Posted on December 22, 1999 at 10:31 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The medical industry has come a long way in the last 100 years and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been there nearly every step of the way. With a world-renowned team of scientists and more than $275 million in research funds awarded to muscle us toward a better tomorrow, UAB has been the forerunner of many major medical advances this century. Here are just a few:

• UAB has been a pioneer in HIV and AIDS research. Most recently, in January, UAB researchers Drs. Beatrice H. Hahn, George M. Shaw and Feng Gao were the first to discover the origin of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
  
  
• UAB researchers at the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit have just become the first to test a Phase III trial of an AIDS vaccine. This is the first experimental AIDS vaccine to make it to the final stage of testing.
  
  
• The UAB AIDS Center was the first to perform clinical trails of the protease inhibitor Indinavir (Crixivan), one of the first protease inhibitors used in the “triple drug cocktail” to fight HIV.
  
  
• In 1996, UAB researchers showed, for the first time, that the AIDS virus replicates early and aggressively soon after a person is infected with HIV. That discovery changed the way clinicians treat HIV infection.
  
  
• UAB investigators were the first to demonstrate the value of viral load testing in clinical practice. This test allows physicians to follow the response to antiretroviral treatment, much as they follow the blood-sugar response to insulin when treating diabetics.
  
  
• Researchers with the 1917 Clinic were the first to demonstrate that alterations in the AIDS virus can lead to clinical failure of antiviral medication.
  
  
• In 1960, Dr. Basil Hirschowitz was the first to explore the stomach with his new invention, the fiberoptic endoscope, which is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
  
  
• In 1977, Dr. Richard Whitley administered systemic antiviral for the treatment of the deadly HSV (herpes simplex virus) encephalitis, leading to the world’s first effective treatment for a viral disease.
  
  
• UAB heart surgeon John W. Kirklin developed a computerized intensive care unit that became a model for modern ICUs around the world. They help improve care and reduce complications. Kirklin initially gained fame by improving the safety and usefulness of the heart-lung bypass pump.
  
  
• Dr. Thomas Lincoln was the first to discover the protein that led to the development of the now well-known drug Viagra, causing what some have called the second sexual revolution.
  
  
• UAB dentists were the first to develop the four-handed method of dentistry, where both a dentist and a hygienist treat a patient. Four-handed dentistry is now standard practice.
  
  
• Dr. Eric Sorscher was the first researcher in the United States to implant a corrected gene into the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis using a lipid molecule delivery system.
  
  
• UAB’s Kidney Transplantation Program is the world’s leading transplant program, with more than 5,000 transplants being performed since 1968. In each of the last seven years, more kidney transplants have been performed at UAB than at any other institution in the world. UAB is also a national leader in other organ transplants.
  
  
• UAB was in the first handful of institutions to be designated by the National Institutes of Health as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is the only one in Alabama. This means a wide range of research, education and activities are available, and facilities and laboratories meet certain high standards.
  
  
• Several UAB researchers have been the first to develop animal models for study of various diseases, including lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and sickle cell disease.
  
  
• UAB researcher Dr. Max D. Cooper was the first to characterize B-cells as part of the human immune system. He also was first to successfully treat SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency disease) with the transplant of fetal liver cells.
  
  
• In August 1969, Dr. Henry B. Peters became the first dean of the School of Optometry, the nation’s first optometry school to be integrated into a medical center complex. The school is now one of the top optometry schools in the nation and still one of only three integrated into a medical center.
  
  
• In 1984, UAB Hospital became the first hospital in the United States to use color doppler echocardiography for visualizing internal cardiac structures.
  
  
• In 1987, the world’s first genetically engineered mouse-human monoclonal antibody was used at UAB Hospital in the treatment of cancer.