Explore UAB

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery Assistant Professor Panayotis Vardas, M.D., was elected Cardiac Chair of the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society Program Committee.

The UAB Department of Surgery hosted several students in a COVID-safe environment to teach a suturing skills workshop to students in the UAB chapter of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) organization.

Associate Professor Daniel Chu, M.D., MSPH, FACS, FASCRS, has been named Vice Chair of Health Services Research and Selwyn M. Vickers Endowed Scholar in the UAB Department of Surgery.

UAB Medicine Office of Patient Experience and Engagement (OPXE) has recognized 16 Department of Surgery providers in the 2021 list of “Top-Performing” providers.

General Surgery Resident Adam Lucy, M.D., has been voted into the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) Clinical and Health Services Research Committee during phase one of the committee selection.

Division of Pediatric Surgery Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Colin Martin, M.D., FACS, has been named the president-elect of the medical staff at Children’s of Alabama.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery has a unique connection with the military. Twelve faculty members are either veterans or active duty military.

The UAB Department of Surgery is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Lily Gutnik. M.D., and Clinical Instructor Salila Hashmi, M.D., to the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery and the Division of Surgical Oncology, respectively.

In this UAB MedCast podcast, Jessica Fazendin M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., MEHP, FACS, section chief of endocrine surgery, and John Porterfield, M.D., professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, give an update on hyperthyroidism and the latest treatment options available at UAB Medicine

The department is pleased to congratulate Associate Professor Jayleen Grams, M.D., on her promotion Associate Chief of Staff for Surgical Services at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (BVAMC).

Irshad Chaudry, Ph.D., professor emeritus with the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery within the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been a mentor to many but also remembers what it’s like to need help himself.

Several UAB Department of Surgery faculty members will serve in leadership positions in the new UAB Heersink School of Medicine Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty Association.

Director of the Division of Surgical Oncology Vikas Dudeja, MBBS, was awarded a U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) grant, which will fund his research project, “Evaluation of Pirfenidone as a Therapy in Patients with Predicted Moderate to Severe Acute Pancreatitis.”

In 2021 an estimated 60,430 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S., and more than 48,220 will die from the disease.

The UAB Department of Surgery is pleased to welcome Chinwendu Onwubiko, M.D., Ph.D., and Eric Sparks, M.D., as assistant professors to the Division of Pediatric Surgery.

Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief of the UAB Hospital and Health System has been named a member in the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators™. He was inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 15, and his membership will last for a period of five years.

Irshad Chaudry, Ph.D., professor emeritus with the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, recently became the first-ever recipient of the Shock Society’s Mentoring Award. The award, which was presented to Chaudry last week during the Shock Society’s virtual annual conference, was created to honor a society member who has had a demonstrated impact as a mentor to the next generation of scientists and clinician-scientists in the field of shock research.

Vikas Dudeja, MBBS, director of the Division of Surgical Oncology, has named Sushanth Reddy, M.D. (left), associate director of surgical oncology, Ashley Holder, M.D.(middle), section chief of melanoma and sarcoma surgery, and J. Bart Rose, III, M.D., MAS, FACS (right), the section chief of hepatopancreatobiliary disease.

Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Colin Martin, M.D., FACS, was selected for membership in the esteemed Lilliputian Surgical Society, which has only 30 pediatric surgeon members from across the nation.

Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery Prasanth Patcha, M.D., MEng (left), as well as Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Clinical Assistant Professor Omar Rokayak, D.O. (middle), and Assistant Professor Jon Winkler, M.D., Ph.D. (right), have been named fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), effective Oct. 24.

Kimberly Hendershot, M.D., recently earned the Certificate in Applied Surgical Education Leadership (CASEL) through the American College of Surgeons Division of Education.

UAB was well represented at the 2021 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery, with three Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery assistant professors presenting orally.

The UAB Division of Trauma and Actue Care Surgery has matched four new fellows into the Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship for 2022: Danny Lammers, M.D., Omar Rokayak, D.O., Thomas Sensing, D.O., and Rindi Uhlich, M.D., MSPH.

The team involved in the rescue operation reunited with Arnoldo Vasquez-Hernandez and his family to speak for the Hearts of Heroes episode.

The UAB Department of Surgery is pleased to highlight Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing the stories and experiences of faculty, staff, and trainees across the department.

General Surgery Resident Burke Smith, M.D., received second place with his group in the annual UAB Postdoc Research Day.