Explore UAB

by Sarah L. Minor, MS

With each meeting of the Gulf Coast Hematology and Oncology Summit, a stronger, more collaborative cancer care community is emerging in the South. Thanks to a new partnership of event organizers, attendance at the annual CME event is growing rapidly, reaching more cancer care professionals than UAB could alone.

Pankit Vachhani, M.D., UAB associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, got involved in organizing the UAB conference back in 2018. He recognized that there were many more providers who could benefit from the experience of learning and networking than were actually attending. So, he set about connecting with other organizations and expanding the audience to create a more dynamic event.

Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease Martin Young, D.Phil., specializes in chronobiology and cardiac metabolism. In this video spotlight, Young discusses his journey into research and the importance of circadian rhythms, often described as our bodies’ internal clocks. His work highlights the role of circadian clocks in maintaining heart health and how disruptions can contribute to disease states. Specifically, Young’s research aims to understand the mechanisms behind the heart’s tolerance to heart attacks at different times of the day, with the ultimate goal of developing strategies to protect the heart during vulnerable periods.