Heersink School of Medicine identifies four new research focus areas

The Heersink School of Medicine announced four new research focus areas identified by the Research Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the AMC21 Research Steering Committee.
Photography: Andrea Mabry

In 2018, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine became part of an elite group: one of only eight Academic Medical Centers that attained more than $100 million in net research funding growth over five years from the National Institutes of Health. This remarkable accomplishment was guided by a strategic plan created in 2014, the AMC21, which included specific research focus areas that have driven our plans for the past eight years.

As the school expands, it continues to grow in discovery, recruitment and scientific influence. Heersink School of Medicine leadership recently made changes to position the school to grow over the next five to seven years by outlining new focus areas to ensure continued growth.

After requesting proposals from faculty and crowdsourcing for faculty engagement on the proposals, as well as guidance from the Research Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the AMC21 Research Steering Committee, the future direction of research at the Heersink School of Medicine was solidified.

The four new areas of focus identified include:

• Disruptive technology empowering precision health (D-TECH)
• Health equity
• I-4ward (infection, inflammation, immunity and immuno-therapy)
• Brain health and disease across the lifespan

“I am excited that our new research focus areas provide a strong foundation for the future of scientific impact and growth here at UAB,” said Tika Benveniste, Ph.D., senior vice dean for Research in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. “Thank you to our faculty for their input, as well as our dedicated committees for their effort and service.”

Disruptive Technology Empowering Precision Health: D-TECHEtty "Tika" Benveniste, Ph.D.,
Photography: Steve Wood

Innovative progress in digital technology, computational health and data science is growing rapidly. Add in advances in genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses, and the result is a health care delivery system reshaped beyond imagination.

The disruptive impact of these advances has been utilized in precision oncology and will soon revolutionize precision health.

The goal of D-TECH is to deliver the most effective and efficient value-based health care.

Health Equity

Health Equity ensures access to quality, affordable health care and the opportunity for a healthy life for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, age, socioeconomic status and geographic location. The focus area of health equity will disseminate knowledge and interventions that reduce and overcome intersectional inequities.

Currently, many groups and units throughout the Heersink School of Medicine partner with people, communities and organizations to understand the biological, behavioral, clinical and social determinants of health in the physical/built and sociocultural environment, as well as health care systems.

The Heersink School of Medicine prioritizes cutting-edge research programs that contribute to eradicating health disparities and moving toward health equity. Transformation is required to change the health of our communities. The research focus area of Health Equity will build and grow long-term resources and solutions that impact health outcomes.

I-4ward

I-4ward (infection, inflammation, immunity and immuno-therapy) is an area that focuses on the microbes that promote health and disease, inflammatory processes, the immune system, and immune-targeted medicines and therapies.

From basic, fundamental studies in microbiology, cell biology, pathology, structural biology, glycobiology and molecular biology to biochemistry, immunology and translational studies — the subspecialties covered by I-4ward seek to understand the pathophysiology of acute and chronic infectious, inflammatory, and immune-based diseases and therapies.

Brain Health and Disease Across the Lifespan

Brain development is critical for how individuals learn and interact with the world. With an aging population, overdose epidemic and high prevalence of factors that contribute to chronic diseases, Alabamians are more vulnerable to neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric conditions. As such, treatments that restore quality of life to patients suffering from these conditions are likely to have enormous impact both locally and nationally. 

This focus area will ultimately accelerate the pace of scientific discovery at the Heersink School of Medicine by promoting excellence in fundamental, translational and clinical neuroscience research.