UAB P³OPPY Study, Sep 8, 2023
Congratulations to Tomeka Walker on being selected as a 50 Under 50 Alumni Award honoree by Miles College. @p3equatehern
https://donate.miles.edu/campaigns/tomeka-walker
NIH Awards $24 Million To Create 10 Maternal Health Research Centers
Penn Med Innovation, Aug 23, 2023
@NIH announced $24M in awards for the IMPROVE maternal health initiative, and we’re excited to hear @Penn will be the #ImplementationScience hub, led by @mlanefall & @RebeccaHammMD .
#MaternalHealth #ImpSci
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced awards totaling $24 million in first-year funding to establish several Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. According to an NIH news release, the grants are expected to last seven years and total as much as $168 million, pending the availability of funds.
Forbes, Michael T. Nietzel, Aug 18, 2023
UAB Center for NICHD Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research is continued through new funding and partnerships
UAB, Aug 11, 2023
Congratulations to Dr. Carlo & Dr. Chomba & colleagues on the competitive renewal of the Global Network for Women’s & Children’s Health Research!
Read more about the ongoing research partnership, supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD of the NIH ➡️https://bit.ly/3qlwWJI
The funding for UAB’s site of the ongoing program, Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research, has been competitively renewed for a seven-year term by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health.
Written by Emily Liming Johns, Heersink School of Medicine
CHAP trial awarded Clinical Trial of the Year
by Hannah Echols, UAB News, May 24, 2023
The Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy trial, led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, received the David Sackett Trial of the Year award from the Society for Clinical Trials. The prestigious award is given to a clinical trial that improves the lot of humankind and provides substantial and beneficial change to health care.
The CHAP trial evaluated the effects of prescribing blood pressure medication to pregnant women with mild chronic hypertension. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2022 showed treatment improved pregnancy outcomes without compromising the baby’s growth and overall health, which was a primary concern for physicians for years. CHAP results have since led to changes in national guidelines.
“Chronic hypertension causes serious and life-threatening complications for pregnant women and their babies,” said Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, principal investigator for the CHAP trial, and lead author of the NEJM paper. “Between 70 percent and 80 percent of pregnant women with chronic hypertension fall into the ‘mild’ category, where there was not a medical consensus for treatment.”
The CHAP consortium — including over 60 collaborating clinical sites across the United States, with clinical and data coordinating centers in the UAB departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Center for Women’s Reproductive Health and the department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health — launched the CHAP program in 2014 with funding from the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. From September 2015 to March 2021, CHAP enrolled more than 2,400 pregnant women with mild chronic hypertension whose blood pressure was greater than 140/90 mmHg but less than 160/105 mmHg.
Casey named holder of the John C. Hauth Endowed Professorship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, May 19, 2023
Brian M. Casey, M.D., has been named as the holder of the John C. Hauth Endowed Professorship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UAB Marnix E Heersink School of Medicine. The appointment was approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees during the April meeting.
The creation of the endowed position was approved by trustees in November 2015 to honor emeritus professor John Hauth, M.D., who directed the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine for more than 10 years.
“It is an extreme honor to hold Dr. Hauth’s Endowed Professorship here at UAB,” said Casey. “Dr. Hauth helped build and bring our division to national prominence and, to me, serves as an outstanding example that I aspire to every day.”
Casey is the director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the vice chair for obstetrics. He is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine. Before coming to UAB, Casey spent 23 years on faculty at Parkland Hospital and UT Southwestern.
Alan Tita, MD, PhD wins the Herb Pardes Award
UAB, May 1, 2023
Congratulations to Alan Tita, whose CHAP study was selected as the top and most impactful study at TS23 Clinical Research Forum, and earning the prestigious Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award! Tita’s work joins studies from IH, University of Chicago, MGH, Hopkins, Yale, UC Davis, and Cleveland Clinic selected as the top 10 studies this year.
Three Heersink faculty elected to join the Association of American Physicians
Written by Jessica Martindale, Heersink School of Medicine News, April 26, 2023
Since 1885, the Association of American Physicians (AAP), an honorary medical society, has advocated for the advancement of scientific and practical medicine by promoting professional and social interaction among physician-scientists, disseminating research, and recognizing outstanding physician-scientists through membership into the organization. Currently, the AAP has over 1,700 active members and approximately 600 emeritus and honorary members from the United States, Canada, and other countries.
This year, three faculty from across the UAB Heersink School of Medicine were elected to join the AAP: Anindya Dutta, MBBS, Ph.D., chair, Department of Genetics; David Kimberlin, M.D., co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; and Alan T. Tita, M.D., Ph.D., Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, associate dean for Global and Women’s Health, and professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Alan T. Tita, M.D., Ph.D.
Tita is the UAB Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, director of the Mary Heersink Institute of Global Health, and the Heersink School of Medicine associate dean for Global Health. As professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and senior vice-chair for Research and Innovation, he also leads the Center for Women’s Reproductive Health. His background is in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Perinatal Epidemiology, and International Health. Tita has led and continues to lead the design and conduct of collaborative multi-site and single-site clinical trials and observational studies that influence practice and policy globally. He also co-leads the Cameroon Health Initiative at UAB, a multidisciplinary venture to improve health care in collaboration with Cameroon partners.
Tita and Team to Receive 2023 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award from the Clinical Research Forum
UAB, CCTS, February 27, 2023
The research team led by Alan Tita, MD, PhD, will be honored with a 2023 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award by the Clinical Research Forum (CR Forum) at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 2023. Dr. Tita is the senior vice chair for Research and Innovation in the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, associate dean for Global and Women’s Health at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, and director of the UAB Center for Women’s Reproductive Health. He is a CCTS Co-Investigator for Maternal/Fetal Medicine.
The Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards honor groundbreaking achievements in clinical research from across the nation. The competition seeks to identify major advances in the biomedical field resulting from the nation’s investment in health and welfare. The Top 10 award recipients are selected by a CR Forum panel from among clinical research studies published in peer-reviewed journals in 2022. They are based on the degree of innovation and novelty involved in the advancement of science; contribution to the understanding of human disease and/or physiology; and potential impact upon the diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of disease.
Tita is being honored for his leadership in the CHAP (Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy) study, the most comprehensive trial of chronic hypertension in pregnancy ever undertaken. “The Chronic CHAP trial addressed a decades’ old question regarding not only the safety but benefits of treating chronic hypertension during pregnancy and led to immediate changes in national guidelines” said Tita. “This award recognizes the power of clinical research and collaboration that took literally more than a village. I am grateful to the CR Forum and to all the investigators, staff, healthcare workers and of course the patients that made this trial successful.”
“The Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards honor and celebrate the innovation, tireless efforts and profound contributions that clinical researchers and advocates have made on the health and wellness of humanity,” said Harry P. Selker, MD, MSPH, Chair of the CR Forum and Dean, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Tufts University. “We congratulate the 2023 winners for their outstanding efforts.”
Heersink ODI Celebrates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Virtual Grand Rounds featuring keynote speaker Dr. Alan Tita
Heersink School of Medicine, Written by Alex Isaacs, February 7, 2023
The Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion (Heersink ODI) recently held its virtual Diversity Grand Rounds, featuring Alan T. N Tita, M.D., Ph.D. as the keynote speaker. The annual event, held virtually during Second Look Weekend, was open to current faculty, staff, and potential UAB residents.
Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH—Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Heersink School of Medicine—gave a warm welcome to attendees and emphasized the importance of creating a diverse and inclusive environment for students, trainees, faculty, and staff.
The Professional Excellence Awards
Before the keynote speaker, Fouad highlighted one way in which the successes of our diverse faculty at Heersink School of Medicine are recognized– the Professional Excellence Awards. The award recognizes one member from each of the four faculty associations who have excelled in research, teaching, and service within the past three years. Nominations are submitted by department chairs and division directors and then judged by the Heersink ODI Advisory Council.
This year, Heersink ODI received 33 nominees from 14 departments, the highest in the award program’s three-year existence. After review, the council selected four outstanding individuals as recipients of the 2023 Professional Excellence Award: Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., MPH; Isabel Scarinci, Ph.D., MPH; Michele Kong, M.D., and Rodney O. Tucker, M.D., MMM, as the winners.
Fouad concluded the announcement by reiterating the importance of awards and events, such as this one, in continuing growth and understanding of the diverse world around us.
Fouad then turned the program over to Raegan Durant, M.D., MPH, associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Heersink School of Medicine, to introduce the day’s speaker.
Unlocking Innovative Solutions for Local and Global Health: Join Dr. Alan Tita at Heersink ODI’s 2023 Diversity Grand Rounds
Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Heersink School of Medicine, February 1, 2023
The Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion (Heersink ODI) is excited to announce their upcoming virtual Diversity Grand Rounds, featuring Alan T. N. Tita, M.D., Ph.D, UAB Mary Heersink Endowed Chair of Global Health, Director of the Mary Heersink Institute of Global Health, and the Heersink School of Medicine Associate Dean for Global Health.
What are the Heersink ODI Diversity Grand Rounds?
Diversity Grand Rounds is an annual event hosted by Heersink ODI during Second Look Weekend. The event—which is open to current faculty, staff, and potential UAB residents—features a highly anticipated keynote speaker. This year, Dr. Tita will be welcomed to the virtual stage.
Following the lecture, Dr. Mona Fouad, Associate Vice President for UAB Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Heersink School of Medicine, will announce the winners of the 2023 Professional Excellence Awards.
This award recognizes one member from each of Heersink ODI’s faculty associations for their excellence in research, teaching, or service.
