UAB's Bebin Named Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow

Martina Bebin, M.D., M.P.A., associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is one of seven new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows for 2005–2006, as named by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.

Posted on August 29, 2005 at 2:30 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Martina Bebin, M.D., M.P.A., associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is one of seven new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows for 2005–2006, as named by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.

The fellows — outstanding midcareer health professionals — were chosen on a competitive basis from nominations submitted by academic institutions, non-profit health care organizations and other community-based providers.

The fellows will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working in a congressional office or the executive branch. During this year, they will enrich their understanding of public policy practices and the ways government health research relates to the mission of their home institutions and local communities. At the completion of their fellowship, the fellows will return to their communities to apply their experiences to improving health policy and management. Fellows receive additional funds for up to two years so that they may continue their development as health policy leaders.

Bebin, who joined UAB in 1994, focuses on the treatment of epilepsy in children. “Treating patients with chronic neurologic illness has been a tremendous motivation for me to pursue greater involvement in health policy and ways to improve health care for these patients,” said Bebin. “The RWJ Fellowship will improve my skills and give me a greater understanding of the legislative process for health care.”

The fellowship program was established in 1973 at the Institute of Medicine with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey. The fellows were selected by the IOM's Health Policy Fellowships Advisory Board.

The Institute of Medicine is a private, nonprofit institution that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences.

The 2005-2006 fellows are:

  • Martina Bebin, M.D., M.P.A.; associate professor of pediatrics and neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children's Hospital of Alabama.

  • Leona Cuttler, M.D.; professor of pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University; division chief, pediatric endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism; and medical director, Center for Chronic Conditions of Childhood, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland

  • Sarah England, Ph.D.; associate professor of physiology and biophysics, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City

  • Kathy Hebert, M.D.; clinical associate professor of medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and director of cardiology, Chabert Medical Center, Houma

  • Robin Hemphill, M.D., M.P.H.; associate program director of emergency medicine, and medical director, National Center for Emergency Preparedness, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville

  • Roger Johns, M.D., M.H.S.; professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

  • Alfred Pheley, Ph.D.; professor and chair, department of community and rural medicine, and assistant dean for clinical research, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg.