Boni Elewski, M.D.The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Dermatology ranked No. 2 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding with $8,212,457 in research funds, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Additionally, the department boasts dermatology’s highest-ranked principal investigator across the country. Mohammad Athar, Ph.D., professor, was ranked No. 1 with $4,981,832 in funding.
The Department of Dermatology has been ranked amongst the top two programs in the country over the last three years. The collective efforts of the department’s senior scientists include grant awards to establish a UAB Research Center of Excellence in Arsenicals and a study of skin cancer in renal transplant patients. These grants demonstrate UAB’s success with collaborative science involving researchers in departments from across the School of Medicine and UAB.
Boni Elewski, M.D., chair of the Department of Dermatology, attributes the department’s success to the boundless curiosity of its hard-working basic scientists.
“Our team of seven investigators, under the leadership of Dr. Athar, are committed to discovery and increasing our understanding of diseases. Through their collective efforts, we are improving the ways we treat skin disorders, therefore improving the lives of our patients.”
Elewski adds Athar is at the top of his field, and his passion for discovery is contagious. He is continuously encouraging our faculty.
The department has set a goal of remaining ranked within the NIH top 10. This will require continuing the department’s commitment to collaborative science from investigators across the university to address the most complex questions in dermatology. The department is planning to submit highly competitive research proposals for establishing a Center of Research and Translation, as well as, a Center for Genomics and Drug Development for Proinflammatory Diseases.