Paige Bates, UAB MSHA Class 57 President, constantly asks herself: “How can I leave a positive impact on my community?” Read on to learn more about Bates and her vision for the future of health care. 

Introductory Biology II covers a wide range of topics: Students learn about plant parts, cells and life cycles, the animal kingdom, how the heart works, and how the digestive system operates. Laura Calvert, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences, was not having much luck with the often-recommended method of learning — repeatedly sketching the processes and diagrams on paper — and said the idea of traditional study methods “fills me with dread, so any time I can find a way to make the process more interesting, I jump on it.”

Valley McCurry, Ph.D., MBA, OTR/L, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association (ALOTA) Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, the highest honor within the organization. It is presented to those who have made significant contributions to the profession's body of knowledge. 

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 their answer to an essay question. This year, we asked the question: What makes you different? 

Katherine Meese, Ph.D., has been named director of the UAB Center for Healthcare Management and Leadership, charged with providing mindful and strategic vision to the center’s programs by using a translational approach to bridge the gap between academia and the evolving healthcare landscape.

Muhammad Jan, a second-year student in our Physician Assistant Studies program, has been selected by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) for the 2021-2022 Future Educator Fellowship. He is one of only 15 from the entire country chosen for the prestigious position.

Department of Nutrition Sciences researcher Drew Sayer is a pioneer in the field of SMART trials for weight-loss research and was recently featured in the #UAB Reporter for his studies that go against 'one-size-fits-all' diets and work toward precision nutrition and precision exercise.

Shannon H. Houser, Ph.D., MPH, RHIA, FAHIMA, professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, won an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Triumph Mentor Award.

One-fourth of the UAB faculty selected to receive the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, are connected to the School of Health Professions.

Rachel Mars, lead academic advisor for our B.S. in Health Care Management program, has been elected president-elect of the UAB Council of Academic Advisors. She is the first from the School of Health Professions to hold a leadership role in this organization.

W. Timothy Garvey, MD, Butterworth Professor of Medicine in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was chosen to receive the Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) award.

For the second year in a row, a student team from the University of Alabama at Birmingham M.S. in Health Informatics (MSHI) program wins the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Student Case Competition.

Sue Feldman, R.N., Ph.D., director of the UAB Graduate Programs in Healthcare Informatics, is 1 of only 4 subject matter experts selected by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for the HIMSS21 health and safety panel.

Kerry McAlpine, administrative supervisor for our Department of Occupational Therapy, is one of the first six honorees of the UAB Shared Values in Action Program (UAB VIP Award), launched in January to honor employees whose work exemplifies and embodies one or more of values of integrity, respect, diversity and inclusiveness, collaboration, excellence and achievement, accountability and stewardship.

Kristine Ria Hearld, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Services Administration, director of the doctoral program in Administration-Health Services and past chair of the UAB Faculty Senate, will receive the 2021 President's Award for Excellence in Support of UAB and Shared Governance.

University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Sue Feldman, R.N., Ph.D., is one of 11 people around the world named a recipient of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Changemaker in Health Award. The award is determined by a public vote, making it a unique representation of the voices of the health care industry.

Amy Goss, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB School of Health Professions’ Department of Nutrition Sciences, has received a $3 million R01 grant to implement a family-based diet intervention to treat fatty liver disease and obesity in adolescents.

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama (ASF) announced Ibukun Afon, a student in the UAB School of Health Professions’ M.S. in Health Administration program (Class 56), as a member of its 2021-22 class of Alabama Schweitzer Fellows. Afon is one of 14 graduate students from UAB, the University of Montevallo, and Samford University chosen to spend the next 13 months immersed in community public health projects.

Krystle W. Glasgow, MIS, CNMT, NMTCB(CT), NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, clinical coordinator in the UAB M.S. in Nuclear Medicine Technology program, has been elected as the 2021-2022 president-elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS). This is a three-year commitment as president-elect, president, and past-president of this national society.

For decades, Americans have fought a losing battle with obesity. Between 1960 and 2010, the prevalence of adult obesity in the United States nearly tripled, to 36% from 13%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It isn’t as if many Americans don’t recognize the problem. According to 2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, just under half of adults in the United States (49.1%) tried to lose weight in the prior 12 months. Nevertheless, according to CDC data, the obesity rate that year rose to a record 42.4%.