The Wiregrass Alabama AHEC is using its ongoing Pathways to Smiles initiative to introduce rural high school students to rewarding careers in oral health. This project to recruit future dental health providers comes as Alabama ranks No. 49 in access to dental care.

Access to health care remains one of the most pressing challenges in Alabama’s rural communities. Many residents travel long distances to see a doctor or specialist, and shortages of primary care providers continue to affect both patient outcomes and quality of life. In honor of National Rural Health Day, celebrated on November 20 this year, the Heersink Office of Access and Engagement spoke with Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health, and co-director of the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center, to learn how UAB is expanding care and strengthening the state’s primary care workforce.

On Friday, November 14, 2025, students from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine gathered to celebrate faculty excellence during the annual Argus Awards Ceremony. Established to recognize outstanding contributions in medical education, the Argus Awards are determined entirely by student nominations and votes, honoring faculty, courses, and course directors who have made a lasting impact throughout the year.

Eighteen providers from the Department of Family and Community Medicine have been honored by UAB’s Office of Patient Experience and Engagement for delivering an outstanding patient experience. Each achieved a remarkable 95% or higher rating on patient satisfaction surveys—placing them among the top performers across UAB Medicine.

The Family Medicine Clinic at UAB Hospital-Highlands has recently achieved outstanding results in patient experience, earning an extraordinary 100 rating. The UAB Medicine Office of Patient Experience and Engagement recently reported performance levels from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2025, across all UAB ambulatory settings, showing that the clinic achieved a Level 5 rating.

More than 120 physicians, hospital leaders, legislators, and educators gathered in Birmingham for the Rural Primary Care Summit, hosted by the UAB Heersink School of Medicine in partnership with the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the Alabama Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network, and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA). The goal: to identify practical, community-driven solutions to sustain rural health care across the state.

UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office (LDO) celebrated seven distinguished faculty members from the seventh cohort of the Sharing Authentically to Inspire and Lead (SAIL) program at a graduation ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The program, facilitated by Celeste Morgan, Ph.D., CDMS, senior leadership development specialist, is designed to help early-career faculty strengthen their leadership skills, refine their academic identities, and chart clear, sustainable paths toward long-term success.

A research team within the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine led by Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant to create the Telehealth Outreach and Policy for Rural and Underserved Populations (TOP-UP) Rapid Response Center. The center will conduct rapid, policy-relevant data analysis and research studies to assess how different telehealth modalities impact health outcomes, making it the country’s first HRSA-funded center specializing in this work. 

Ian McKeag, M.D., M.S., associate professor and head team physician for the USA Lacrosse Women’s Sixes team, recently played a pivotal role in helping the team secure a historic gold medal at the World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.

Through hands-on activities, panel discussions, and the inaugural Research Day poster and lightning round competition, UAB Primary Care Week introduced students to the full scope of primary care careers.

B. Earl Salser Jr., M.D., associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, has been appointed as the department's inaugural Vice Chair of Education.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine students can enjoy a week-long celebration of Primary Care Week from October 6-10, 2025. This event-packed week aims to educate physicians-in-training and students across the health spectrum on the pivotal role of primary care in the health care system. 

A group of dedicated lifestyle medicine researchers within the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is leading the institution’s first randomized quality improvement (QI) project. The multi-phase study hopes to optimize enrollment into Sports & Exercise Medicine’s Fitness, Lifestyle, and Optimal Wellness (FLOW) program.

Leveraging gamified learning, the Department of Family and Community Medicine is working to revolutionize medical education proving that, for learners, practice makes perfect. The 2025 Alabama Family Medicine Residency Cup kicked off competition this week with 11 residency programs across the state competing to answer daily, board-style questions designed to cover topics considered relevant for clinical application or for board examinations.

UAB Medicine’s Leadership Development Office welcomed 18 individuals in its 11th cohort of Institute for Leadership in August 2025.

UAB Family and Community Medicine is expanding access to comprehensive primary care across Birmingham with the opening of a new family medicine clinic at UAB St. Vincent’s East, offering full-spectrum care—including preventative health screenings, pediatrics, chronic disease management, and physical exams—as well as treating acute conditions.

Can online behavioral weight management programs be improved by simply adding a human touch? The iREACH Rural program hopes to answer that question by examining how high-touch support elements in digital interventions can be optimized for delivering weight loss programs to rural patients.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Sports & Exercise Medicine team made an impressive mark at the 2025 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Annual Meeting, where faculty and fellows were honored across multiple categories for their scholarship and outreach efforts across Birmingham and the world.

Twelve UAB employees recently graduated from the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) spring 2025 leadership development program. The program, presented by the UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office (LDO), recognized its third cohort of graduates at a ceremony on June 5.

The UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine recognized 15 faculty members for their outstanding contributions to research, education, and clinical care at the Spring 2025 Endowed Chairs and Professorships Reception.