by Jane Longshore

Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as the interim chair of the Department of Pathology in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine effective June 1, 2023.

Siegal will replace George Netto, M.D., who will be stepping down from his role as chair of the Department of Pathology effective July 31, 2023, to join the University of Pennsylvania as chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

A prominent physician and researcher with more than 30 years’ experience, Siegal previously served as the interim chair of the Department of Pathology from 2015-2016 and the Department of Genetics from 2018-2021. Within the Department of Pathology, he is a UAB Distinguished Professor, serves as the executive vice-chair, and holds the Robert W. Mowry, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Pathology. Previously, he was the director of the Division of Anatomic Pathology at UAB for 25 years.

“I am grateful to the dean and his search committee for again giving me the opportunity to lead one of the nation’s leading Pathology departments as we continue to expand our research, teaching and clinical service missions to serve the people of Alabama and the nation,” said Siegal.

As the interim chair, Siegal will steer the department’s highly respected clinical, educational, and research enterprises. He will work to establish research and education priorities, identify future opportunities and needs, and create collaboration opportunities across the institution.

Siegal earned a medical degree from the University of Louisville in 1974 and a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Minnesota in 1979. He completed residency and fellowship training at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and the University of Minnesota and a postdoctoral experience at the National Cancer Institute, NIH.

“Our school has benefited greatly from the contributions Dr. Siegal has made to the Department of Pathology through the years and I look forward to supporting his interim leadership,” said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine.

The national search for a permanent chair is expected to take 9-10 months.