Brenda Bertrand, Ph.D., RDN, program director, UAB M.S. in Nutrition Sciences, has been selected for the 2023 Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions Leadership Development program. She is the first faculty member from UAB to be chosen by ASAHP for this program.

For the third consecutive year, the UAB School of Health Professions (SHP) has awarded members of the SHP faculty with faculty grants. This year’s winners are Alexandra Evancho, PT, DPT, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy; Seung Yup (Joshua) Lee, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration; and Megan Carpenter, OTD, OTR/L, SCFES, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Elizabeth Wylie, PT, DPT, NCS, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy.

Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, RD, Professor and Webb Endowed Chair of Nutrition Sciences was selected by the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) as the winner of the 2023 Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr. Distinguished Achievement Award. 

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, numerous scholarships have been established to benefit students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. These are the 2022-23 scholarship award winners.

Amy Y. Landry, Ph.D., the University of Alabama at Birmingham Howard W. Houser Endowed Professor in Health Administration, is the winner of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, Quint Studer Gratitude Prize for Teaching Excellence.

Kiara Thompson, a third-year student in the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy program was awarded the 2022 SAHPD Student Leadership in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Award from the Southern Association of Health Professions Deans at Academic Health Centers.

Nicollette Houston-Turner and Yesi Villanueva, two students from the UAB School of Health Professions, were among the largest group of students selected for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. The Gilman scholarship strives to widen the range of students eligible to experience studying abroad. The program is intent on encouraging students to study and learn in an array of countries and world regions.

Ana Oliveira, DrPH, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, has been honored with the Provost's Award for Faculty Excellence.

Lakeshore Foundation President and CEO John Kemp recently released Disability Friendly: How to Move From Clueless to Inclusive. The book explores disability and employment with personal experiences and lessons that Kemp has gleaned in his 60-plus-year involvement in disability work and advocacy.

Nancy Borkowski, DBA, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration, has been selected to receive the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which honors those who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching.

On the morning of Oct. 26, feedback about John Fetterman’s debate performance the night before was overwhelmingly abysmal. Critics acknowledged the auditory processing challenges he faced as a recovering stroke survivor but were unequivocally dismissive of his chances in the United States Senate race in Pennsylvania. Some called for him to withdraw from the race altogether.

UAB Professor Sue Feldman, RN, Ph.D., has been inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics. The honor is reserved for those who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of informatics. She is only the second faculty member in the School of Health Professions to become an ACMI Fellow.

Ayse Zengul, student in the UAB PhD in Nutrition Sciences program, has been awarded the Switzer Research Fellowship by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The Merit Fellowship supports scientists in the earlier stages of a research career, who conduct research on various outcomes of individuals with disabilities.

Tara Pearce, PT, DHS, associate professor and director of Clinical Education for the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy program, has received the Marilyn Gossman Award for Professionalism in Physical Therapy – the most prestigious honor given by the Alabama Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Yael Bar-Peled, a second-year student in the UAB M.S. in Genetic Counseling program is one of only 12 in the U.S. to receive the Association for Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) Scholarship of Excellence. The annual scholarship recognizes students in health professions who are achieving excellence in their academic programs and have significant potential to assume future leadership roles in healthcare.

Five students have been awarded a UAB School of Health Professions Blazer Forever Scholarship. The award is given to SHP students during Homecoming Week based on an essay answer. This year, in honor of The World Games and the homecoming theme The Blazer Games, we asked students to talk about the ways classroom collaborations and/or team-based learning has made them stronger teammates. 

On March 23, 2022, we celebrated the hard work of MSHA Class 56 as they finished the didactic portion of their time at UAB with a first-of-its-kind Signing Day event.

At a ceremony in Montgomery on August 13, 2022, Howard W. Houser, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration and former associate dean in the School of Health Professions, officially received his Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame plaque and was honored in person by the organization and its board.

Camille Worthington, PhD, RDN, LDN, has been selected as the 2022 Named New Investigator by the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC). 

As the volume of data in the digital age continues to grow, so does the evolution of the health care industry. From telehealth and health apps to electronic health records and patient surveys, health care generates vast amounts of data daily. Each second, really.  So, how do we share data from one health care system to another while ensuring it's correct and accessible to the right person at the right time? This is the question Hope Gray, MTS, BCC, a doctoral student in the Administration-Health Services program – Health Informatics track, will work to answer as the recipient of the competitive Health Level Seven International (HL7) Informatics Internship.