Three UAB faculty members elected to the Association of American Physicians

Anindya Dutta, Ph.D.The Association of American Physicians has elected three faculty members from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine to join the organization. The honorary medical society advocates for advancement of scientific and practical medicine and has over 1,700 active members and approximately 600 emeritus and honorary members from the United States, Canada and other countries.

Elected faculty were Anindya Dutta, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Genetics; David Kimberlin, M.D., co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; and Alan T. Tita, M.D., Ph.D., Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, associate dean for Global and Women’s Health, and professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Anindya Dutta, Ph.D.

Dutta’s research interests cover genomic instability in cancer cells and noncoding RNAs in differentiation and cancer. His laboratory identified many of the replication initiation proteins in human cells, used genomics technology to identify hundreds of origins of replication in human chromosomes, discovered a major mechanism by which human cells prevent over-replication of their DNA and identified a novel class of circular DNA present in normal mammalian cells. His laboratory has also discovered many microRNAs David Kimberlin, M.D.that inhibit cell proliferation and promote differentiation during the conversion of muscle stem cells to mature muscle and microRNAs that contribute to the phenotypes of advanced prostate cancer.

David Kimberlin, M.D.

Kimberlin has been at UAB since 1996 and is the vice chair for Clinical and Translational Research and co-division director for the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics. He holds the Sergio Stagno, M.D., Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases. Kimberlin is an expert in the treatment of congenital and perinatal viral infections. His current studies include evaluating novel treatment approaches for neonatal HSV, new antiviral drugs for congenital CMV, long-term benefits of antiviral therapy in congenital CMV, and natural history studies of acute flaccid myelitis and neonatal enteroviral sepsis. These studies build upon previous CASG studies conducted by Kimberlin that have defined the standard of care for the treatment of neonatal HSV and congenital CMV infections.

Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D.Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D.

Tita is the UAB Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, director of the Mary Heersink Institute of Global Health and the Heersink School of Medicine associate dean for Global Health. As professor of obstetrics and gynecology and senior vice chair for Research and Innovation, he also leads the Center for Women’s Reproductive Health. His background is in maternal-fetal medicine, perinatal epidemiology and international health. Tita has led and continues to lead the design and conduct of collaborative multi-site and single-site clinical trials and observational studies that influence practice and policy globally. He also co-leads the Cameroon Health Initiative at UAB, a multidisciplinary venture to improve health care in collaboration with Cameroon partners.