Students/Faculty
Rimmer to Chair President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board
James Rimmer, Ph.D.The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s James Rimmer, Ph.D., the Lakeshore Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Sciences, has been named Chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board. His one-year term begins January 1, 2016.
Read more
Ana Oliveira named a National Key to the Future by ASCLS
Oliveira at ASCLS ConferenceAna Oliveira, DrPH, assistant professor in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program, has been honored by the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science as a National Key to the Future honoree. The award is given to newer ASCLS members who are establishing themselves as leaders in their own organization.
Read more
Will low carb diet help adults with SCI stay on track and reduce their risk? UAB study aims to find out.
Brooks Wingo (pictured, right) works with telehealth systemA new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham could provide the first known data about the impact of dietary patterns on dietary adherence and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Brooks Wingo, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, received a K01 grant for $115,093 from the NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to determine if a reduced carbohydrate diet will help adults with SCI stick to their diet and improve their body composition.
Read more
Williams earns grant to study perceptions of discrimination in health care
Jessica Williams, Ph.D.Jessica Williams, PhD, an assistant professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, received a $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the New Connections program. The grant will allow Williams to look at factors that influence perceptions of discrimination in health care settings, the management of hypertension in African-Americans, and how these perceptions influence medication adherence.
Read more
Elizabeth Ma abstract earns two national awards
Elizabeth Ma, MSTP student and NORC fellowElizabeth Ma, an MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and a fellow in the UAB Nutritional Obesity Research Center’s (NORC) Pre-Doctoral Training in Obesity-Related Research program, is the winner of two national awards for her abstract titled “Urinary F2-Isoprostanes Do Not Reflect Oxidative Stress Operative in Human Insulin Resistance, but are Correlated with Lean Mass and Serum Lipids.”
Read more
University Hospital patients receive faster results thanks to CLS student research
Inside the CLS Sim LabUntil recently, the cotinine assay performed on all University Hospital patients prior to surgery used a blood serum sample. That changed last month, thanks to a partnership between SHP’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences program (CLS) and the UAB Hospital Laboratory.
Read more
Fernández inaugural winner of diversity award from the Obesity Society
Written by Bob Shepard, UAB News
José Fernández, Ph.D.José Fernández, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for Education in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions, has been named the inaugural winner of the Shiriki Kumanyida Diversity Leadership Award from the Obesity Society. The award recognizes an investigator whose research has made a significant difference in the field of obesity disparities.
OT students’ research on play space inequities between affluent and non-affluent communities published
A University of Alabama at Birmingham study, conducted by students in the Department of Occupational Therapy, investigating the quality of park play spaces between affluent and non-affluent communities has been published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The study, titled “Disparities in Quality of Park Play Spaces between Two Cities with Diverse Income and Race/Ethnicity Composition: A Pilot Study,” found “significant disparity in Play Value in parks” between the two communities.
Read more
Biomedical Sciences student Ashley Haynes named National MS Society Top Scholar
Ashley Haynes, 2015-16 MS Top ScholarAshley Haynes, a junior in the UAB School of Health Professions Biomedical Sciences Program, is one of only 10 students in the U.S. named a 2015 Top Scholar by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Read more
Adrianne Smiley is 1st UAB OT student accepted to AOTA Emerging Leaders program
Adrianne Smiley, AOTA Emerging LeaderAdrianne Smiley, a 2nd year student in the UAB Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, is the first UAB student to be accepted to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Emerging Leaders Development Program.
Read more
The unseen story behind PA student and Miss Alabama contestant Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward with her parentsMiranda Ward, a third-semester student with a 4.0 GPA in the nationally ranked UAB Physician Assistant program, recently received the Miss America academic award for the state of Alabama. The honor, based on GPA and course difficulty, is given annually to the top scholar in the Miss Alabama competition.
Read more
Low Vision’s Barstow earns AOTA Fellow honors
Beth Barstow, Ph.D., OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTAElizabeth (Beth) Barstow, Ph.D., OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA, received the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Roster of Fellows Award at the recent AOTA Conference and Expo in Nashville. Barstow, an associate professor in the UAB Department of Occupational Therapy, is the fourth faculty member of the OT faculty to earn the honor - that means one-third of the UAB OT faculty are FAOTA.
Read more
Health Informatics online course earns Quality Matters certification
Eta Berner, professor, Health Informatics programEta Berner, Ed.D., professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, has the first online course to be certified by Quality Matters in the UAB School of Health Professions. She is one of only five in the state of Alabama to earn the certification.
Read more
OT students’ restroom sign designs win inaugural Golden Toilet Award
OT students wearing simulation glassesThe UAB Department of Occupational Therapy faculty are renowned for creative lessons designed to prepare students for their career upon graduation.
Read more
New UAB research laboratory to study concussion biomarkers, recovery
Story by UAB News
From left: Mark Swanson, Katherine Weise, Jennifer Christy, Claudio Busettini in the VORLab.A new research laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the first of this kind in Alabama and one of only a few in America, could lead to a better understanding of the effects of concussions.
Lemak study says "fee for value" model works
Story written by Bob Shepard, UAB News
Fee-for-value — a physician reimbursement model that maintains the traditional fee-for-service arrangement but includes quality and spending incentives — can reduce spending and improve quality in primary care, according to findings reported in the April issue of Health Affairs.
A new study, led by Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., the chair of the University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Health Services Administration, suggests that it is possible to transform reimbursement within a fee-for-service framework to encourage and incentivize physicians to provide high-quality care, while also reducing costs.
Read moreDhara Shah: A Dream to Change Lives
*Editor's Note: Dhara Shah spoke of her dreams and the dreams of her family at the SHP Scholarship Luncheon on Friday, March 13, 2015. She was gracious enough to allow us to share her story and we thank her for her generosity.
Dhara Shah at SHP Scholarship LuncheonWelcome to the SHP Scholarship luncheon! I stand before you because of the generosity of the family and friends of Ms. Shirley Shaddeau and the physical therapy alumni that chose to make a difference by donating to the Shirley Shaddeau Memorial Scholarship. I personally want to extend my gratitude to you. Also, thank you to the faculty and staff of the school of health professions and especially all the scholarship donors for dedicating your time to be with us this afternoon.
Read more
Dhara Shah at SHP Scholarship LuncheonWelcome to the SHP Scholarship luncheon! I stand before you because of the generosity of the family and friends of Ms. Shirley Shaddeau and the physical therapy alumni that chose to make a difference by donating to the Shirley Shaddeau Memorial Scholarship. I personally want to extend my gratitude to you. Also, thank you to the faculty and staff of the school of health professions and especially all the scholarship donors for dedicating your time to be with us this afternoon.
Read more
Weech-Maldonado awarded $1.25 million grant for “high-Medicaid” nursing home research
Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D.Researchers from the University of Alabama at BirminghamSchool of Health Professions have been awarded $1.25 million by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to better understand the management and market factors associated with high performance among nursing homes that have a high proportion, 85 percent or greater, of Medicaid residents.
Jennings 1 of 5 named Presidential Scholar by the AcademyHealth Institute
J'Aime Jennings AcademyHealth Presidential ScholarJ’Aime Jennings, MPA, a doctoral candidate in the UAB Doctoral Program in Administration-Health Services Doctor of Philosophy program, is one of only five students in the United States to earn the Presidential Scholarship for the AcademyHealth Institute on Advocacy and Public Policy.
Read more
UAB has only Physician Assistant student to win ASAHP Scholarship
David Wood, ASAHP scholarship winnerDavid Wood, a second-year student in the UAB Physician Assistant program, was awarded a Scholarship of Excellence by the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions. Only 12 students in the U.S. received this honor and Wood is the only Physician Assistant student in the group.
Read more