Team
Senior Associate Dean, Leadership Development
John N. Whitaker Building, Suite 414
jlarson@uabmc.edu
205-996-1116
Administrative support: Rokeia Westbrook
Biography
Jean Ann Larson, Ph.D., joined UAB Medicine in 2016 as the chief leadership development officer, reporting to both the dean of the School of Medicine and the CEO of the Health System in order to provide expertise and resources to leaders to ensure their success and the sustainable success for all of UAB Medicine. In her tenure, she has had the opportunity to work with department chairs and senior leaders throughout the School of Medicine on a variety of engagements. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor in the School of Health Professions, where she teaches in the Quality Academy and in the MSHA program.
As the senior associate dean of Leadership Development, Dr. Larson works with her team to ensure that our leaders have the mindset and skills to lead their teams and the organization into the future, as well as ensuring that UAB develops a strong pipeline of leaders.
Before coming to UAB, Dr. Larson had her own boutique leadership development consultancy based in the Dallas area. Previously, she had a long career in health care as a senior executive at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and at Beaumont Health in southeast Michigan, where she founded an award-winning corporate university and served as the founding chief learning officer. Prior to that she was an assistant administrator with responsibility for a variety of functional areas including management engineering, service line management and consulting, medical libraries, management information systems, PC/networking support, and telecommunications.
A native of Kansas, she attended Wichita State University where she earned a bachelor of science in engineering. She earned her MBA from Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management. She also graduated from Pepperdine University with a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership. In addition to her educational degrees, she holds certifications in multiple types of assessments, courses, and coaching methodologies. She is board certified as a health care administrator (FACHE), industrial and systems engineering (FIISE), and she is a life fellow in HIMSS (LHIMSS).
Dr. Larson is married to Robert Jaramillo. They have two daughters, Danielle of Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Natalie of Austin, Texas.
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development
Professor of Surgery, Medical Education and Pediatrics
Co-Director, UAB Healthcare Leadership Academy
Chief Wellness Officer
John N. Whitaker Bldg. (JNWB 506)
Phone: 205-731-9799
Fax: 205-731-9798
Assistant: Alisa Dick | adick@uabmc.edu
Administrative support: Valeria Minor
Biography
Dr. David A. Rogers is a professor in the Departments of Surgery, Medical Education and Pediatrics and the Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development in the Heersink School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of South Florida and completed his general surgery training at the Medical College of Georgia. He subsequently completed his pediatric general surgery training at the University of Tennessee and a pediatric surgery oncology fellowship at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He received a Master of Health Professions Education degree (MHPE) from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has also completed the Surgical Education Research Fellowship program sponsored by the Association for Surgical Education. Dr. Rogers has an ongoing educational research program focused on the role of education in improving surgeon conflict management in the operating room.
Outside of his research and clinical activities, Dr. Rogers has served in a number of educational administrative roles and is currently the Course Chair of the American College of Surgeon’s Resident as Teachers and Leaders course. A recipient of numerous department and institutional teaching awards, Dr. Rogers is a 2012 recipient of an Association for Surgical Education Distinguished Educator Award.
Dr. Rogers came to UAB in 2012 from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine where he was professor of surgery and pediatrics. In his role at UAB, Dr. Rogers is responsible for helping faculty physicians and scientists successfully meet their individual professional goals and helping UAB attract and retain the highest caliber educators, clinicians and researchers. He is also co-director of the UAB Healthcare Leadership Academy.
In his non-academic life, he is married to Laura Rogers, MD, MPH., an internist with a National Institutes of Health-funded program of research focused on exercise in oncology patients; she is a faculty member in UAB’s Department of Nutrition Sciences in UAB’s School of Health Professions. They have two adult sons, Andrew and Charles.
Chief Leadership Development Officer
Biography
Dr. Larson serves as the Chief Leadership Development Officer for UAB Medicine. She has over 25 years of experience as a senior leader, organizational and leadership development expert, and process improvement consultant in healthcare. She has authored and edited several books, including Organizational and Process Reengineering Approaches for Health Care Transformation, which was named the 2015 HIMSS Book of the Year. She is the winner of the SHS-HIMSS Excellence in Healthcare Management Engineering/Process Improvement Award and the 25h Anniversary Society for Health Systems Honoree. In addition to serving as a certified facilitator in multiple assessments and offerings, including DISC, EQ, TLC, 5 Behaviors, Seven Habits, and Crucial Conversations (as well as others), she is a Lean Black Belt, Certified ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt. She has been the keynote presenter at national conferences. Her background not only includes serving as the Chief Leadership Officer of an award-winning healthcare-based corporate university, but extensive national experience as a writer and presenter. Dr. Larson earned her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering, an MBA in International Management, and a doctorate from Pepperdine University in Organizational Change and Leadership.
Shelby, Room 172-D
Phone: 934-0245 Fax: 934-1564
Email: rpk@uab.edu
Program Manager: Ronda F. Smith
Email: rhsmith@uab.edu
Administrative support: John Trombley
Biography
Robert P. Kimberly, MD, a native of New Haven, Conn., received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School after receiving a baccalaureate degree magna cum laude from Princeton University and a baccalaureate / master's degree from the University of Oxford, Oxford, England. Dr. Kimberly's achievements and honors include election to Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University, a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, a "First" class degree from Oxford, and election to both the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Dr. Kimberly proceeded to do his internship and residency in Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His professional training and experience has included appointments as Clinical Associate at the Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch of the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases; Fellow, Assistant, Associate, and Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical Center; Director of the Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center at Cornell; and Program Director of the NIAMS Research Training Program in Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases at Cornell.
Dr. Kimberly joined the UAB faculty in 1996 as Professor of Medicine and the Howard L. Holley Research Chair of Rheumatology. He began his career at UAB as the Director of the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology (1996-2007). Presently, Dr. Kimberly is the Director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (2012 – present), Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research (2006-present) in the Heersink School of Medicine and the Associate Vice President for Medicine and Biomedical Research (2012 – present).
Dr. Kimberly is a clinical rheumatologist, immunologist and human geneticist; therefore, his research expertise involves the use of molecular immunology and immunogenetics to identify susceptibility and severity factors for human autoimmune disease and to identify new targets for therapeutic approaches. He is currently applying these strategies in several key clinical areas, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the systemic vasculitides.
Dr. Kimberly is experienced in establishing collaborative research groups in clinical and translational research. Having been Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (MCRC) and Rheumatic Diseases Core Center (RDCC), he was also the Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded, UAB Program Project in the Genetics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), a unique consortium of seven academic centers that seeks to elucidate the underlying genetic basis of SLE with the intent of enhanced understanding of disease pathophysiology, improved patient care, informed drug design, and ultimately, disease prevention. In addition Dr. Kimberly created the Lupus End-Stage Renal Disease consortium (ESRD) to define the genetic underpinnings of one of the most important and expensive outcomes in lupus.
Dr. Kimberly served on and has chaired the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group of Research Advancement and Development (GRAND) Steering Committee, served as president for the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) in addition to being director of the UAB FOCIS Center of Excellence in Clinical Immunology.
Senior Associate Dean
Clinical Affairs
205-934-9296
keithjones@uabmc.edu
Administrative support: Elyse Clay-Page
Biography
Dr. Keith (Tony) Jones received his Medical Degree from the University of Alabama (UA) School of Medicine in 1986. He completed an anesthesiology residency and postgraduate studies at Mayo Clinic, which included advanced training in Neuroanesthesia and a Postdoctoral NIH Research fellowship. Dr. Jones was a member of the faculty of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and practiced in the Department of Anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic for 15 year, and then served as the Alfred Habeeb Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from July 2006 to October 2017. Dr. Jones is currently the President of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation and Chief Physician Executive of the UAB Health System. Dr. Jones also serves on the Joint Operating Leadership Council for UAB Medicine and the Executive Cabinet of the UAB Health System, as well as Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in the UA School of Medicine.
In addition to his many teaching, mentorship and clinical activities, Dr. Jones has been a prolific researcher with interests in airway smooth muscle physiology and pharmacology, and the cellular and biochemical mechanisms by which volatile anesthetics and reactive oxygen species alter smooth muscle function. More recently, his research interests include health services research with an emphasis on models of perioperative care. He has authored or co-authored more than 160 scholarly works. His studies have been supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Jones also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the International Anesthesia Research Society.
Senior Associate Dean
Medical Education
Volker Hall 201
(205) 934-3365
choesley@uab.edu
Administrative support: Randal Trusler
Biography
Dr. Hoesley received his medical degree from the University of South Florida and completed his internship, internal medicine residency, chief residency, and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He joined the UAB faculty in 1999 and served as the internal medicine clerkship director for 7 years prior to becoming the associate dean for undergraduate medical education in 2008. In July 2015, Dr. Hoesley became the senior associate dean for medical education and chair of the Department Medical Education. In this role, he provides oversight for the undergraduate and graduate medical education programs as well as continuing medical education and medical student services in the School of Medicine.
His research interests include the development of a safe and effective microbicide to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. He is the UAB site leader for the NIH-funded Microbicide Trials Network. Dr. Hoesley is the current chair of the University Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee.
Senior Associate Dean
Director and Professor, Division of Preventive Medicine
Edward E. Partridge, MD, Endowed Chair for Cancer Disparity Research
Director, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center
Faculty Office Tower 1207
205.934.4307
mfouad@uab.edu
Administrative support: Susan Lewis
Biography
Mona Fouad, MD, MPH is Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Endowed Chair for Cancer Disparity Research, and Senior Associate Dean for Access & Engagement in the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Fouad is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is recognized nationally as a leader in health disparities research. She served as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities from 2008-2012. Also. Dr. Fouad was selected as the UAB 2018 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for advancing the frontiers of science and outstanding contributions to education, research and public service. Dr. Fouad obtained her MD from Alexandria University School of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt, and her MPH from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Dr. Fouad has contributed to the science of health disparities through major studies to identify variability in cancer care and outcomes among different groups based on race, gender, age, and social determinants of health. She has developed nationally emulated models in recruitment and retention of minorities in clinical trials and innovative community-based approaches to reducing racial disparities in breast and cervical cancer, and chronic diseases prevention and control. To that end, she has led several research, education, mentoring, and training efforts aimed at advancing health equity.
Senior Vice Dean
Professor, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
Charlene A. Jones Endowed Chair in Neuroimmunology
1220 Faculty Office Tower
205.934.7667
tika@uab.edu
Administrative support: Tammy Michelle Lee
Biography
Dr. Etty (Tika) Benveniste was the Founding Chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology (2012-2017). Benveniste served as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology (2000-2011). Benveniste also holds the Charlene A. Jones Endowed Chair in Neuroimmunology. In January 2015, Benveniste was appointed interim Senior Associate Dean for Research Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine (SOM), and since September 1, 2015 was appointed to the permanent position. Benveniste also holds professorships in the UAB Departments of Neurobiology and Neurology. She is a member of multiple NIH study sections and chaired three different NIH Study Sections.
During her postdoctoral studies, in the Department of Neurology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Benveniste initiated research on elucidating the mechanisms by which cells of the immune system and the central nervous system communicate and influence functionality, cytokine/chemokine production by glial cells, the effects of cytokines/chemokines on glial cell function, and the ability of glial cells to function as immune effector cells in the brain. This research continues to date. These studies have implications for autoimmune/neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease, and cancers such as brain tumors.
Dr. Benveniste is well funded with three R01s and a T32; (1) RO1 CA-158534-01 “Targeting the JAK2/STAT-3 Pathway Signaling Axis in Glioma”; (2) RO1 NS57563-05A1 “Therapeutic Intervention of the JAK/STAT Pathway for Neuroinflammation”; (3) R01 CA194414-01A1 "The Role of CK2 in Glioblastoma Development"; and (4) T32 NS48039 “Training Program in Brain Tumor Biology”. In addition, she holds grant awards from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Benveniste’s cancer studies are focused on brain tumor biology. The Benveniste laboratory is devoted to the study of neuroinflammation and the JAK/STAT and NF-kB signaling cascades.
Benveniste has served on the editorial boards of multiple journals including The Journal of Immunology, Journal of Neuroscience, and Journal of Biological Chemistry and is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of Neuro-Virology, Journal of Neuroinflammation, and ASN News. She was elected in 2009 as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Benveniste is also section editor for the Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research (JICR) 2014-Present. With 27 years of peer-review panel experience, Benveniste continues as reviewer for such panels as the Michael J. Fox Foundation (2015), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (2015), and NIH Neurological Science and Disorders Committee C (2015). Benveniste’s committee experience spans 29 years. Benveniste continues to innovate as Chair, UAB Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Sciences (2014-Present) and Cancer Biology Undergraduate Degree (2014-Present).
Dr. Benveniste has served as the Director, Graduate Program in Cell Biology (1995-2000), as Founding Associate Dean, Office of Postdoctoral Education (1999-2001). She is the former co-director of the Cancer Cell Biology Program at the UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and served as Associate Director, Basic Science Research at the UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center (2006-2024). She is currently Past-President of the American Society for Neurochemistry (2015-2017), having served as President from 2013-2015. Benveniste warmly received the UAB Graduate School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship (2014).
Senior Associate Dean
Research Compliance and Administration
Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology
Biomedical Research Building II Room 508
205-975-9686
vdarleyusmar@uabmc.edu
Administrative support: Carita Henry
Biography
Victor Darley-Usmar received his Ph.D. at the University of Essex in England and then moved to the University of Oregon as a Post-Doctoral Fellow to pursue his interests in the structure and function of mitochondrial proteins in human disease. After a period as a lecturer in Japan and ten years as a Research Scientist in Burroughs Wellcome in London, he joined UAB to establish his own research group in the Department of Pathology in 1995.
He has received multiple awards for training and mentoring and served as the Associate Dean for Post-Doctoral Education and the Pathology Graduate Program Director. He co-established the UAB Center for Free Radical Biology from 2006-2015 as an international center for research in redox biology.
In his current role of Senior Associate Dean for Research Compliance and Administration he brings his experience in the commercial sector and career development programs to the strategic management of the School of Medicine Research. In his own research program he has been instrumental in defining how redox biology modifies mitochondrial function in pathology and in recognition of these achievements was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine in 2012. He has been continuously funded by NIH for 25 years and has published over 300 articles with an H factor of over 100.
At UAB his contribution to research in mitochondrial pathology was recognized by his appointment as the Foundation Faculty for the “Endowed Professorship in Mitochondrial Medicine and Pathology”. He is now developing a program to apply measures of bioenergetic health to personalized medicine. He was a recent recipient of the prestigious “Creativity is a Decision” and “Blue Sky” awards from UAB for the Bioenergetic Health Index concept. He was recently recognized as the 2017 UAB Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, which is is the highest honor bestowed by the Academic Medical Center on a faculty member who has advanced the frontiers of science and made outstanding contributions to education, research and public service.
Chair, Department of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Pediatrics
Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair
Surgeon-in-Chief, UAB Hospital and Health System
Senior Advisor, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Heersink School of Medicine
1808 7th Avenue South
BDB Suite 502,
herbchen@uab.edu
Administrative support: Jenni can der Kamp
Biography
Dr. Herbert Chen obtained his BS from Stanford University with Honors and with Distinction in 1988 and graduated from Duke University School of Medicine Alpha Omega Alpha in 1992. Dr. Chen then completed a general surgery residency followed by a surgical oncology and endocrinology fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr. Chen is Chair of the Department of Surgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and the Surgeon-in-Chief of UAB Hospital and Health System. He is a Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, and holds the Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair. His clinical interests include endocrine surgery and he is a pioneer in radioguided parathyroid surgery. Dr. Chen’s lab has been continuously funded for over 20 years and studies the role of Notch signaling in thyroid and neuroendocrine cancers.
He is the American Cancer Society MEN2 Thyroid Cancer Professor. Dr. Chen is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Surgery, serves on many other editorial boards. He is also the President of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Foundation, President of Surgical Biology Club II, Past-President of Association for Academic Surgery, Past-President of the Society of Clinical Surgery, and Past-President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. Dr. Chen has mentored over 125 faculty, post-doctoral fellows, residents, medical students, and undergraduates in his lab. He has published over 540 original research and review articles and has edited 25 textbooks. He has been recognized for his passion for teaching and mentoring the next generation of surgical leaders.
Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean
James C. Lee Jr. Endowed Chair
UAB Heersink School of Medicine
1203 Faculty Office Tower
205.996.6681
agarwal@uab.edu
http://www.nrtc.uab.edu/facultystaff.html
Administrative support: Tammy Lawley
Biography
Dr. Anupam Agarwal is currently dean of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, senior vice president of Medicine and chair of the Health Services Foundation Board. He also serves as the Program Director of the NIH/NIDDK funded O’Brien Core Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research. He has graduate faculty status in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Pathology and Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology at UAB.
Dr. Agarwal has an active role in clinical medicine, teaching, research and administration. He is intensively involved in the teaching of medical students, internal medicine house staff and nephrology fellows and has been a recipient of Outstanding Teaching Awards from the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida (2003) as well as at UAB (2005, 2007). Dr. Agarwal has been responsible for the training of 14 pre- and 17 post-doctoral fellows in his laboratory, several of whom have been successful in obtaining post-doctoral fellowships from the American Heart Association and the National Kidney Foundation and have continued to pursue active academic careers.
Dr. Agarwal’s research program has provided critical insights regarding the protective nature and significance of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in vascular and renal inflammation, and the molecular regulation of the human HO-1 gene. His bibliography includes 128 peer-reviewed papers and 35 invited reviews/book chapters, the former appearing in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Circulation, Circulation Research, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Pathology as well as others. He has been recognized by the Max Cooper award for excellence in research, the Thomas Andreoli Professorship in Nephrology, election to membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA), Association of American Physicians (AAP) the Marie S. Ingalls Endowed Chair in Nephrology leadership, a Dean’s Excellence award for leadership and the 2013 Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship award at UAB. He is the recipient of the UAB National Alumni Society Honorary Alumnus award and a Laureate Recipient for the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Physicians (2014).
Dr. Agarwal has been invited to present at national and international meetings including the Annual Gifford Symposium, American Society of Nephrology, International Society of Nephrology, International conferences on HO in Italy, Sweden and Krakow, International Biometals Congress in Germany, Dutch Society of Nephrology, National Eye Institute, a state-of-the-art lecture at the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation and several prestigious named lectureships. He has been recognized for his leadership by several awards including Young Investigator awards from the National Kidney Foundation, election to the Council of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Fellow of the American Heart Association’s Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease, his serving on national and international review panels and editorial boards of prestigious journals. Dr. Agarwal served as Chair, Organizing Committee for the 6th International Congress on Heme Oxygenases in 2009. He has served on the Program Committee of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and was the Chair of this committee for the 2013 Annual Meeting and is an elected member of the ASN Council.
Dr. Agarwal enjoys golf, gardening and SEC college football. He plays Indian classical violin and enjoys attending the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.