Dana Rizk, M.D., has been appointed associate dean for Clinical Trials and Cynthia Joiner, Ph.D., MPH, R.N., has been named assistant dean for Clinical Research Operations in the Heersink School of Medicine, effective March 1, 2025. Both of these newly created roles will work closely with Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Orlando Gutiérrez, M.D., to lead the Heersink School of Medicine’s efforts to advance clinical trials.

Orlando Gutiérrez, M.D., will be appointed senior associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine and director and contact principal investigator of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science. In this role, Gutiérrez will also serve as the associate vice president of Medicine and Biomedical Research for UAB. In turn, Robert Kimberly, M.D., will transition into the newly created role of senior associate dean for Strategic Initiatives in the Heersink School of Medicine. Both appointments are effective April 1, 2024.

Javier Neyra, M.D., M.S.C.S., associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology received a $3.8 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH for his project "Artificial Intelligence to Predict Outcomes in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT)."

UAB holds its administrative professionals in the highest regard. April 26, 2023, is Administrative Professionals Day – allowing us to recognize and celebrate our administrative professionals while also highlighting the administrative resources offered by UAB. Most recently, the Developing Emerging Administrative Leaders (DEAL) program was established to offer development opportunities for current administrative professionals through training experiences and networking, to assist administration with their career paths and plans of advancing within UAB and UAB Medicine.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine has awarded three grants for the latest annual Multi-Investigator Program Award cycle. The 2022/2023 AMC21 Multi-PI Awards, which provide grant funding of $150,000 per year for two years, were awarded to Javier Neyra, M.D., Carlos Orihuela, Ph.D., and Anna Thalacker-Mercer, Ph.D.

Heersink and UAB Medicine are working to reduce disparities by adopting a new recommended formula to assess kidney function—one that no longer includes race as a variable for kidney health—effective Thursday, Sept. 1.

Eric Wallace, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Nephrology, has been awarded the 2022 Dean’s Excellence Award in Service. 

Kelly Hyndman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology, has been awarded the 2022 Dean’s Excellence Award in Research.