UAB receives renewed funding for colorectal cancer screening project

The goal of this project is to reduce health disparities in colonoscopy screening and colorectal cancer outcomes for vulnerable populations in Jefferson County.Researchers in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Divisions of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Gastroenterology and Hepatology have been awarded a $120,000 grant for colorectal cancer screenings from the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Cancer Prevention and Control Division for the third consecutive year in a row.

The previous phase of the cancer screening project ran from February to September 2024 and was designed to provide the opportunity for low-income and under/uninsured individuals in Jefferson County to participate in colonoscopy screenings. The goal of this project is to reduce health disparities in colonoscopy screening and colorectal cancer outcomes for vulnerable populations in Jefferson County. Patients identified with pathologic findings are referred for further treatment services at UAB. 

Robert Hollis, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and Patricia Ajayi-Fox, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, are the researchers who are being awarded the grant.   

“This grant from the Alabama Department of Public Health plays an extremely impactful role in allowing us to offer colonoscopy screenings to low-income, underinsured residents of Jefferson County,” said Hollis, the leader of the Colorectal Cancer Management Team for the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Now in our third consecutive year of receiving this funding, we have developed an amazing team spanning gastrointestinal surgery, gastroenterology, Kirklin Clinic endoscopy, and our referring partners at Cooper Green Mercy Health Services and local federally qualified health center clinics. The program has already had a significant impact on the lives of many Jefferson County residents through removal of colon polyps and identification of several cancers.”

This effort is conducted as a partnership with Cooper Green Mercy Health Services, an affiliate of UAB Medicine, and other local federally qualified health center clinics. Colonoscopy screening is provided at the Kirklin Clinic by UAB colorectal surgeons and gastroenterologists. 

“This grant has been a great way to offer care to the patients of Jefferson County who may otherwise not have been able to get their colonoscopies,” said Ajayi-Fox, who serves on the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center institute team. “It has been a partnership between many groups from UAB’s different departments to our partnering centers that offer primary care to Jefferson County. I feel blessed that we get to do this for another year, and I look forward to spreading the word on the importance of colon cancer screening. These screenings allow us to catch polyps in the early stages and help patients identified with pathologic findings get access to the quality care they need.”