Tita, Carlo, and Team Win Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award

UAB CCTS, Apr 15, 2024

A-PLUS co-leads Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D. and Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D. Photography: Andrea Mabry
Alan Tita, M.D., Ph.D. and Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D.

The Clinical Research (CR) Forum, a non-profit membership association of top clinical research experts and thought leaders from the nation’s leading academic health centers, presented the Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award to two outstanding studies at the Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awards on April 2nd at the Paris Hotel Las Vegas, and for the second year in a row, CCTS investigators were recognized for their achievements.

This year, the CRF awarded the study entitled “Azithromycin to Prevent Sepsis or Death in Women Planning a Vaginal Birth (A-PLUS),” led by Dr. Waldemar Carlo, Professor of Pediatrics, co-Division Director of Neonatology and Edwin M. Dixon Endowed Chair, and Dr. Alan Tita, Professor and Senior Vice Chair for research and innovation in UAB’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. The A-PLUS trial represents a landmark study with global reach enrolling more than 29,000 women in seven low- and middle-income countries with significant health disparities. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023, the project created an evidence base for a low-cost intervention that can be used to reduce maternal sepsis and deaths in underserved regions on a global scale.

The CR Forum presents its annual Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awards to highlight outstanding research advances that involve both innovation and impact on human diseases. A complete list of the 2024 Top Ten Award Winners can be found at www.clinicalresearchforum.org.

“This year’s award winners demonstrate the immense value of our nation’s investment in clinical research, and the direct impact of that work on the health of millions of people in the United States,” said Harry P. Selker, MD, MSPH, CR Forum Board Chair and Dean of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Tufts University. “For many, these innovative studies and related clinical trials may represent the only hope for surviving a life-threatening disease. They also pave the way to advance new therapies and treatments that improve public health.”

The Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award is presented to the top two studies that show creativity, innovation, or a novel approach that demonstrates an immediate impact on the health and well-being of patients. The study, “Azithromycin to Prevent Sepsis or Death in Women Planning a Vaginal Birth,” is one of this year’s honorees.

2024 P3 EQUATE HERN Semi Annual Meeting

P3 EQUATE HERN, Jan 26, 2024

The 2024 P3 EQUATE HERN Semi Annual Meeting kicked off yesterday! This year’s meeting is being hosted by the BELIEVE Team at UNC Chapel Hill.

Contribution of Health Care Practitioner and Maternity Services Factors to Racial Disparities in Alabama

Oct 9, 2023

A Qualitative Study

Toluhi, Angelina A. MD, MPH; Richardson, Molly R. MPH, PhD; Julian, Zoe I. MD, MPH; Sinkey, Rachel G. MD; Knight, Candace C. PhD; Budhwani, Henna MPH, PhD; Szychowski, Jeff M. PhD; Wingate, Martha S. DrPH, MPH; Tita, Alan T. MD, PhD; Baskin, Monica L. MS, PhD; Turan, Janet M. MPH, PhD

Obstetrics & Gynecology 142(4):p 873-885, October 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005326

The authors attempt to uncover the factors related to practitioners and health care services that lead to inequities in maternal health in Alabama.

Honored to be formally inducted into National Academy of Medicine – Elizabeth Howell, MD MPP

Elizabeth Howell, MD MPP, Oct 8, 2023

Honored to be formally inducted into @theNAMedicine – an incredible experience I shared with my family and Regina Cunningham HUP CEO @PennMedicine

    Congratulations to our MHIGH director Alan Tita, MD, PhD for his induction today into the National Academy of Medicine!

    UAB Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, Oct 7, 2023

    Congratulations to our MHIGH director @atitapatterns for his induction today into the National Academy of Medicine!

    Fouad elected to exclusive NIH advisory committee

    Heersink School Medicine News, Mary Ashley Canevaro, September 26, 2023

    Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH

    Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH, senior associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the Heersink School of Medicine and director of the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center, has been elected to the National Institutes of Health’s Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) Working Group on Diversity.

    The ACD Working Group on Diversity seeks to develop effective diversity-related strategies for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on research. Some of their priorities include enhancing access and opportunities for the biomedical research workforce to nurture a diverse community, identifying strategies to address underfunding of minority health and health disparities research, and advancing programs that enhance recruitment and retention of individuals from wide-ranging backgrounds. The group also advises on policy and procedural changes relating to addressing disparities in research, training, and professional development.

    Fouad sits among a small, selected group of experts from nationally renowned institutions, including Yale University, Hopkins Medicine, University of Michigan, and New York University, among others.

    Best practices in addressing social needs for maternal health

    P3 EQUATE HERN, July 25, 2023

    Best practices in addressing social needs for maternal health, with Drs. Amelia Gibson @AmeliaNGibson and Alison Stuebe @astuebe for the American Heart Association @American_Heart https://liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2022.0020

    Lunching, learning, and talking about research collaborations at the @p3equatehern meeting

    P3 EQUATE HERN, July 25, 2023

    The Maternal & Infant Health HERN Annual Meeting starts today! We are excited to present our network’s progress! We are excited to present our network’s progress!

    The Maternal & Infant Health HERN Annual Meeting – July 24, 2023

    P3 EQUATE HERN, July 24, 2023

    The Maternal & Infant Health HERN Annual Meeting starts today! We are excited to present our network’s progress! We are excited to present our network’s progress!

    Casey named holder of the John C. Hauth Endowed Professorship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine

    UAB Heersink School of Medicine, May 19, 2023

    Brian Casey, MD

    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.