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The Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery is pleased to introduce the 2021-22 Endocrine Surgery Fellow, Andrea Gillis, M.D.

Acute Care Surgery Assistant Professor Jillian Richter, Ph.D., has won a five-year $1.8 million National Institute for General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) grant.

Director and Professor of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Gregory Kennedy, M.D., Ph.D. (left), and Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy Assistant Professor Ken Unger, DPM, FACFAS, DABFS (right), have been awarded grants from the Regional Innovation Strategies i6 Challenge administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

General surgery research resident Raoud Marayati, M.D., won the second place award for her oral presentation at the virtual UAB Graduate Biomedical Sciences/Joint Health Sciences 2020 Annual Research Symposium.

Surgical Oncology Assistant Professor and Director of the UAB Pancreatobiliary Disease Center Bart Rose, M.D., MAS, has been awarded an administrative supplement to his National Institutes of Health K08 grant.

Transplantation Assistant Professor Babak Orandi, M.D., Ph.D., Ms.C., has been invited to join both the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Clinic Scientific Review Committee as well as the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Surgery and Liver Transplantation Committee.

Although Match Day 2020 did not look exactly like match day in years past due to the COVID-19 outbreak, fourth-year medical students across the country engaged online through social media, sharing where they were matched. While it was impossible to have everyone in the same room at one time, the excitement could still be felt virtually.

That means that it is time for us to say goodbye to our trainees who have matched into fellowship programs or private practice. But, it is also time to say hello to our incoming residents from medical schools across the nation.

In an ongoing series, the Department of Surgery will feature incoming and outgoing trainees for all UAB Surgery programs. This week, learn about those joining and leaving the Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.

Hello

Goodbye

Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Assistant Professor Drew Gunnells, M.D., was awarded an Obesity Health Disparities Research Center (OHDRC) Investigators award for his project “Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on surgical outcomes in patients with obesity.”

Assistant Professor in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., has received a two-year, $381,830 National Institutes of Health (NIH) NCI R21 grant. This is her second R21 grant award for 2020.

Although Match Day 2020 did not look exactly like match day in years past due to the COVID-19 outbreak, fourth-year medical students across the country engaged online through social media, sharing where they were matched. While it was impossible to have everyone in the same room at one time, the excitement could still be felt virtually.

Department of Surgery Assistant Professor Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., has won a two-year, $160,000 O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB grant- which is designed to enable competitive R01 applications- for her project "Inhibition of Medullary Thyroid Cancer Invasiveness by Targeting Voltage-gated Sodium Channels."

The UAB Department of Surgery has three new faculty joining in August: Foster Gaillard, M.D. (left), Matthew Romine, M.D. (middle), and Lacey Swenson, M.D. (right).

UAB Division of Transplantation Assistant Professor Babak Orandi, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., was selected as the inaugural UAB participant in the UAB and University of California (UC)- Davis Visiting Professor Junior Faculty Exchange Program.

UAB general surgery resident and Beierle Lab member, Laura Bownes, M.D., received the Best Abstract Award in Basic and Translational Research at this month’s UAB Pediatric Science Day, an annual event at  Children's of Alabama that celebrates the research efforts of medical students, residents and fellows.

UAB Department of Surgery Assistant Professor Robert Cannon, M.D., has been named director of the Liver Transplant Program, and Assistant Professor Babak Orandi, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., has been named director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program.

The UAB Department of Surgery welcomes Jessica (Jess) Fazendin, M.D., on Aug. 1, 2020 as the director of the third-year medical student clerkship program and an assistant professor in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery.

UAB Department of Surgery Professor and Surgical Director of Kidney Transplantation Michael Hanaway, M.D., has been approved by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) as a representative of Region 3 on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation (OPTN)’s Kidney Transplantation Committee.

UAB Department of Surgery resident Quince Gibson, M.D., recently had the opportunity to travel to Malawi- before the COVID-19 pandemic- to participate in a tropical surgery rotation. Gibson outlines his experiences during the rotation, which he calls “life-changing” and credits with giving him a “greater appreciation” for the surgical training and life in the United States.

New Division of Surgical Oncology Assistant Professor Ashley Holder, M.D., FACS has joined the Department of Surgery Grand Rounds Committee. The committee acts to organize dynamic speakers for department Grand Rounds. 

Department of Surgery Assistant Professor and Director of the Endocrine Surgery Fellowship Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., MEHP, FACS, will speak on an American College of Surgeons (ACS) Academy of Master Surgeon Educators™ panel “Virtual Surgical Practice and Education in the Post-COVID Era: Perspectives of Three Surgical Educators” on Jul. 14 from 7–8 p.m. CT.