Two speech-language pathologists in the UAB Voice Center were recently awarded Distinguished Early Career Professional (ECP) Certificates from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Access to health care remains one of the most pressing challenges in Alabama’s rural communities. Many residents travel long distances to see a doctor or specialist, and shortages of primary care providers continue to affect both patient outcomes and quality of life. In honor of National Rural Health Day, celebrated on November 20 this year, the Heersink Office of Access and Engagement spoke with Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health, and co-director of the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center, to learn how UAB is expanding care and strengthening the state’s primary care workforce.

Denise Coston, administrative associate for Nick Van Wagoner, M.D., and Todd Peterson, M.D., is a vital member of Medical Students Services (MSS). She has been employed by UAB for a total of 35 years, and she has served MSS for the last 20 years. She was nominated to the inaugural cohort of Medical Education Unsung Heroes by Brook Hubner, Ph.D., director of Academic Success, and Jason Noah, program director for Student Success.

The UAB Systems Pharmacology AI Research Center (SPARC), led by Jake Y. Chen, Ph.D., director of SPARC and professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, has achieved a milestone recognition at the 1st Open Conference of AI Agents for Science 2025 hosted by Stanford University.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics is proud to highlight Rhiannon Jennings, registered nurse with the Department of Pediatrics Primary Care Clinic.

As sniffle season sets in, sinus infections are among the most common illnesses seen in doctors’ offices. For most people, they’re nothing more than an inconvenience and a few days of congestion, but, according to experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a sinus infection can become dangerous in severe cases.

Olivia Railey, RN, BSN, CIC, Nursing Services Program Manager, has been elected to serve as the 2026 president-elect of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Alabama chapter.

The UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is proud to have thirteen providers honored by UAB’s Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for delivering an outstanding patient experience. Each provider achieved a remarkable 95% or higher rating on patient satisfaction surveys ranking them among the top performers across UAB Medicine.

On Friday, November 14, 2025, students from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine gathered to celebrate faculty excellence during the annual Argus Awards Ceremony. Established to recognize outstanding contributions in medical education, the Argus Awards are determined entirely by student nominations and votes, honoring faculty, courses, and course directors who have made a lasting impact throughout the year.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurosurgery is pleased to announce that Harish Kumar, Ph.D., will join the department in December 2025 as a research senior in the research lab of Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Satoru Osuka, M.D., Ph.D.

Nineteen providers from the Department of Family and Community Medicine have been honored by UAB’s Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for delivering an outstanding patient experience. Each achieved a remarkable 95% or higher rating on patient satisfaction surveys—placing them among the top performers across UAB Medicine.

Robert Cannon, M.D., surgical director of the UAB Liver Transplant Program, recently joined UAB MedCast to discuss liver transplantation for colorectal metastases and the evolving role of transplantation in oncologic care.

Jerzy P. Szaflarski, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Division of Epilepsy in the UAB Department of Neurology, has been named the first holder of the R. Edward Faught and Janet Jackson Faught Professorship in Epilepsy Research. The appointment was approved at the Board of Trustees’ November 2025 meeting.

The UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology opened its Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic in August 2025, a significant step forward in expanding access to cutting-edge treatment for depression.

Teebro Rahman, M.D., PGY2, was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before moving to Columbia, South Carolina. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of South Carolina and medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville.

Daniel Ramos-Marin, M.D., PGY2, interventional radiology resident, is from Cidra, Puerto Rico. He completed his undergraduate studies at Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras and attended medical school at Ponce Health Sciences University.

Caroline Presley, M.D., PGY2, joined the UAB Department of Radiology in July 2025. Originally from Hayneville, Alabama, she earned her undergraduate degree from Troy University before completing medical school at UAB.

Megan Goins, M.D., PGY2, joined the UAB Department of Radiology in July 2025. Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, she earned her undergraduate degree from the UNC Chapel Hill before completing her master’s degree at NC State and attending medical school at East Carolina University.

Members from the Department of Pathology gathered to celebrate esteemed milestones amongst colleagues on November 12 to recognize awards and distinctions from the past year. The event was held at the UAB West Pavilion Conference Center to honor outstanding professional service to UAB and the department.

Rachel Teranishi, M.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, received a grant from UAB’s Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (CEDHARS) to partner with LoveYourBrain — an organization that develops programs for patients recovering from traumatic brain injury focusing on mindfulness, yoga, psychoeducation, and nutrition.

The Family Medicine Clinic at UAB Hospital-Highlands has recently achieved outstanding results in patient experience, earning an extraordinary 100 rating. The UAB Medicine Office of Patient Experience and Engagement recently reported performance levels from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2025, across all UAB ambulatory settings, showing that the clinic achieved a Level 5 rating.

UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Assistant Professor Demario Overstreet, Ph.D., has been awarded substantial funding through the National Institutes of Health for his innovative research program, titled “Contemporary human models of postoperative pain: A biopsychosocial investigation in general surgery.” 

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 2025 Annual Symposium will conclude with a keynote presentation from James Cimino, M.D., distinguished professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science.

In a new paper published in mSPhere, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, Nicholas Lennemann, Ph.D., reflects on this career journey, highlighting the significance of mentorship and supportive work environments in shaping his career.

Meet Adam Wende, Ph.D., Professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Pathology. His work has been funded by the American Heart Association, Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), and most recently the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH.

Our first-year residents are well underway in their integrated intern year, building the medical foundation that will shape them as future ophthalmologists. They share why they chose UAB Callahan Eye, what they’ve learned so far, and what they’re looking forward to in the years ahead.

The Department of Urology is proud to spotlight Valencia Jones, an executive assistant in our department, whose open and welcoming spirit shines through her work.

The newly constructed atrium is the first street-level entrance for Volker Hall in recent history, providing convenient access from the corner of 16th St S and University Boulevard. The completion of this project also marks a major milestone in efforts to update the learning facilities and environments for current and future Heersink School of Medicine students.

Supporting those around you starts with supporting yourself. A new training offering at UAB not only emphasizes this but also teaches participants how to use self-regulation to benefit those around them, specifically in a healthcare setting while being transferable to other areas.

In honor of Diabetes Awareness Month, we caught up with Nicole Johnson, DrPH, the first Miss America with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), who now calls Birmingham home. Johnson shares her story of living with T1D since age 19 and how it has shaped her lifelong career of advocacy and education.