On the morning of Oct. 26, feedback about John Fetterman’s debate performance the night before was overwhelmingly abysmal. Critics acknowledged the auditory processing challenges he faced as a recovering stroke survivor but were unequivocally dismissive of his chances in the United States Senate race in Pennsylvania. Some called for him to withdraw from the race altogether.

UAB Professor Sue Feldman, RN, Ph.D., has been inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics. The honor is reserved for those who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of informatics. She is only the second faculty member in the School of Health Professions to become an ACMI Fellow.

Ayse Zengul, student in the UAB PhD in Nutrition Sciences program, has been awarded the Switzer Research Fellowship by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The Merit Fellowship supports scientists in the earlier stages of a research career, who conduct research on various outcomes of individuals with disabilities.

Tara Pearce, PT, DHS, associate professor and director of Clinical Education for the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy program, has received the Marilyn Gossman Award for Professionalism in Physical Therapy – the most prestigious honor given by the Alabama Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Yael Bar-Peled, a second-year student in the UAB M.S. in Genetic Counseling program is one of only 12 in the U.S. to receive the Association for Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) Scholarship of Excellence. The annual scholarship recognizes students in health professions who are achieving excellence in their academic programs and have significant potential to assume future leadership roles in healthcare.

Five students have been awarded a UAB School of Health Professions Blazer Forever Scholarship. The award is given to SHP students during Homecoming Week based on an essay answer. This year, in honor of The World Games and the homecoming theme The Blazer Games, we asked students to talk about the ways classroom collaborations and/or team-based learning has made them stronger teammates. 

On March 23, 2022, we celebrated the hard work of MSHA Class 56 as they finished the didactic portion of their time at UAB with a first-of-its-kind Signing Day event.

At a ceremony in Montgomery on August 13, 2022, Howard W. Houser, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration and former associate dean in the School of Health Professions, officially received his Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame plaque and was honored in person by the organization and its board.

Camille Worthington, PhD, RDN, LDN, has been selected as the 2022 Named New Investigator by the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC). 

As the volume of data in the digital age continues to grow, so does the evolution of the health care industry. From telehealth and health apps to electronic health records and patient surveys, health care generates vast amounts of data daily. Each second, really.  So, how do we share data from one health care system to another while ensuring it's correct and accessible to the right person at the right time? This is the question Hope Gray, MTS, BCC, a doctoral student in the Administration-Health Services program – Health Informatics track, will work to answer as the recipient of the competitive Health Level Seven International (HL7) Informatics Internship.

Floyd Josephat, EdD., MLS (ASCP), director of the UAB M.S. in Clinical Laboratory Sciences program, has been selected for membership in the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Honorary Alpha Mu Tau Fraternity. Established in 1948, the AMTF inducts medical laboratory scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field and have earned national recognition.

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.

Brooks Wingo, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Amy Goss, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences, are part of a team awarded a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The investigators will look at diet’s impact on mobility, physical and cognitive function, as well as on pain, fatigue, sleep, mood and anxiety in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Jewell J. Dickson, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, ATP, FAOTA, associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, was named to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Roster of Fellows for her contributions to championing change through leadership, service, and advocacy.  

Christy Harris Lemak, PhD, FACHE, professor and chair, Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been named recipient of the 2022 Gary L. Filerman Prize for Educational Leadership.

At the start of the pandemic, many people became hobbyists — picking up crochet needles, gardening books, or rolling out dough to ease the anxieties brought on by quarantining. For second-year occupational therapy student Julie Anne "JuJu" Dorris, the art of breadmaking crept into her life, influencing her creativity in support of her own well-being. 

As Women's History Month comes to a close, we are reflecting on this year's theme: "Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." It is a tribute to the countless women within the School of Health Professions and beyond who have devoted so much of themselves to improving health care so that others may follow in their footsteps. We asked a few of the many outstanding faculty within our school to talk about their work, in their own words, through the lenses of their identities and experiences. Read their answers below.

In honor of Women's History Month, the School of Health Professions is celebrating the creative, passionate, and driven minds who are blazing the trail for women in their field. From researchers to educators to leaders — these women have inspired so many within SHP, UAB, and beyond.

Sue Feldman, RN, MEd, Ph.D., director, UAB Graduate Programs in Health Informatics, and Wei Li, Ph.D., associate professor, UAB Physician Assistant Studies program, were awarded the UAB Graduate Dean's Excellence in Mentorship Award. The honor recognizes full-time regular UAB faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments as mentors of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows.

Health quality advocates have supported the idea of a Learning Health System (LHS) for decades. Now, in collaboration with the Center for Outcomes Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE), the UAB Health System is on a journey to develop and implement its own LHS principles to improve patient care.