UAB Vice Chair of Global Surgery Lily A. Gutnik, M.D., MPH, has been appointed as an associate scientist of the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health (MHIGH).
The designation recognizes Gutnik's ongoing collaborations with MHIGH faculty and her leadership in advancing global health. The institute places a great emphasis on meaningful partnerships, where faculty and international collaborators work as equals to address shared health challenges.
"Surgery is essential to global health, and global health is essential to how we practice surgery," said Gutnik. "I look forward to furthering the work that connects our department's global surgery efforts to MHIGH's research, education, and service portfolio."
Gutnik joined UAB in November 2021 and serves as assistant program director for Global Surgery in the General Surgery Residency Program and as an associate scientist at the O'Neal Cancer Center at UAB. Her research focuses on breast and cervical cancer screening and early detection in low- and middle-income countries. In March 2025, she received a five-year K08 award from the National Cancer Institute to advance a bundled breast and cervical cancer screening approach in sub-Saharan Africa.
Gutnik previously served as a Fulbright and Fogarty Fellow in Lilongwe, Malawi, where she helped establish the country's first breast cancer screening initiative by training laywomen as breast health workers. Her current international collaborations include projects in Tanzania, Malawi, and Kenya, as well as contributions to the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative.
About the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health
Established in 2021, the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health serves as UAB's central hub for global health engagement across the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. The institute works to advance health equity worldwide, postgraduate training in collaboration with the UAB Sparkman Center for Global Health and McMaster University,multinational research, pilot funding mechanisms, and global health symposiums.