Welcome back to Letters to Tinsley. The residency program you have helped to build is thriving, and I am constantly reminded of the impact it has on each of our lives and careers. We welcome you to visit at any time. 

Dr. Carl Dukes (Resident and Chief Resident, 1976-1980), a leading nephrologist in San Antonio, has recently made his first trip to Birmingham in more than thirty years. Why? To celebrate one of his mentors, Dr. Glenn Cobbs, in whose honor we have established an endowed professorship with the support of many of alumni and friends. It was a terrific time for reminiscing and for recognizing the enduring inspiration of Dr. Tinsley Harrison, Dr. Cobbs, and you.

Today, in addition to fabulous training, our residents are taking advantage of an increasing number of opportunities. Two unique new fields of study have been added to the Primary Care and Women’s Health Tracks. Last issue, I introduced the Global Health Track headed by Dr. Martin Rodriguez. I am thrilled that we have recently received an anonymous donation that will enable nine residents to make an international contribution to medicine this year. That’s triple the number who were able to participate in 2013! For a closer look at the Global Health training, read this issue's update.

We are also fully engaged in promoting local community health. Through the new Health Disparities Track led by Chief Medical Resident Dr. Ashley Haddad, Dr. Bill Curry, and Dr. Nicole Redmond, we are expanding UAB’s involvement in the M-POWER Health Center to include a continuity clinic experience exclusively serving patients who are uninsured, and quarterly didactics that engage residents in a study of social and environmental determinants of health.

Our incoming residents are increasingly diverse, due in large part to the hard work of the Diversity Enrichment Committee headed by resident Drs. Brittany Payne, Federico De Puy, and Jill Neely. In July, we welcomed 36 new residents from 23 medical schools:

• 14% are Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society members. 
• 44% are women.
• 17% are part of minorities considered under-represented in medical education.

We also continue to build faculty of the future. We have 17 faculty with NIH-funded career development awards, and expect two more to join their ranks in the weeks ahead. Additionally, Dr. Ravi Bhatia will become part of the Department in January 2015, leading the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Bhatia is a highly acclaimed researcher in leukemia who will build on the strong foundation of clinical care and research at UAB to develop programs that will make a difference nationally.

I am very grateful to have devoted alumni like you. Your contributions of time, talent, and hard work have made this program outstanding. It is a privilege to carry forward Tinsley Harrison’s legacy with you.

Best Regards,

C. Seth Landefeld, M.D.
Professor and Chair, UAB Department of Medicine