Connection is one of the most powerful forces shaping our world today. Connections between people, communities, institutions, and nations are the building blocks of change, and are essential to innovation and transformation in medicine and health care. In 2021, UAB experienced a historic turning point when Marnix Heersink, M.D., a renowned eye surgeon, innovator, and entrepreneur, gave a $95 million gift—the largest in the university’s history—to name the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. In addition, the gift established two new institutes in priority areas for the school: the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation and the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health. In the years since, both institutes have worked to forge connections—between physicians, researchers, and experts nationally and internationally to advance knowledge, and via technologies through which data and information can be shared. In this story, we explore how both institutes have begun to meet their missions and are laying the foundation to make lasting and meaningful change to improve health care and health outcomesacross the state and the globe.

Boosting Biomedical Innovation

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation aims to drive the transformation of health and health care by future-proofing the health care workforce and fostering and facilitating innovation that will improve health outcomes and economic development.

Led by Rubin Pillay, M.D., Ph.D., assistant dean for Global Health Innovation in the Heersink School of Medicine and chief innovation officer for the UAB Health System, the Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation focuses on entrepreneurial health care innovation initiatives that foster and facilitate health care and socioeconomic transformation.

According to Pillay, the health care system needs significant cost, quality, access, and productivity improvements. “While medical treatments have made astonishing advances over the years, the packaging and delivery of treatments are often inefficient, ineffective, and not consumer-friendly,” says Pillay. “The problems, ranging from medical errors to the soaring cost of health care, beg for innovative solutions involving every aspect of health care—its delivery to consumers, its technology, and its business models.”

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation was established to combat these gaps in health care through education, research, and applied activities. “The institute is bringing together complementary skill sets to enhance the transformative power of teaching and learning in biomedical innovation and accelerate high-value, innovative solutions through the continuum of discovery, translation, and application, in partnership with the clinical practice at UAB and other local and international partners,” says Pillay.

Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation team members (clockwise from top left) Carlos Cardenas, Ph.D., Rubin Pillay, M.D., Ph.D., Deneka Henry, Jose Flores, Tara Black, and Carlon Harris.

The institute is anchored by several internal and external partnerships, including UAB’s Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Collat School of Business, and Schools of Health Professions and Engineering, as well as McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

To expand on its strategic focus areas—education and training, innovation infrastructure, and internal and external partnerships—the institute has been active in establishing educational program offerings, hosting symposiums and grand rounds, and growing partnerships through various events and meetings.

One of the institute’s first initiatives was to begin offering educational programs aimed at broad audiences, allowing anyone interested in innovation in health care to participate. “We want to futurize health care by developing a cadre of health sector employees—both clinical and non-clinical—who are creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial,” says Pillay.

“The institute has an opportunity to offer this innovation education and training.”

Currently, the institute offers two certificate programs that prepare participants for careers in dynamic health care sectors by fostering creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The institute’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine Graduate Certificate provides solid foundations in the understanding and application of AI as well as the safety, security, and ethics of using AI to improve the health and lives of patients. The institute also offers a Digital Healthcare Graduate Certificate that provides an educational foundation of the digital landscape in health care.

In 2022, the Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, in partnership with UAB Medicine, launched its Healthcare Innovation Academy, a program for health care professionals to optimize their teams’ quality, access, and solutions through creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“By definition, innovation is an applied activity ..." and this is reflected in our approach,” says Pillay.

“Our research and practice reflect and help us better understand competencies, pedagogy, and organization that best foster and facilitate innovation in health care settings.”

This approach is also evident in the institute’s engaging events. The institute regularly hosts symposiums and grand rounds, inviting participants to learn about Healthcare 3.0, Disruptive Technology Empowering Precision Health (D-TECH, one of the Heersink School of Medicine’s four strategic research focus areas), and other topics. These events and presentations are hosted between larger symposiums and seminars to engage audiences, both internal and external to UAB, and to allow opportunities for participants to learn more about health care innovation.

Since its establishment, the institute has also held several larger events, including an AI in Medicine Symposium, Digital Health Symposium, and the United States’ first Metahealth Symposium, which was held in person and in the metaverse, an emerging 3D-enabled digital space that uses virtual reality, augmented reality, and other advanced technology to allow people to have lifelike experiences online.

Through these events, the institute aims to increase awareness of the need for innovation in health care while providing educational opportunities to ensure that health care organizations have a critical mass of individuals who understand the innovation imperative and process.

Marnix Heersink, M.D., says it has been exciting to witness the growth of the institute that bears his name. “The evolution of the institute has been remarkable from my family’s perspective,” he says.

“To think that so much has happened in such a short period of time is very inspirational. There is so much opportunity for making lives better, and our hope is that the momentum created with the Biomedical Innovation Institute will make an impactful, sustainable difference for many.”

Embracing Global Health

Many Heersink School of Medicine clinicians, researchers, and students have been involved with global health work through the years, but in September 2021, the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health (MHIGH) was established to create a hub for the school’s multifaceted global health efforts. With a commitment to research, education, service, and collaboration, the institute is working to improve overall health and well-being and promote equity in health outcomes on a global scale, particularly in underserved regions around the world, including the U.S.

“UAB’s global health program already had a solid framework built on transnational collaboration and creative thinking; its potential and curriculum are now being thoughtfully expanded,” says Mary Heersink, an advocate for global health and food safety and a longtime member of the Heersink School of Medicine’s Board of Visitors. “I believe that international collaborations will increase so that graduates, educators, researchers, and students may maximize their influence on a truly global scale.”

“We promote a decolonized approach to global health, meaning our initiatives offer equal or even greater benefit and leadership opportunities to our collaborators as we address shared priorities,” says Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D., director of the institute and associate dean of Global and Women’s Health. “Our goals are not meant to be solely focused on us or our own good, but on shared health problems of our interconnected populations for mutual benefit.”

Faculty members and researchers at UAB are engaged in a wide range of studies and initiatives focused on global health challenges, such as infectious diseases, maternal and child health, and noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, that contribute to scientific knowledge and inform evidence-based interventions and policies. MHIGH has provided six pilot grants to UAB faculty and global collaborators to catalyze these types of studies and initiatives and provide experiential opportunities for trainees in the U.S. and partner countries. In addition to providing pilot funding, the MHIGH team members are personally involved in
global health research.

Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health team members (clockwise from top left) Penny Whiteside, MPH, Lynn Matthews, M.D., MPH, Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D., Eric Wallace, M.D., Michelle Feese, MPH, Matt Heimann, M.D., and Michelle Lee.

The Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial received the Clinical Trial of the Year award for 2023 from the Society of Clinical Trials. This significant achievement recognizes the trial’s success and highlights the remarkable contributions of Tita, the trial’s lead investigator.

Tita’s research has focused on maternal-fetal medicine and improving pregnancy outcomes. His insights and leadership played a vital role in shaping the trial’s design to examine the impact of hypertension on pregnant women and their babies and its potential implications for maternal health. Collaboration across UAB and multiple institutions was crucial.

“Chronic hypertension causes serious and life-threatening complications for pregnant women and their babies,” says Tita. “Between 70 percent and 80 percent of pregnant women with chronic hypertension fall into the ‘mild’ category, where there was no medical consensus for treatment.”

The CHAP Trial produced remarkable results, demonstrating that the intervention strategy using appropriate medications during pregnancy significantly reduced adverse maternal and newborn events. This groundbreaking finding has had an immediate impact on treatment in the U.S. and has the potential to transform the management of hypertension and improve maternal, newborn, and cardiovascular health globally.

For this study, Tita also was recognized during the Clinical Research Forum’s annual Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awards, receiving the organization’s most prestigious honor, the Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award.

MHIGH recognizes the importance of equipping future health care professionals with the knowledge and skills to address global health challenges. This year, the institute partnered with the UAB School of Public Health to develop the UAB Master of Science in Global Health (MSGH), the first degree of its kind to be offered by a university in Alabama, advancing the study of global health through the lens of health equity. This program aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of global health issues and prepare them to make meaningful contributions in their future careers. In an effort to foster international collaboration and further partnerships, UAB will be part of a global health consortium that will expose MSGH students to shared graduate courses.

“We hope to welcome trainees from diverse local and global backgrounds, including underrepresented groups and low- and middle-income countries, who will become leaders in global health,” says Matthew Heimann, M.D., associate director for Education at MHIGH and co-director of the MSGH program.

Funding from the NIH/Fogarty International Center and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in addition to partnerships with regional organizations, enable UAB to leverage expertise, resources, and networks to make a broader impact on global health outcomes.

“As a new institute, we are strengthening existing partnerships and forging new ones as we expand opportunities for faculty, staff, and trainees to engage in global health,” says Tita.

MHIGH has hosted multiple seminars with partners from different regions sharing their knowledge and collaborated with other UAB and global entities to host its first symposium, the UAB Global Health Symposium: Promoting Equity in Global Partnerships, September 28-29, 2023. A highlight of the symposium was the inaugural Dr. Michael Saag Lecture, presented by Roger Glass, M.D., former director of the NIH John E. Fogarty International Center and NIH associate director for International Research.

The symposium also featured panel discussions, lectures, and networking opportunities, creating a dynamic environment for sharing insights and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. By bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds, the UAB Global Health Symposium serves as a catalyst for addressing equity and advancing research, education, and training collaborations to identify sustainable solutions to improve health outcomes worldwide.

By fostering interdisciplinary partnerships and service initiatives, conducting groundbreaking research, and training the next generation of global health leaders, MHIGH aims to be a beacon of hope and progress in the pursuit of improved health outcomes here in the U.S. and globally.

Propelling Partnerships

In addition to naming the Heersink School of Medicine and establishing the new institutes, the Heersink gift connected UAB to an exciting collaborative partner, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Marnix Heersink made philanthropic investments to establish biotech commercialization hubs and global health institutes at the two universities.

The parallels between the two institutions are many. Like UAB, McMaster is a leader in health professions training. Both UAB and McMaster are research-intensive public universities and are similar in size, with excellent affiliated medical centers. Just as UAB has pioneered numerous advances across our mission areas, McMaster has spearheaded innovations in education, research, and care, including originating problem-based learning in medical education and evidence-based medicine.

Another similarity: UAB and the Heersink School of Medicine are nationally recognized for expertise and leadership in health equity and health disparities research and programming, thanks in large part to the diverse population of Birmingham and Alabama, while McMaster serves a large Indigenous population that traditionally has been underserved in health care and underrepresented in research.

Each institution has hosted the other’s leaders to begin outlining collaborative opportunities. On March 16, 2022, the Heersink School of Medicine hosted Marnix and Mary Heersink as well as McMaster University President David Farrar, Ph.D., and Faculty of Health Sciences Dean Paul O’Byrne, M.B., B.Ch., BAO. The itinerary included a tour of Volker Hall, UAB’s medical education hub, and a drive-by of the future site of the Altec/Styslinger Genomics Building and the Marnix E. Heersink Biomedical Innovation Conference Center. The visit also included meetings with UAB President Ray Watts, M.D., and Heersink School of Medicine senior leaders, as well as Pillay, Tita, and Suzanne Lapi, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of Translational Research in the Department of Radiology and the UAB Cyclotron Facility director.

On June 29, 2023, McMaster University hosted Marnix Heersink as well as a delegation from UAB that included Heersink School of Medicine Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean Anupam Agarwal, M.D.; UAB Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Pam Benoit, Ph.D.; UAB School of Public Health Dean Paul Erwin, M.D., DrPH; UAB School of Health Professions Dean Andrew Butler, Ph.D.; and Pillay, Tita, and Lapi.

The meetings were a chance for both institutions to highlight their innovative programs in global health, women’s health, health care innovation and commercialization, and radiopharmaceuticals and medical imaging. In addition to the vast potential for research and clinical trial collaborations, participants discussed opportunities for faculty and student exchanges and shared certificate and other educational programs and symposia.

Closer to home, the Heersink gift has also spurred collaboration with city, business, and health care leaders in the Heersinks’ hometown of Dothan, Alabama, initiatives that will expand UAB’s impact on health and health care in the southern part of the state. In particular, the Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation launched the Community Entrepreneurship Initiative in Dothan in March 2023. Poverty is one of the leading causes of health disparities in the U.S., and this 12-month intervention program aims to help local entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their circumstances and improve overall healthy living conditions for themselves, their families, and their communities.

On another front, Chris Brainard, FACHE, senior director of the UAB Medicine Office of Patient Experience, hosted an Innovating the Patient Experience program in Dothan in April 2023. The program teaches local health care leaders how to future-proof their organization by building a reputation as a leader in human-centric health care. Participants learn the tactics and strategies that have helped top health care organizations differentiate their brands by becoming leaders in patient care experience and employee engagement. The event helped participants equip their teams with human-centric approaches to elevate performance and innovate rapidly.

In the two-plus years since the Heersink Institutes were established, firm foundations have been laid for powerful impact in biomedical innovation and global health. The momentum continues to build as new programs are introduced, each one forging new connections that will advance the Heersink School of Medicine’s excellence in research, education, and patient care. 

-By Emily Johns, Jane Longshore, and Shawna Masters