Jeffrey Walker, Ph.D.The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to appoint one chair and three professors to endowed positions during its Feb. 3 meeting. Those honored are Jeffery T. Walker, Lewis Shi, Farah Lubin and Brant Wagener.
Walker is an internationally renowned researcher in the discipline of criminology, whose accomplishments have brought substantial international attention to the university. Walker has served as principal investigator on more than 20 externally funded grants, published more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts and served on the editorial board for 12 peer-reviewed journals.
He has been the recipient of various awards, including the 2020 UAB Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award.
Lewis Shi
Lewis Shi, M.D., Ph.D., M.D., Ph.D. associate professor and director of Radiobiology, is the inaugural holder of the Koikos-Petelos-Jones-Bragg ROAR Endowed Professorship for Cancer Research at UAB, which was approved by the board of trustees during its September 2022 meeting.
Dr. Shi, who joined UAB in 2018, has established an outstanding research program investigating the interaction of T-cell metabolism and radiotherapy, resistance to immunotherapies and fundamental mechanisms underlying the role of the immune system in cancer therapies.
Shi has served UAB’s scientific community in numerous other ways, including as a reviewer for junior faculty grants and as a faculty for the Medical Scientist Training Program.
Farah D. Lubin
Farah Lubin, Ph.D., Ph.D., is the first to hold the Triton Endowed Professorship in Neurobiology, which was established by the board of trustees at its Feb. 3 meeting. Support for the new chair was provided by a $500,000 gift from Triton Health Systems, L.L.C., matched by funds from a 2021 gift from Marnix E. Heersink, M.D., to help fund new endowed positions.
Lubin is the director of both the NIH/NINDS Neuroscience Roadmap Scholar Program grant and the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center EEG Core, among other roles.
Lubin’s contribution to neurobiology is far-reaching, and she is nationally recognized for her work as a pioneer in the epigenetics of learning and memory. She also has published works in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, written four book chapters and delivered numerous lectures and presentations at national and international conferences.
During her UAB tenure, Lubin has earned numerous awards, including The Becky Trigg Outstanding Woman UAB Faculty Member award, the UAB Graduate Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship and the UAB President’s Diversity Champion Award.
Brant M. Wagener
Brant Wagener, M.D., Ph.D., M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and director of Clinical Research, in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, is the second holder of the Simon Gelman Endowed Professorship in Anesthesiology in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine at UAB.
Dr. Wagener performs clinical, translational and basic science research to study the progression of acute critical illness to chronic critical illness to better determine the mechanisms of disease and ways in which precision medicine can improve patient care.
Wagener, who also directs the Resident Mentored Research Experience Track and Medical Student Research is an outstanding teacher, as demonstrated by resident evaluations, and a mentor to medical students, residents, fellows and junior investigators.
