News

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce the establishment of a dedicated Head and Neck Pathology Fellowship Program within its Surgical Pathology Fellowship Program. The fellowship will welcome its inaugural fellow in July 2026 and represents an exciting expansion of subspecialty pathology training opportunities at UAB.

Members of the UAB Department of Pathology gathered for an outgoing reception for residents and fellows on June 5. Faculty, staff, and trainees came together to celebrate at the Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center with dinner and an awards ceremony.

This spring, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees awarded the rank of Distinguished Professor to nine faculty members and the rank of University Professor to five faculty members.

On June 4, the Department of Pathology hosted its ninth annual C. Bruce Alexander Lecture in Pathology Education featuring Samuel Borak, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Community Practice Pathology Program. Borak delivered the lecture "Academic medicine in the community practice setting and the ever changing landscape of pathology."

The UAB Diabetes Research Center (DRC) has named six recipients of the 2026 Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program, which identifies and supports new outstanding and innovative diabetes research projects at UAB.

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective June 1.

The UAB Department of Pathology is thrilled to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective June 1.

The UAB Department of Pathology recently funded travel awards to three trainees, who will present their research at national meetings this year.

Li’an Williams, a Medical Scientist Training Program student in the laboratory of Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., Endowed Professor in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, was recently named a recipient of the 2026 O’Neal NextGen Scholar Award.

Members of the UAB Department of Pathology attended a department wellness outing at Oak Mountain State Park on Saturday, May 16. Colleagues, alongside their families, enjoyed one another's company over an outdoor picnic. 

Shi Wei, M.D., Ph.D., Hazel Gore, M.B.B.S., Endowed Professor in Women’s Health and director of the Division of Women’s Health, was recently recognized by Wiley for his 2024 article “Best practices for achieving consensus in HER2-low expression in breast cancer: current perspectives from practicing pathologists” as a top viewed article in the journal Histopathology.

Roy Kracke, M.D., helped lay the foundation for what would become the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers.

This month, we’re spotlighting Md Saimoon Rahman, a graduate student from Bangladesh who is working on his thesis in the Wende Lab in the UAB Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor in humans, with an average survival of approximately 15 months despite current treatment options. A major barrier to effective treatment is the highly invasive nature of glioblastoma cells, which infiltrate the surrounding brain and drive tumor formation.

Camilla Margaroli Bell, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and Taru Dutt, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Laboratory Medicine, recently received funding from Insmed for their project, titled, “Microbial determinants and host signatures enable early risk stratification in non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD)”.

For the first time in its history, the UAB Department of Pathology is leading three of the most prestigious pathology organizations- all at one time.

Jianhua Zhang, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, recently received a Heersink School of Medicine Bridge Funding Award. This program aims to improve the success of research faculty experiencing gaps in funding by providing continuing research support.

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective May 4.

Casey Weaver, M.D., Leonard H. Robinson Endowed Chair in Pathology and professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology, was named Distinguished Professor in Pathology by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees on April 29.

Two faculty members in the Department of Pathology are recipients of the UAB Presidential Bridge Funding Award. This program aims to sustain research continuity, retain talent, and provide strategic support to faculty during transitions in federal funding cycles, administrative delays, or evolving research priorities.

 Bmal1 has been revealed as an unexpected driver of diabetic vascular calcification, linking circadian signaling to arterial stiffening and cardiovascular risk and opening new therapeutic avenues.

Paul Benson, M.D., Autopsy Section Head and professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology and Nicholas Eisele, D.O., PGY2, Chief Resident of Education and Outreach, were recipients of the 2026 pilot award from the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health.

This year April 19-25 is Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, an annual celebration of medical lab professionals and pathologists who play a vital role in health care and patient advocacy led by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. This week’s theme is Lab Story: To Infinity and Beyond for our Patients!

The UAB Department of Pathology hosted its fourth annual Staff Retreat on Wednesday, April 22, which happened to be held on Administrative Professionals Day. The event featured an array of speakers and team activities.

  UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center (UCDC) researchers joined experts from around the country to present diabetes-related research at the 17th Annual Boshell Research Day on April 17.

Vascular calcification is a major contributor to cardiovascular mortality in diabetes and is driven in part by osteogenic reprogramming of vascular smooth muscle cells. Diabetes is also associated with vascular rhythm disruption, but how circadian regulators contribute to vascular calcification is poorly understood. 

UAB researchers discovered that the immune system consistently targets the same exposed region of mismatched HLA proteins following organ transplantation, and the findings could improve donor‑recipient matching and reduce antibody‑mediated rejection, helping transplanted organs last longer.

April 14 marks the 13th annual Pathologists’ Assistant (PA) Day, led by the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants. PAs are often responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the anatomic pathology service and play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare services in both surgical pathology and autopsy.

The UAB Department of Pathology, in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, is ranked number 12 for the most funds awarded to a United States pathology department by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2025.

A rise in research funding within UAB’s Department of Family and Community Medicine highlights its expanding research impact.