Above: Lynn Matthews, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases
Lynn Matthews, M.D., MPH, has been named Associate Director for Global Health Partnerships and Research in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. In this role, Matthews, who is associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, will leverage her considerable experience leading NIH-funded research programs and collaborations in South Africa and Uganda to advance the priorities of the UAB SOM Global Health Initiative.
“We see UAB’s role in advancing global health as an important responsibility that is underscored by the current COVID-19 pandemic,” says Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology and associate dean for Global and Women’s Health in the School. “We know that establishing equitable relationships that foster bidirectional learning, address the unique needs of the community, and carry out research in the context of local culture and shared priorities is foundational to advancing global health.”
Specifically, Matthews is charged with forging partnerships and systems to enable UABSOM personnel to work with multiple global hubs to understand and reduce global health disparities through research, service and capacity building. She will also oversee education efforts associated within the hubs that are identified.
“My research has always been aimed at answering questions raised by the communities where the research is based. Partnering with community health workers in Rwanda introduced me to my first research focus, reducing HIV incidence among men and women living with HIV who want to have children. It’s been extremely rewarding to create programs for people to meet their childbearing goals without transmitting HIV to their partners or children,” explains Matthews. “I look forward to working with Dr. Tita to guide UAB’s partnerships to a 2021 post-colonial model of partnership, discovery, and innovation to improve health globally.”
Matthews obtained her M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed postgraduate medical training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Her appointment was effective July 1.