Eight students from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine have been selected for the 2025-2026 class of Alabama Albert Schweitzer Fellows. These distinguished students are part of a broader cohort chosen from institutions across the state. Over the upcoming year, these fellows will dedicate themselves to implementing service projects aimed at addressing the social determinants that impact health outcomes in underserved communities.

The Office of Service Learning has announced the largest cohort of Health Equity Scholars (HES) in the program's history, with 15 medical students embarking on this transformative opportunity. The Health Equity Scholars Program aims to cultivate future physician leaders by equipping them with the skills needed to provide quality health care to historically marginalized communities.

The Heersink School of Medicine celebrated Match Day on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the Alys Stephens Center. This pivotal event marks the culmination of years of hard work and dedication for medical students as they discover where they will spend the next phase of their medical training.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine is pleased to announce a number of new individuals joining the Department of Medical Education team. Three new staff members started their roles at the beginning of March and a new staff member will join us in April. The department also has a few members who are departing for other opportunities. Please join us in providing a warm welcome to our new additions and well wishes to those who have provided excellent service to our team for many years.

Winter Williams, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Medicine and co-director of the UAB Internal Medicine Clerkship, has been named assistant dean for Clinical Education at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. In this role, Williams will help establish and implement initiatives for high quality, collaborative, and coordinated clinical training for UAB medical students.

Majd Zayzafoon, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, professor of Pathology and Medical Education, has been named the associate dean for Global Initiatives and International Medical Education in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. This new role expands his leadership and builds on his success as assistant dean, further positioning UAB’s role as a global leader in international medical education.

At UAB Heersink School of Medicine, students are presented opportunities for cutting edge, industry leading medical education, training with the latest technology and techniques that the medical field has to offer. How do medical professionals respond in remote or extreme locations when such technology and resources are inaccessible? Those scenarios and others are presented to medical students through the Wilderness Medicine Special Topics Course.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine plans to launch two new psychiatry residencies at the Huntsville and Montgomery campuses. By increasing the number of trained mental health providers in the state of Alabama, this expansion will help address the mounting burden of mental illness in the state, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas.

William M. Geisler, M.D., MPH, professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and co-director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, has been named the associate dean for Physician Scientist Development in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.

In October 2024, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Montgomery Psychiatry Residency received funding from the city of Montgomery to start Alabama’s first Street Psychiatry clinic. The city provided this funding in response to a call for proposals aimed at addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Montgomery’s vulnerable populations. The UAB Montgomery Psychiatry Residency program proposed a Street Psychiatry clinic designed to provide treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and co-occurring mental illness to Montgomery’s unhoused and unstably housed residents, and the city awarded the residency $345,676 to actualize this proposal.

In 2023, UAB Heersink School of Medicine piloted a new approach to clinical skills education for students. The Clinical Reasoning and Integrated Skills Program (CRISP) was launched to address the evolving demands of medical education nationwide. The move highlights the Heersink School of Medicine’s commitment to preparing future physicians with cutting-edge teaching and learning methodologies.

Alice Goepfert, M.D., professor in OB/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and associate dean for GME/Designated Institutional Official (DIO), has been named by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as a recipient of the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award. The ACGME announced its decision on October 22, 2024 and will honor the two recipients at the 2025 ACGME Annual Educational Conference February 20-22, 2025.

Caroline Harada, M.D., associate dean for strategic initiatives in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Medical Education, has been awarded the 2024 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Heersink School of Medicine awarded nine staff members as the 2024 Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff winners. Individuals selected for this honor showcased outstanding accomplishments beyond their daily duties and contributed considerably to Heersink’s core mission areas – education, clinical care, and basic, translational, and clinical research.

In August 2024, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education office hosted a grand opening for its newly completed GME Wellness Center. The celebratory open house was attended by Heersink School of Medicine deans, faculty, UAB Hospital residents and fellows.

Cristin Gavin, Ph.D., serves as associate dean for undergraduate biomedical programs for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. In this role, she has fostered thriving opportunities for UAB students, many of whom matriculate into medical schools, through the programs she oversees.

On August 10, 2024, members from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine incoming MS1 class gathered with friends, family, faculty, and staff to celebrate the White Coat Ceremony. The annual ceremony is the first milestone event for medical students, honoring the receiving of their white coats. The ceremony took place at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, AL and was facilitated by Heersink School of Medicine leadership from each of its campuses.

Chandler Harris has been honored as the 2024 recipient of the Sara Crews Finley, M.D., Endowed Leadership Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship recognizes and supports students who exhibit outstanding leadership, scholarship, and service within their medical training and in other endeavors. Eligible recipients must be rising third-year medical students who rank in the top 25 percent of their class, and the scholarship is renewable for their fourth year. 

Work has begun on a transformational renovation to Volker Hall’s entrance to create a modern atrium. Due to this construction, the primary entrance into Volker Hall, located at the corner of 16th St and University Blvd, has closed until further notice. This includes the entrance itself, the exterior stairway, a portion of the sidewalk, and the pedestrian crosswalks leading to Volker across both University Blvd and 16th St. S.

On May 18, 2024, UAB Heersink School of Medicine hosted its 2024 Commencement ceremony at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, to celebrate its 169 graduating medical students.