Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, has been named co-PI for Healthy Alabama 2030: Live HealthSmart. Dr. Walley will work on the smoking cessation portion of the project. She will focus on improving access to tobacco cessation resources and reducing tobacco use in the state. Currently 20.9% of adults in Alabama use tobacco products. “Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in Alabama,” said Dr. Walley. “I am excited and deeply committed to working with Live HealthSmart Alabama to lower the percentage of adult smokers in Alabama and provide access to tobacco cessation resources to our citizens.”

The Healthy Alabama 2030: Live HealthSmart project, led by Mona Fouad, M.D., UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center, was selected as the inaugural UAB Grand Challenge winner. The goal of the project is to improve the health of Alabama’s citizen through advancing good nutrition, physical activity and preventative wellness. Currently, Alabama ranks among the worst in the country in terms of obesity, high blood pressure and other health issues. With community partnership, Healthy Alabama 2030: Live HealthSmart seeks to move Alabama out of the bottom ten in national health rankings.