Associate Vice Chairs of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Colin Martin, M.D., FACS, and Sara Pereira, M.D., FACS, established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in June 2020 and appointed committee members. Now, those committee members each support an actionable subcommittee.

The mission of the committee is to understand, promote and respect diversity of background, culture, attitudes and experiences within our department to drive excellence in clinical care, research and surgical education. Subcommittees include: Climate Research, Reporting, Faculty Recruitment and Retention, Education Curriculum, and Pipeline.

Below is the list of members and their respective subcommittees.

• Climate Research Subcommittee
  • Charge: Create a climate survey to assess departmental diversity
  • Members: Marissa Keppley, MBA,; Marshall Urist, M.D.; Carlton Young, M.D.; Meixi Ma, M.D., (research resident); Jeffrey Steele; Sara Pereira, M.D., FACS
• Reporting Subcommittee
  • Charge: Create a culture of inclusivity with anonymous reporting
  • Members: Connie Shao, M.D., (research resident); Jayleen Grams, M.D., MPH; Matt Romine, M.D.; Graeme McFarland, M.D.; Christal Moore, Sara Pereira, M.D., FACS; Paige Porrett, M.D., Ph.D.
• Faculty Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee
  • Charge: Create a diversity policy for faculty recruitment and retention
  • Members: Meixi Ma, M.D.; Jillian Richter, Ph.D.; Ali Kilic,M.D.; Colin Martin, M.D., FACS; Sara Pereira, M.D., FACS; Patrick Selph, M.D. (Dept. of Urology)
• Education Curriculum Subcommittee
  • Charge: create a DEI education curriculum for faculty, residents, and staff
  • Members: Samantha Baker, M.D., (research resident); Graeme McFarland, M.D.; Juan Munoz, M.D., (chief resident); Quince Gibson, M.D., (chief resident); Colin Martin, M.D., FACS; Sara Pereira, M.D., FACS; Reginald Young (Dept. of Neurosurgery)
• Pipeline Subcommittee
  • Charge: Improve residency diversity and expand our pipeline
  • Members: Juliet Okoroh, M.D.,(chief resident); Emma Harchanko, Christal Moore, MBA, MHA, FACHE; Lisa Soler, M.D., (PGY3); Britney Corey, M.D., FACS; Colin Martin, M.D., FACS; Milton Williams, M.D., (Dept. of Urology) (PGY2)

All subcommittees are taking actionable steps toward achieving their charge, and the DEI Committee as a whole continues to meet regularly. If you are UAB faculty, staff or trainee, we invite you to participate in this survey that the Research Subcommittee has created. Responses are anonymous and the survey takes approximately five minutes to complete.

If you would like to learn more about the department’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, visit this page.