Samantha Hill, M.D., MPH, assistant professor in Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded the junior faculty 2021 Dean’s Excellence Award for Diversity Enhancement.
Hill earned her M.D. from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2013 and completed her pediatric residency at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in 2016. She joined UAB in 2016 for her adolescent medicine fellowship and stayed on as faculty after completing her fellowship in 2019.
During her time at UAB, Hill has worked to find a way to help youth who are at high risk of acquiring HIV and those youth who are living with HIV. The HIV epidemic disproportionately impacts youth of color and Hill has focused on providing care for this vulnerable population through the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). What began as her fellowship clinical quality improvement project, has transitioned into the city’s first PrEP clinic exclusively caring for adolescents and young adults.
Hill is committed to improving diversity and inclusion within graduate medical education (GME) at UAB. She served on the Dean’s Council GME Subcommittee for Diversity and Inclusion as a fellow and faculty member. She also is a co-founder, previous chair, and now the faculty liaison for the UAB Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) house staff council. Over the last year, she has been a facilitator for medical student workshops on implicit bias and a GME-sponsored workshop on racism in healthcare. She is a member of the Department of Pediatrics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and is an important member in many of the department’s diversity initiatives.
In addition, as an early investigator herself who made a pivot towards research at the end of her training, Hill knows the value of early exposure to research. She works with medical students and residents to provide them a platform and the resources to explore their passion for a career in research. She is mentoring several underrepresented in medicine students and housestaff on research projects such as the development and implantation of a sexual health curriculum in rural settings; understanding the impact of trans legislation on the health of trans youth; and exploring the experiences of LGBTQ housestaff compared to other trainees at UAB.
Outside of UAB, Hill is actively engaged in the Birmingham community. She leads health education events at schools, churches and youth organizations throughout the city and serves as the President of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center’s Young Professional Board. She was an integral part of the board’s recent fundraising campaign for Healthy Happy Kids, a program that focuses on nutrition and physical activity in elementary and middle schools throughout the state. She focused her passion for mentoring by co-founding a high school mentoring program aimed at fostering diversity in the healthcare workforce.
“Since she joined UAB, Dr. Hill has shown a passion and commitment to eliminating health disparities for children, adolescents and their families and improving diversity and inclusion within our department,” said Mitch Cohen, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “This award is a well-deserved honor and we are proud of all she has done, all she is doing and all she will do to advance diversity and equity at UAB, in Alabama and beyond.”
•