The Department of Radiology is undergoing a leadership transition in the Division of Interventional Radiology (IR). Aliaksei Salei, M.D., director of IR operations, director of quality of IR, and associate professor in the Division of IR, will be stepping into the role of interim division director as we conduct a national search for a permanent division director. This change is effective, April 15, 2025. 

November 2024 marked 20 years since the establishment of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute (EMBI) at UAB. The institute was made possible by a generous gift from the McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF), matched by the university, to support research in cognitive aging and age-related memory loss. Ronald Lazar, Ph.D., professor in the UAB Department of Neurology, has been director of the institute since 2017.

The AI in Medicine and Nursing Symposium, hosted by the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, UAB Medicine, UAB School of Health Professions, UAB School of Nursing, and Maastricht University Faculty of Science and Engineering, concluded successfully, bringing together leading experts, researchers, and industry representatives to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

In Fall 2024, UAB Heersink School of Medicine announced the winners of the 2024 Dale J. Benos Medical Student Research Day (MSRD). All medical students were invited to present the results of their research projects and submit posters for judging.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE) celebrated its annual Innovation Awards on October 11, 2024, recognizing outstanding innovators and entrepreneurial achievements. Anath Shalev, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center and founder of TIXiMED, was awarded the 2024 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award, the institute’s highest honor. Shalev's start-up, TIXiMED, recently advanced toward clinical trials after receiving FDA clearance for its novel Type 1 diabetes treatment, TIX100.

Eight faculty members recently graduated from UAB Medicine’s LEading Advancing Developing (LEAD) Fall 2024 leadership development program. The program, presented by UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO), recognized its graduates at a ceremony on Oct. 24, 2024.

The Department of Radiology is pleased to announce that, effective October 1, 2024, Siddhartha Gaddamanugu, M.D., will assume the role of program director, Neuroradiology Fellowship, succeeding Vee Prattipati, M.D.

A platform for undergraduate students to advance their research, the UAB Summer Research Academy (SRA) launched its seventh installment of the program on June 3, 2024. This competitive research program provides summer scholarships for students in the joint health sciences while preparing them for advancement to graduate or medical scientist training programs.

W. Scott Jennings, CPA, MBA, executive administrator of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Radiology, has been named the 2024 Will Ferniany Academic Medicine Leadership Award recipient.

The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) recently held its annual conference in Birmingham, Alabama, from Jan. 9-14, 2024. Hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program, the event, titled USASBE 2024: Forging the Future Together, brought together educators, innovators, and entrepreneurs from across the country and featured many team members from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and UAB Medicine.

Srini Tridandapani, M.D., Ph.D., has been named interim chair of the UAB Department of Radiology, effective March 1, 2024. Tridandapani is a professor and the vice chair for Imaging Informatics in the Department of Radiology and the founding director of the Division of Imaging Informatics. 

Luke Burleson, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and program director of the Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Resource-Limited Settings (PURLS) fellowship, and Matthew Larrison, M.D., professor in the Department of Radiology, have implemented a Point-of-Care Ultrasound curriculum for family practice residents in Kenya.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a symposium titled "Generative AI for Healthcare: Progress or Peril" with multiple speakers, all innovators in the field of health care, on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

On Thursday, Aug. 10, the UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office (LDO) held its first annual reception to honor the participants of six cohorts (91 graduates) who have completed the UAB Medicine Institute for Leadership.

Ryan Godwin, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Department of Radiology, and Sandeep Bodduluri, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Instructor & Advisor for AI Programming for the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, have partnered to instruct the institute’s new graduate certificate course, Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine Office of Research introduces new faculty for Spring 2023. Please join Heersink School of Medicine and the Office of Research in welcoming these new faculty.

In honor of Pride Month, the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion is sharing the initiatives implemented in the UAB Department of Radiology to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ patients, students, and faculty members.

Andrew Smith, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair of innovation in the Department of Radiology and clinical director of AI in the Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation, recently published a study on the use of ChatGPT in Radiology with Asser Abou Elkassem, M.D., a Department of Radiology resident.  

In the last several years, UAB Medicine and Heersink School of Medicine have worked to bring leadership development to faculty and staff through the UAB Medicine Institute for Leadership and Momentum in Medicine programs.

Sixteen remarkable faculty members have been named winners of the 2023 Dean’s Excellence Awards for Faculty.