Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., M.S., is joining the Department of Family and Community Medicine as the department’s inaugural vice chair for research. He will also serve as a full professor for the department. Mehta started his research career as a graduate research assistant at UAB nearly 20 years ago and has served in various positions within UAB ever since. He started his new role with the department on April 1, 2022.
Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., M.S.
Mehta’s background includes degrees in engineering and biostatistics. His academic work informs his research as he seeks to build systems and utilize data in improving outcomes through targeted research projects that can help primary care providers address important needs in Alabama and beyond.
When asked why research is important to him, Mehta noted the impact that research allows him to have in his community.
“For me, it is all about impact and the ability to serve as leaders in primary care through research and innovation,” Mehta said. “Research offers the ability to learn what is working and what is helpful in patient care. It allows us to rigorously study and inform our teams on how to implement interventions and programs that can help our patients, and learn about how to effectively implement them.”
Mehta will lead the department’s research efforts and looks forward to working with clinical providers to smoothly bring more research into family medicine clinics.
“The first thing I am planning to do is build a robust infrastructure and facilitate the ability for our clinicians and researchers to do research. I want to make research an enjoyable experience for all members of our department.”
Mehta notes that, especially coming out of a pandemic, clinical providers are often stretched thin and adding research to their schedules can feel overwhelming.
“Mehta, serving as a principal investigator on several grants including an NIH-funded project seeking to identify and eliminate disparities in health care and has already begun working on protocols to increase research opportunities within the department—all with the end goal of creating change in the primary care landscape of the state.
“Grants and publications are important means to an end,” he said. “The objective is to use our research as a tool to deliver excellent patient care.”
Irfan Asif, M.D., professor and chair of the department, sees Mehta’s arrival as a big step for the department and the role it will play in shaping primary care for the next generation.
“Tapan is an excellent researcher and brilliant leader,” Asif noted. “One of our major goals for our department is to continue to become a leader in primary care education and research. Tapan’s experience and vision will help us do that.”
Mehta hopes to continue the research projects that are ongoing within the department, including partnerships with the UAB Departments of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Nutrition Sciences, and others, as well as grow the Alabama Practice-Based Research Network to expand research beyond the Birmingham campus to the department’s community partners across the state.
As UAB is a teaching and research hospital system, Mehta notes that patients should expect and partner with providers as they research.
“To me, it is about how we can improve Alabama’s primary care delivery through our research,” he said. “Sometimes the impact will be very direct through grants or creating access for treatments, but we will always benefit from the knowledge that our projects generate and that will inform our care models.”
In his free time, Mehta loves to travel and is passionate about music. He has performed as a vocalist at events hosted by local Indian community groups.
To learn more about research within the Department of Family and Community Medicine, please click here.