On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine, presented the annual State of the School address in person at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium and via live stream (watch a replay).
MS3 class Vice President Ford Cleveland welcomed the room and shared one of the reasons he chose to come to UAB. Agarwal then opened the presentation by highlighting Heersink’s vision and mission. He thanked UAB leadership, including President Ray Watts, M.D., Provost Janet Woodruff-Borden, Ph.D., and the Board of Visitors, for their unwavering support and commitment to excellence.
“I’m truly excited to be here today to present to you all what we’ve accomplished this last year within the Heersink School of Medicine,” said Agarwal.
Education
This year, Heersink welcomed its largest class to date, with 190 first-year students, more than 80% of whom were Alabama residents. In 2024, our medical students had a record number of 278 peer-reviewed publications, along with 733 presentations at scientific meetings and 110 published abstracts.
In October, the Department of Family and Community Medicine took over leadership of the Selma Family Residency Program. This partnership aims to increase access to healthcare in the community.
Research
2024 saw the opening of three new UAB research centers: the Center for Lung Analytics and Imaging Research, the Center for Integrative Structural Biology, and the Center for Neuroengineering and Brain-Computer Interfaces. These centers will train the next generation of researchers in vital areas of medicine.
While Heersink remains committed to investing in existing faculty, we have also actively recruited new faculty in key research focus areas, such as D-TECH, Health Equity, I-4ward, and Brain Health and Disease Across the Lifespan.
Clinical Care
On Nov. 1, UAB acquired St. Vincent’s hospitals. While the acquisition is still in its early days, Agarwal expressed excitement over the enhancement and expansion of health care across all of Alabama due to the addition of these St. Vincent’s campuses.
Agarwal also highlighted the development of several other new facilities, including UAB Medical West, the Sports and Exercise Medicine Clinic, the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Falls Clinic, and the UAB Employee-Only Primary Care Clinic.
Facilities
Agarwal gave updates regarding several new facilities on campus: the Biomedical Research and Psychology Building, the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building, and the Volker Hall atrium.
Philanthropy
The school had its highest-ever gift raising year in 2024, totaling over $78 million in gifts. Agarwal expressed a desire to increase student scholarship opportunities and shared his goal of providing 50% of UAB medical students with some level of scholarship over the next five years.
The Heersink family donated $5 million in 2024, bringing their total gift to $100 million. This gift will allow for the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine. These new programs include a Master of Science in AI in Medicine, a Master of Science in Healthcare Innovation, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Health Informatics, and an Executive D.Sc. in Healthcare Leadership.
Partnerships
Agarwal highlighted several partnerships such as collaborations with McMaster and Maastricht universities, including our participation in the Global Health Symposium in Manipal, India. He also highlighted Operation Wipeout, which is a statewide effort to eliminate cervical cancer.
Faculty and Staff Recognition
Agarwal took time to recognize several faculty members within Heersink, including announcing the 2025 Pittman Scholars. Agarwal also congratulated Daniel Chu, M.D., and Paige Porrett, M.D., Ph.D., for being elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
“Our dedication to saving lives, powering health, and restoring hope guides our pathway to everything that we do towards excellence,” Agarwal said in closing. “Let us move forward together, confident that our shared purpose will guide us through and continue to move us forward.”