Erica Stringer-Reasor, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and Director of the Breast Cancer Program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, will serve as Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine, effective November 1, 2023.

In this role, Dr. Stringer-Reasor will be a core member of the Department of Medicine (DOM) Chair’s cabinet and will work directly with DOM leadership to advance our vision for the department as an inclusive academic community that welcomes and nurtures people from diverse backgrounds and achieves equity for its members.

Dr. Stringer-Reasor is eminently qualified. She is a Birmingham native who received her undergraduate degree at Auburn University and her doctorate in medicine from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, followed by an internship in Internal Medicine at Tulane University Hospital in New Orleans, and a residency in Internal Medicine at Baptist Health System in Birmingham. Dr. Stringer-Reasor subsequently completed fellowships in Medical Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics at the University of Chicago. Her research and clinical interests remain focused in highly aggressive women’s malignancies, such as triple-negative and HER2+ breast cancer, as well health disparities.

As director of the Breast Cancer Program at UAB, Dr. Stringer-Reasor has developed a team that is internationally known for its excellence in clinical care, research, and mentorship. Under her leadership, the program has made clinical trials widely available in our community and increased access for Black women, who constitute 26% of the UAB therapeutic breast cancer clinical trial participants, compared to less than 5% nationally.

Dr. Stringer-Reasor has previously received the Ambassador of Hope and the Sharon Spencer Legacy Award for her work in the community. As chair of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium Diversity Task Force, she inaugurated travel scholarships for minority trainees and built our knowledge of enrollment demographics in clinical trials across all sites.

Dr. Stringer-Reasor has a tremendous passion for building an inclusive community that advances diversity and equity across our Department of Medicine. We are thrilled that she will lead development of a strategic plan for DEI and work DOM leaders to implement thoughtful, effective initiatives.