By Samil Baker
Eight faculty were honored for exceptional achievement and contributions by The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees during its meeting April 8. Distinguished Professor recognizes achievement in a single field; University Professor is the appropriate designation for individuals whose work is more interdisciplinary in nature.
Khurram Bashir, M.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Neurology. Bashir joined UAB in 1997 as an instructor in the Department of Neurology; he currently serves as professor and vice chair for Education in the Department of Neurology, director of the Division of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, co-director of the UAB Multiple Sclerosis Center and Center for Pediatric Onset Demyelinating Diseases and director of the Neurology Residency Training Program.
Bashir’s clinical and research interests include designing and conducting clinical trials for multiple sclerosis with a clinical focus on epidemiological and outcomes research in immunologic disorders of the central nervous system. He has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award in the UAB Neurology Residency Program, the Argus Award and the Pioneering Spirit Award, among others.
He also serves as a reviewer for journals such as Headache, Journal of Neuroimaging, Annals of Neurology, Archives of Neurology, Current Medical Research and Opinion, Lancet Neurology and Neurology.
Aurelio Galli, Ph.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Surgery. Galli joined the department in 2017 and serves currently as senior scientist at the Civitan International Research Center, a professor in the Department of Surgery and Neurobiology, the director of Gastrointestinal Biology Research in the Department of Surgery and director for the Center for Inter-Systemic Networks and Enteric Medical Advances.
Galli is the recipient of numerous National Institute of Health grants and has been awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Award and the National Association for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Award.
Galli serves as a reviewer for journals such as Biochemistry, Journal of Neurochemistry, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Neuroscience, Neuropsychopharmacology and Nature Communications, among others.
Eugenia Kharlampieva, Ph.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry. She serves as co-director of the UAB Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration and holds appointments as an associate scientist in the UAB Biochemistry and Structural Biology Center, the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.
Kharlampieva has received numerous academic awards and honors, including an Emerging Investigator Award by the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Chemistry and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation.
She also serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory neutron sciences facility and the editorial advisory board for the American Chemical Society’s Applied Polymer Materials journal.
Bruce R. Korf, M.D., Ph.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Genetics. He joined UAB in 2003 as professor and chair in the Department of Genetics and appointed holder of the Wayne H. and Sara Crews Finley Endowed Chair in Medical Genetics.
Korf currently serves as associate dean for Genomic Medicine and Chief Genomics Officer in the Heersink School of Medicine, co-director of the UAB-HudsonAlpha Center for Genomic Medicine and co-director of the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative. He has been awarded the Von Recklinghausen Award, President’s Award of the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation, Medical Honoree of the New England Chapter of the Children’s Tumor Foundation and the American Society of Human Genetics Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education.
Korf serves as a reviewer for journals such as Journal of Clinical Dysmorphology, Annals of Neurology, Genetics in Medicine, American Journal of Human Genetics and European Journal of Pediatric Neurology, among others.
Jan Novak, Ph.D., was named Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Microbiology. Novak, one of the world’s foremost experts on IgA nephropathy, joined UAB in 1994 and currently also researches immunology, glycobiology, renal disease and infectious diseases.
Novak has authored more than 200 publications and book chapters; 36 of his manuscripts were published in the last five years, with many published in journals such as Kidney Disease, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Nature Reviews Nephrology, Kidney International Reports and Journal of Nephrology, as well as in multidisciplinary journals.
He was elected a member of the Henry Kunkel Society in 2006 and also is a member of the Steering Committee for Glomerular Diseases for the American Society of Nephrology and the CureGN group.
W. Timothy Garvey, M.D., was named University Professor in the School of Health Professions Department of Nutrition Sciences. Garvey joined UAB in 2003 as chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences, where he served until 2018.
Garvey has directed an independent laboratory since 1987, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Heart Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International and the American Diabetes Association. In 2008, he founded the UAB Diabetes Research Center, where he continues to serve as the center’s principal investigator and director.
Garvey has published nearly 300 papers in journals such as Science, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Diabetes and Journal of Biological Chemistry, as well as multiple book chapters. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and has served on the editorial boards of Cardiorenal Medicine and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, among others.
The Dr. W. Timothy Garvey Endowed Scholarship in Nutrition Sciences serves as a tribute to his leadership and contribution to the department and the field; he also has received the Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology award and the Joseph F. Volker Award for Outstanding Faculty in the UAB School of Health Professions.
Linda D. Moneyham, Ph.D., was named University Professor in the School of Nursing. Moneyham joined UAB in 2007 as the appointed Rachel Z. Booth Endowed Chair in the UAB School of Nursing before being appointed senior associate dean for Academic Affairs in 2011.
Moneyham has been inducted into numerous state and national organizations, including the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame, and serves as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She also was elected to the National League for Nursing Board of Governors.
During her tenure, Moneyham has received research grants and awards totaling more than $13 million from the National Institutes of Health and Health Resources and Services Administration for her work researching behavioral needs of rural and minority women and other populations living with HIV/AIDS. She also has more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and book chapters.
Jeffery T. Walker, Ph.D., was named University Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Criminal Justice. Walker joined UAB in 2015 as a professor and currently serves as department chair for Criminal Justice.
Walker has served as principal investigator on more than 20 externally funded grants and has published more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
He also is the recipient of various awards, including the UAB Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award, and has served on editorial boards for 12 peer-reviewed journals and as editor or editor-in-chief of five peer-reviewed journals.
The rank of Distinguished Professor is a campuswide appointment that recognizes international accomplishments to confer richly deserved prestige and honor on those selected to receive this designation. The rank of University Professor is a campuswide appointment primarily prestigious in a specific discipline and confers an academic rank that transcends departmental and disciplinary lines; the goal is to allow each designated individual the greatest latitude in teaching, writing, and scholarly research. Review the criteria online.
