The Department of Pathology is thrilled to announce the promotion and tenure of six of our esteemed faculty colleagues for 2024, effective October 1, 2024. 

Erin Eun-Young Ahn, Ph.D.
Professor with Tenure

Ahn earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from UAB in 2003 before completing postdoctoral research at Scripps Research Institute and the University of San Diego. In 2012, Ahn joined the University of South Alabama’s Mitchell Cancer Institute as an assistant professor. She joined UAB’s Department of Pathology in 2020 as an associate professor.

Since the early 2000s, Ahn has been studying the SON protein and gene. Specifically, Ahn is interested in how SON plays an important role in modulating DNA and RNA-binding proteins and how dysregulation contributes to abnormal gene expression and splicing, associated with leukemia and brain tumors. Her work led to the discovery of ZTTK in 2016, and to the establishment of the SON-Shine Foundation in 2020 to provide a community of support among newly diagnosed patients and their families. In late 2021, Ahn was named a UAB Heersink School of Medicine Featured Discovery winner for an additional study on RNA splicing and SON. Most recently, she received a Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama O’Neal Invests Award.

Paul Benson, M.D.
Professor with Tenure

Benson earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio in 1999 before completing his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Virginia and two fellowships in Hematopathology at Ohio State and Forensic Pathology at the Medical College of Virginia. Prior to joining UAB, Benson served as an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Benson joined the department in 2019 as an associate professor. He specializes in forensic pathology, autopsy and medico-legal death investigation. Benson has served as Autopsy Section Head since 2020. In this role, Benson performs high volumes of autopsies, develops and implements modernized quality assurance strategies and stores and reports data. For example, Benson has been responsible for implementing the Adult Gross Autopsy Synoptic reporting system in Cerner Path Net which simplified and consolidated autopsy data reporting. In addition, he developed neuropathology brain consultation reporting for autopsy, and most notably, has been instrumental in the transition to electronic autopsy authorization.

Robin Hatton, Ph.D.
Professor (Non tenure-earning)

Hatton received her Ph.D. in Microbiology/Immunology at UAB in 1996 and completed postdoctoral research at UAB until 2001. She joined the UAB Department of Pathology as a research instructor in 2001 in the laboratory of Dr. Casey Weaver. Hatton was promoted to an assistant professor in 2004 and an associate professor in 2012. She serves as a scientist in UAB’s Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases Center and Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone and Autoimmunity Center.

Hatton is a highly trained immunologist who has advanced significant research in immune regulation. An example of this is Hatton’s use of unique transgenic mouse models to study CD4 T cell development and function in inflammatory pathogenesis. Hatton’s partnership with Weaver has resulted in more than $5.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. She has authored a number of high-impact papers published in Science, Immunity, Nature Immunology, Science Immunology and JBC.

Craig Maynard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor with Tenure

Maynard earned his Ph.D. from UAB in 2007 and completed postdoctoral research at UAB in the laboratory of Dr. Casey Weaver before joining the Divion of Molecular & Cellular Biology in the Department of Pathology as assistant professor. In 2015, he was promoted to associate professor.

Maynard’s immunology research is elucidating the mechanisms that synergize to establish intestinal immune homeostasis toward understanding how impairment in these pathways lead to the development of chronic intestinal inflammation. Maynard’s research in the following areas resulted in his earning the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Pittman Scholar Award in 2020. These include the role of T cell co-stimulation in promoting regulatory T cell stability during chronic intestinal inflammation, the role of anti-commensal antibodies in the establishment and maintenance of host-microbiota mutualism, and lastly, the potential impact of early life stress on susceptibility to, and chronicity of, inflammatory bowel disease. Maynard's overall research seeks to better understand the etiology of IBD and utilize this knowledge for the development of novel therapeutic options. 

Brandi McCleskey, M.D. 
Associate Professor with Tenure

McCleskey joined UAB in 2012 as a resident in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. She completed her fellowship in Forensic Pathology in 2016 at UAB and joined the Department of Pathology as an assistant professor in 2017. She was promoted to associate professor in 2022.

In addition to her role in the Department of Pathology, McCleskey serves as Associate Coroner/Medical Examiner for the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s office. Since 2018, McCleskey has been recognized as an expert in forensic pathology and has qualified to provide expert testimony in the criminal, civil, and family court systems of Jefferson County. She has testified in 30 criminal proceedings in front of juries in the Birmingham and Bessemer Divisions. McCleskey has been named Director of the Department of Pathology’s Residency Training Program, Vice Chair for Education, and Assistant Director of the Forensic Pathology Fellowship Program. In 2021, McCleskey received the Heersink School of Medicine Dean’s Excellence Junior Award in Mentorship.

Frida Rosenblum, M.D.
Associate Professor with Tenure

Rosenblum earned her medical degree from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Ecuador in 2003 before completing her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Baystate Medical center-Tufts University in 2011. Rosenblum completed fellowships in Surgical Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2012, Cytopathology at the University of Massachusetts in 2013, Hematopathology and Renal Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2014.

Rosenblum joined the Department of Pathology in 2014 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2021. Her multi-disciplinary training has been an asset for the department. Rosenblum covers cytopathology, renal pathology, hematopathology and intraoperative consultation at both UAB and Highlands Hospitals. Rosenblum is the director of the Cytopathology Fellowship Program for the department. She is a recipient of the 2021 Heersink School of Medicine Dean's Excellence Junior Award for Teaching, and in both 2019 and 2020, a Heersink School of Medicine Argus Award winner for Best Educator in Fundamentals of Medicine and Hematology/Oncology, respectively.

Congratulations to our colleagues on their hard work and dedication to the UAB Department of Pathology.