News

UAB’s new Clinical Trialist Development Program (CTDP) has selected 24 Heersink applicants for its 2026-2027 cohort. The program will provide these candidates with training, mentorship, and salary support to lead industry-sponsored clinical trials. It will also supply them with a 20% protected time allowance, allowing them to dedicate more time to research.

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), located at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), is proud to celebrate four CCTS leaders selected for the inaugural cohort of Fellows of ACTS (FACTS), a new recognition program from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS).

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and spanning an 11-institution Partner Network across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, is pleased to announce that Jennifer A. Croker, PhD, was recognized as a 2026 Fellow of ACTS. 

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and spanning an 11-institution Partner Network across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, is pleased to announce that Robert P. Kimberly, MD, was recognized as a 2026 Fellow of ACTS.

Julius E. Linn Jr., M.D., who died Aug. 4, 2025, at age 84, devoted five decades of his professional life to advancing medical communication and preserving Alabama’s cultural heritage. His death marks the end of a remarkable career at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that bridged the worlds of scientific research, medical publishing, and historical preservation.

T-bet expression is required for persistence of memory B cells that have rapid differentiation potential to become antibody-producing plasma cells in response to a second infection.

The understanding of how macrophages regulate their response to toxic particles via two independent pathways could uncover therapeutic opportunities to quell inflammation.

UAB is ranked No. 164 based on exceptional academic research portfolio and its overall global and regional reputation.

Tony Merriman, PhD, FRSNZTony Merriman, PhD, FRSNZ, professor in UAB’s Division of Immunology and Rheumatology and internationally recognized leader in the genetic basis of gout, published “A genome-wide association analysis reveals new pathogenic pathways in gout” in the journal Nature Genetics.

J. Claude Bennett, M.D., who served as UAB president from 1993 to 1996, passed away on Aug. 11, 2024, at age 90.

Orlando Gutiérrez, M.D., will be appointed senior associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine and director and contact principal investigator of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

Gene V. Ball, M.D.* It is with very deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Gene V. Ball, M.D.

Nicole M. Arroyo-Diaz, PhD Student Lung-resident memory B cells (lung-BRMs) differentiate into plasma cells after reinfection, providing enhanced pulmonary protection.

Leslie Jackson, M.D. While many clinicians manage bone health, established competencies to assess those clinician’s do not exist. A team of UAB researchers, led by assistant professor Lesley Jackson, M.D., aimed to define the skills and attributes associated with competent bone health clinicians.

Dr. Ken Saag, 2022 ACR PresidentKen Saag, MD, MSc, delivered a stirring presidential address at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in October 2022.

Kenneth Saag, M.D., Msc, delivering the Presidential Address at the 2022 American College of Rheumatology Annual MeetingThe UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology has been ranked among the best in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report in its 2023-2024 Best Hospitals Rankings.

Dr. Jasvinder Singh, senior authorMany genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have begun the work of identifying genetic loci of osteoarthritis.

Megan Leask, Ph.D., InstructorMegan Leask, Ph.D., has received an NIH/NIAMS Competitive Diversity Supplement for an existing R01 awarded to Dr. Richard Reynolds for her research titled, "Functional and Integrative OMICS of Recurrent Gout Flares.” Leask is Indigenous Māori from New Zealand who joined her mentors Drs.

Maria I. Danila, MD, MSc, MSPH Our understanding of how to best use telemedicine for rheumatology patients began with our need to care for patients with chronic illness during the height of the COVID pandemic.

How can physicians help patients with rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate fails? It was hoped that a new class of oral medication held the answer, but the FDA issued a black box warning for JAK inhibitors last year citing major adverse cardiac events and cancer as safety concerns. UAB’s Dr. Jasvinder Singh is seeking a definitive answer.

Dr. Jeffrey Curtis wants to use virtual reality to help patients with rheumatoid arthritis experience how the disease may worsen over time in the future to improve shared decision making about their treatment choices in the present.

The American College of Rheumatology is the premier society for the advancement of rheumatology in the U.S. This year’s ACR President, a newly designated Master, and a Distinguished Fellow all call UAB home.

Record $95 million Heersink lead gift to advance strategic growth and biomedical innovation.

This year, the university recognizes 50 years of service by Jeanne Hutchison, Ph.D., and Ferdinand Urthaler, M.D., and 45 years of service by Robert Kim M.D., and Joseph Lovetto. In addition, 294 employees with 20 or more years and 904 with five, 10 and 15 years will honored for their longevity.

Associate Professor Maria Danila, MD, MSc, MSPH has received an Innovative Research Award from the Rheumatology Research Foundation. She will investigate how increased tele-rheumatology due to COVID-19 impacts the health outcomes of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

According to a 2019 Pew Research Study, about one in five U.S. adults regularly wears a smart watch or wearable fitness tracker.

Dr. Tony MerrimanProfessor Tony Merriman, PhD, FRSNZ, joins our faculty from the University of Otago in New Zealand.