school.
“As I envision the future as your dean, it is your collective spirit that fuels my commitment to what we can do better, together in collaboration to enhance scholarship, innovation, and excellence in everything we do,” said Agarwal. “I think we can really impact the community through these core values that we have within us.”
