BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) faculty each received a $30,000 Charles Barkley Health Disparities Research Award at the fifth UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) Gala on Sept. 25. The awards were presented by NBA Hall of Fame basketball player and Alabama native Charles Barkley.
Funds for the awards were provided by the UAB MHRC Barkley Health Disparities Fund to encourage research in health disparities and encourage young investigators and junior faculty to pursue careers in minority health research. These developmental research projects have the potential to become either full-size projects or to lead to other extramural funding, according to Mona Fouad, M.D., director of the UAB MHRC.
Award recipients and their projects are:
- The Charles Barkley Award to a minority investigator for health disparities research, matched by the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science for a total of $60,000, went to Keshia Elder, O.D., assistant professor, UAB School of Optometry, for her project, "Ocular inflammation in African-American and European-American patients with SLE."
- The Charles Barkley Award for health disparities research in the African-American population went to Derek DuBay, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, UAB School of Medicine, for his project, "Development of an African-American Salon-Based Intervention to Increase Organ Donation."
- The Charles Barkley Award for health disparities research in the Hispanic/Latino population went to Laura Kelly Vaughan, Ph.D., assistant professor, UAB School of Public Health, for her project, "Bad genes or genes behaving badly: Are Hispanic-American children predisposed to 'thriftiness' resulting in increased fat accumulation at the expense of bone mass?"
In addition, three UAB faculty were given the Charles Barkley Excellence in Mentoring Award. These $500 awards recognize faculty who have provided outstanding mentoring and have contributed substantially to the career development and retention of students and faculty. In a written statement, the mentees described how their mentor has been supportive and encouraging and promoted their research education, professional and personal development and career.
The recipients of the excellence in mentoring awards are:
- Maja Altarac, M.D., MPH, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Health Care Organization & Policy, UAB School of Public Health. Mentee: Keokunthea Dy, MPH, graduate student in the Department of Health Care Organization & Policy, UAB School of Public Health.
- Upender Manne, MS, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Pathology, UAB School of Medicine. Mentee: Harvey L. Bumpers, M.D., FACS, professor and interim chair of Surgery, Director of Surgical Oncology, Dept. of Surgery, Morehouse School of Medicine.
- Karen Meneses, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor and associate dean for research, UAB School of Nursing. Mentee: Angela Jukkala, PhD, RN, assistant professor, UAB School of Nursing.
Barkley, a Leeds native, champions the MHRC's efforts to reduce racial disparities in health care and hosts the center's annual galas. With his support, the MHRC has been able to develop numerous programs and research projects, including the Charles Barkley Health Disparities Fund.
About UAB
The UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) is a comprehensive educational, research and community outreach center focused on eliminating the health disparities of racial/ethnic minorities and under-served populations.