The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the appointment of several University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty to endowed positions during its meeting Nov. 8, 2013:
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Yogesh Dwivedi, Ph.D., was named the inaugural holder of the Elesabeth Ridgely Shook Endowed Chair in the UAB Department of Psychiatry. Dwivedi was recruited to UAB in August as professor and director of the UAB Mood Disorders Program in the School of Medicine from the University of Illinois–Chicago. He is internationally known for his contributions to the understanding of mood disorders, stress-related pathology and suicidal behavior and has been a leader in the areas of basic and clinical neuroscience.
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Gorman Robinson Jones, III, M.D., FACP, was named the holder of the Eleanor E. Kidd Endowed Chair in Primary Care Medicine in the UAB School of Medicine. Jones first taught accounting at UAB and earned his medical degree while teaching. He completed his residency at UAB and received the Ben Friedman Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Resident.
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Christine Skibola, Ph.D., was named the inaugural holder of the Caldwell Marks Endowed Chair in Cancer Oncology in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has published more than 66 peer-reviewed articles and four book chapters.
The board also named several faculty to emeritus positions:
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N. Patrick Huggins was appointed professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in the UAB School of Medicine. Higgins joined the UAB faculty in 1983 and served as co-director of the Heflin Center for Human Genetics and director of the Biochemistry Fermentation Facility.
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Alan Randich, Ph.D., was appointed professor emeritus in the UAB Department of Psychology. Randich served as a secondary faculty member in the Department of Anesthesiology and as the director of the Behavioral Neurosciences Doctoral Training Program. He won the Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award in 2013.
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Douglas Carroll Tilt, M.D., was appointed professor emeritus in the UAB Department of Medicine. Tilt completed his internship and residency at UAB and holds certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine. He was a commander in the U.S. Navy from 1976-78.
The board approved the establishment of the James K. Kirlin, M.D., Endowed Lectureship in Cardiothoracic Surgical Sciences. The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation made a $75,000 contribution to the Department of Surgery in the UAB School of Medicine to fund the lectureship. Kirklin is the director of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery; he began his career at UAB in 1979 and performed the first heart transplant at UAB in 1981.