Department of Medical Education

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine celebrated the Class of 2030 during its annual White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Held at the Alabama Theatre, the event brought together 207 incoming medical students, along with faculty, staff, family, and friends to commemorate this important occasion.

The Department of Medical Education has highlighted the crucial teams that support our students in their medical school journey. In this lineup summary, we want to feature the individuals who will be mentoring students through the Clinical Skills Scholars program.

For 35 years, the Huntsville Rural Premedical Internship (HRPI) at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine has helped cultivate pathways of future physicians committed to serving communities across rural Alabama. What began as a summer opportunity for college students interested in medicine has grown into a program whose influence can be seen in clinics and hospitals across the state.

Heersink School of Medicine student David Strickland has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious Sara Crews Finley, M.D., Endowed Leadership Scholarship for 2026. Awarded to medical students who excel academically and display outstanding leadership, integrity, and service, this annual full-tuition scholarship recognizes a rising third-year student who ranks in the top 25% of their class.

As the new academic year gets underway, renovation on Volker Hall 5 has now concluded. The floor is fully open for student activity. The goal of these updates was to refresh the spaces students use often on VH5 and to bring the rest of the floor the same care the relaxation space received in 2023.

The week of July 27, 2026 marked the beginning of the medical school journey for Heersink School of Medicine’s newest class of incoming first-year medical students.

The Department of Medical Education continues to highlight the committed and passionate teams that contribute to the mission of Heersink School of Medicine. One of the foundational support structures for Heersink students is the Learning Communities Program, and for each learning community, a faculty mentor provides coaching and leadership to the students under their guidance.

As the Department of Medical Education highlights the teams that educate our students and carry out the mission of Heersink School of Medicine, we want to turn to the individuals who manage the operations of our pre-clinical modules.

As the 2025–2026 Alabama Albert Schweitzer Fellowship concludes, seven UAB Heersink School of Medicine students— Sophia Fox, Britney Le, Grace-Anna Perry, Mykayla Walker, Li’an Williams, Lexi Witherspoon, and Dan Zhang—are recognized for completing a year of service supporting communities across Alabama.

Adam Lucy, M.D., MSHQS, a chief general surgery resident, begins his days at UAB Hospital reviewing patient charts over caffeine and music. He then leads a team of students and junior residents through early rounds before the operating rooms are fully in motion. Each morning sets the tone for a fast-paced day focused on patient care and surgical training.

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For more than two decades, Mukesh Patel, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and thread leader for microbiology, has helped shape the educational experience of medical students at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.