Kenneth Saag, M.D., M.Sc., the Jane Knight Lowe professor of Medicine in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and director of the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education in the UAB School of Medicine, has been named a member of the Association of American Physicians. Saag, director of the Center for Education & Research on Therapeutics of Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Center of Research Translation in Gout and Hyperuricemia, is one of a limited number of physicians elected into the AAP, a nonprofit, professional organization founded in 1885 for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” The goals of its members include the pursuit of medical knowledge, and the advancement through experimentation and discovery of basic and clinical science and their application to clinical medicine.
“I am pleased and proud to have been selected to join this group of outstanding physicians” Saag said. “Part of my ability to be in this group is a reflection on the environment at UAB, which has been nurturing for collaborative research and for the success of my program.”
Saag joined the UAB faculty in 1997. His current research focuses on the epidemiology of osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as methods to translate evidence into practice for both arthritis and osteoporosis.
“I came to UAB almost 18 years ago with the intention of building an epidemiology and outcomes research program,” he said “I’ve been fortunate to work with fantastic people—at both the senior and junior levels—to help others develop their research programs and to boost my own research.”
Saag has previously chaired the Arthritis Foundation Clinical and Therapeutics and Outcomes Study Section, and has served on several NIH study sections, IOM Committees, Musculoskeletal Workgroup of the Cochrane Collaboration and National Committee for Quality Assurance workgroups on Arthritis and Osteoporosis Quality Indicators.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. He later earned a Master of Science degree in epidemiology from the University of Iowa.