Celebrating the Women of UAB Pathology’s Past
March is Women’s History Month, and we are proud to highlight the careers of some of the illustrious, innovative women who helped make the Department of Pathology what it is today. These early pioneers went above and beyond, setting the stage for future females in science and medicine.
Following is a timeline with some known dates and names, compiled in large part from the book, “History of Pathology at UAB: 1945-2008,” co-authored by C. Bruce Alexander, M.D., Professor Emeritus, and Margaret Dotzler, former department employee. While not comprehensive, this list represents some of the amazing female faculty making up UAB Pathology.
Read moreWelcoming 2024 Matched Residents to UAB Pathology
We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of this year's residency match program where we filled all seven of our open positions for 2024. Please join us in welcoming the following individuals to our team:
Congratulations to everyone involved on another successful match season! We are excited to welcome these new trainees to UAB Pathology.
Four Faculty and One Fellow Elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society for 2024
Four UAB Pathology faculty and one fellow were elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AΩA) at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine for 2024. Brandi McCleskey, M.D., Frida Rosenblum, M.D., Vishnu Reddy, M.D., and Paul Benson, M.D., were selected as Alpha Omega Alpha Faculty members for the year, and Sarah Anderson, D.O., Surgical Pathology Fellow, was selected as a fellow.
A Dozen R01s = A Banner Year for Research
The research enterprise for academic medical centers nationwide took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. With temporary lab closures, hiring freezes and layoffs, social distancing and other precautions limiting many investigators’ ability to conduct their work, it was a challenging time. The upside to this for some may have been the chance to write, submit, revise and resubmit grant funding proposals.
Read moreUAB Pathology at USCAP 2024
The United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) hosts its annual meeting in person and virtually this year, March 23-28, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Read moreAhn Receives BCRFA Funded O'Neal Invests Award
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) has announced funding for three pre-R01 grants through the fall cycle of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center’s O’Neal Invests program.
Erin Eun-Young Ahn, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pathology's Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology is a pre-R01 recipient for her project titled, “Phenotypic and Metabolic Reprogramming of Breast Cancer by MascRNA.”
Read moreWei Returns to UAB Pathology as Division Director, Women’s Health
By Christina Crowe
The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce Shi Wei, M.D., Ph.D., returning to UAB as Director of the Division of Women’s Health effective February 1, 2024. Wei is the Barbara F. Atkinson Endowed Professor and Director of Translational Research, at the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Wei obtained his medical degree in China and received his Ph.D. in Japan. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, followed by residency in anatomic and clinical pathology and a surgical pathology fellowship at UAB. He obtained additional clinical subspecialty training at Emory, Mt. Sinai and Harvard Universities.
Read moreZindl Joins Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology as Assistant Professor
By Christina Crowe
Carlene Zindl, Ph.D., joins the Department of Pathology as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology after having worked for years as a researcher and scientist in the Division of Anatomic Pathology. Her position is effective January 1.
Read moreCongratulating Our 2024-2025 Chief Residents and Leadership Group
The UAB Department of Pathology is excited to announce our Chief Residents for the 2024-25 year and thank our 2023-24 Chiefs.
We want to acknowledge the superb example that our 2023-24 Chiefs Drs. Brooke Bartow, Michael Robinson and Jacob Havens have set over the past year. They excelled in their leadership positions, and we thank them all for a job well done.
Read moreNCI Grant Funds New Cancer Research Opportunities for UAB and Samford Students
by Hannah Buckelew
Elizabeth E. Brown, M.P.H., Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Cancer Pathobiology, Associate Director for Population Science, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., Associate Director for Education and Training, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, are co-leading a new research education program entitled UAB Enhancing Research in Cancer-related Health Professions (ENRICH) with support from the National Cancer Institute.
Read moreLeal Named Division Director, Laboratory Medicine
By Christina Crowe
The UAB Department of Pathology has named Associate Professor Sixto Leal, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., as Director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine, effective January 1, 2024.
Leal, who was named associate division director in 2022, was selected after an extensive national search to take over from Professor Baleed Vishnu Reddy, M.D., who served as interim division director.
Read moreUALCAN App Facilitates Cancer Research on the Go
By Christina Crowe
Cancer research on the road may not have been part of your holiday travel plans, but thanks to the innovation of Pathology Department faculty Sooryanarayana Varambally, Ph.D., MBA, Professor, Molecular & Cellular Pathology and Darshan Shimoga Chandrashekar, Ph. D., Assistant Professor, Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, it can be. Varambally and his team have created a mobile cancer transcriptome analysis (TCGA) app, “UALCAN Mobile,” based on their comprehensive cancer proteogenomic platform, UALCAN, for phones and tablets. The free research and educational app is available at the Google Play store and the Apple App Store.
Read moreBrown Appointed as Associate Director for Population Science for the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Elizabeth E. Brown, Ph.D., MPH, will be the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Associate Director for Population Science beginning January 1, 2024. Brown is the Endowed Professor of Cancer Pathobiology in the Department of Pathology at the Heersink School of Medicine, immediate past chair of the International Lymphoma and Epidemiology Consortium and co-leader of the O’Neal Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program.
Read moreWeaver Named to Robinson Endowed Chair in Pathology
By Christina Crowe
On Thursday, November 2, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees voted to approve the appointment of Casey Weaver, M.D., to the Leonard H. Robinson Endowed Chair in Pathology.
Read moreVarma Joins Faculty Covering Community Pathology Practice Program
Kavita Varma, M.D., DNB, joins the Department of Pathology as an assistant professor covering the Community Pathology Practice Program (CPPP) in Anniston, Alabama, under Walter Bell, M.D., Chief of CPPP.
Read moreUAB Pathology Represents at October Conferences
by Christina Crowe
UAB Pathology faculty, trainees and staff were busy presenting their latest work at several conferences related to their respective specialties throughout the month of October, and several received recognitionRead more
Eighth Annual Listinksy Lecture Features Glycobiology Expert Schnaar
by Hannah Buckelew
The UAB Department of Pathology welcomed a world-renowned expert on glycobiology Ronald L. Schnaar, Ph.D., John Jacob Abel Professor and Interim Director, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to present the eighth annual John Jay Listinksy Lecture in Glycobiology. The lecture, “Glycan Recognition in Human Immune Regulation- a Special Role for Sialic Acid” was presented on Thursday, October 26, 2023, in the West Pavilion Conference Center.
Read moreUAB Pathology Accomplishments Awarded at Reception
by Hannah Buckelew
The UAB Department of Pathology honored several faculty members for their esteemed accomplishments and outstanding service to UAB and to the department with a Faculty Awards Reception on October 27, 2023 at Cafe Dupont. Retirements, endowments, distinctions, awards, and promotion and tenure were celebrated amongst the following faculty:
Read moreAl Diffalha Named Vice Chair for Outreach
by Christina Crowe
The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce the appointment of Sameer Al Diffalha, M.D., Associate Professor, Anatomic Pathology, as Vice Chair for Outreach for the Department of Pathology, effective April 1, 2023. The role was previously managed by the now interim chair, Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., however, with the continued expansion of the Community Pathology Practice Program (CPPP) the vice chair position was created.
Read moreShevde-Samant Awarded DoD Grant to Study Immune Environment of Breast Cancer
by Christina Crowe
Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, UAB Department of Pathology, has been awarded a $1.48 million grant over the next three years to study the immune microenvironment of breast cancer, specifically the plasticity of regulatory T cells. The grant, a Level 2 Breakthrough Award from the Breast Cancer Research Program of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense, is so called because of its potential to, “make an impactful breakthrough and accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer,” Shevde-Samant says.
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