Hospital quality and safety officer named - Benjamin B. Taylor, M.D., MPH, has been named Chief Quality and Safety Officer for UAB Hospital. Taylor will work closely with the UAB Health System Chief Quality and Safety Officer in implementing and improving quality and safety in the hospital. He has been an associate chief of staff at UAB Hospital and is the associate program director for the Birmingham Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program. Taylor earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina and did residency in internal medicine at UAB. He earned his Masters in Public Health from Harvard University. He also served on the faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a pioneer and leader in quality and safety.
Media Contact: Bob Shepard, 205-934-8934 or bshep@uab.edu
Endowed professorship in biostatistics established - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees established the Sir David Cox Endowed Professorship in Biostatistics in the UAB Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. The professorship is being partially funded by donations from the Coca Cola Company, VIVUS Inc., GenScript USA and others. The endowment will provide for the recruitment and retention of a faculty member who can push forward new ideas in the field.
Media Contact: Clinton Colmenares, 205-934-3887 or ccolmena@uab.edu
Endowed professorship in bone pathology established - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees established the Jay M. McDonald, M.D. Endowed Professorship in Bone Pathology in the UAB Department of Pathology at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. The endowment will provide for the recruitment and retention of a renowned faculty member with expertise in bone pathobiology who can contribute to and further the department's efforts. The endowment is named in honor of McDonald, who served as department chair from 1990 to 2008.
Media Contact: Clinton Colmenares, 205-934-3887 or ccolmena@uab.edu
Thannickal appointed to Ben Vaughn Branscomb Chair of Medicine - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Victor J. Thannickal, M.D. to the Ben Vaughn Branscomb Chair of Medicine in Respiratory Disease in the UAB School of Medicine at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Thannickal earned his medical degree from Oral Roberts University School of Medicine and joined the UAB faculty in July 2009. He is known for his novel and pioneering work exploring mechanisms involved in acute lung injury and interstitial lung disease.
Media Contact: Bob Shepard, 205-934-8934 or bshep@uab.edu
Li appointed to endowed professorship - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Yi-Ping Li, Ph.D., to the Jay M. McDonald Endowed Professorship in Bone Pathology in the UAB Department of Pathology at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Li received his doctorate in molecular genetics from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry at The Academy of Sciences in China. His research interests center on cellular and molecular mechanisms of bone resorption and formation, which has important implications for understanding and treating osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases.
Media Contact: Clinton Colmenares, 205-934-3887 or ccolmena@uab.edu
Chawla appointed Professor Emeritus - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Krishan K. Chawla, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at UAB at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Chawla received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971 and joined the UAB faculty in 1998 as professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Chawla served as department chair from 1998 to 2001.
Media Contact: Andrew Hayenga, 205-934-1676 or ahayenga@uab.edu
Kinney appointed Professor Emeritus - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed F. Cleveland Kinney, Ph.D., M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology in the UAB School of Medicine at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Kinney earned his doctorate in anatomy in 1976 and medical degree in 1985, both from UAB. Kinney served for more than a decade as director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and also served as interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology from 2001 to 2006.
Media Contact: Bob Shepard, 205-934-8934 or bshep@uab.edu
Tanju appointed Professor Emeritus - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Murat N. Tanju, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus in the Department of Accounting and Finance in the UAB School of Business at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Tanju received his doctorate in accounting from the University of Georgia in 1977 and joined the UAB faculty later that year as an assistant professor of accounting. He became associate professor in 1983 and was promoted to professor in 1991.
Media Contact: Andrew Hayenga, 205-934-1676 or ahayenga@uab.edu
Watkins appointed Professor Emeritus - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Charles L. Watkins, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Chemistry in the UAB Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences at its meeting Sept. 17, 2010. Watkins received his doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Florida in 1968 and joined the UAB faculty as an assistant professor in 1970. He became associate professor in 1974 and professor in 1987. He was awarded the UAB President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008 and the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching in 2010.
Media Contact: Andrew Hayenga, 205-934-1676 or ahayenga@uab.edu
About UAB
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is the state of Alabama's largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center whose professional schools and specialty patient care programs are consistently ranked as among the nation's top 50; find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.