UAB’s Federal Research Funding Up Significantly
Funding for UAB from the National Institutes of Health rose more than 20 percent in fiscal year 2014 compared to the previous year. NIH funding to the university totaled $225 million, up from $188 million in 2013, placing UAB 10th in NIH funding among public universities.
“This increase in NIH funding underscores UAB’s success in pushing the frontiers of science and advances our aim of being among the nation’s elite, research-intensive institutions,” said UAB President Ray Watts, MD. “These dollars will be leveraged to make potentially game-changing strides in translational medicine, patient care, and economic development for our community.”
NIH funds research at UAB’s professional schools at a substantial level. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings, the School of Dentistry is second among dental schools in NIH funding at $11,775,000 in 2014, and the School of Public Health is ninth with grants totaling $28,964,000.
The School of Health Professions had NIH funding of $5,696,000 last year, and the School of Optometry had more than $4 million. Since 2008, overall grant funding to the School of Nursing has increased by more than 160 percent, placing the school 31st in NIH funding at $1,621,000.
The School of Medicine secured more than $156.3 million in 2014. This moves the school ranking to No. 26 nationally, up from No. 31 the previous year.
Key areas of funding growth include three newly formed research institutes in genomic medicine, personalized medicine and informatics. UAB investigators are making revolutionary strides toward new therapies, including one that potentially could prevent diabetes.
Construction of a new Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building could help secure an estimated $48 million in additional NIH funding that could create upward of 580 new jobs and have an economic impact of $100 million on Birmingham.
Samford Announces Master of Science in Health Law and Policy
Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law is accepting applications for a new online master of science (M.S.) in health law and policy degree, where professionals in the fields of compliance, human resources, insurance and healthcare administration will gain expertise in health law and policy. The degree also will benefit recent graduates who plan to enter the field of health-care compliance or administration, as well as attorneys interested in health law.
Faculty from Samford’s Cumberland School of Law and College of Health Sciences, as well as compliance professionals from the community, will participate in the program. The program includes coursework in health law, regulatory affairs, public policy, insurance and healthcare administration, with a particular emphasis on healthcare compliance. The online program takes two years to complete.
The new online program is one of only eight programs nationally to be accredited by the Compliance Certification Board. The M.S. degree does not replace a traditional juris doctor degree because the M.S. will not qualify graduates for admission to the bar.
Egeland Joins Cockrell
Rodger Egeland has joined Bill Cockrell’s consulting firm as a Member and part owner. The firm has been renamed Cockrell, Egeland and Associates, LLC.
Egeland has over 25 years of healthcare experience beginning with his role as Division Director of Baptist Health Centers where he was responsible for the growth and development of a 56-provider primary care group with 22 clinic locations. He later served as Executive Administrator of UAB Primary Care, and then Administrator of Montgomery Otolaryngology.
This move allows the company to expand its healthcare management and consulting operations in addition to allowing for the addition of a general management and consulting division. With a healthcare focus of management, quality and incentives program design and implementation and strategic planning the company plans to expand its role in Alabama and the southeast.
CVA’s Dye Named President of Brookwood Medical Staff
Larry E. Dye, MD, FACC, cardiologist with Cardiovascular Associates (CVA), was named President of the Medical Staff at Brookwood Medical Center. He will serve a two year term beginning January 2015.
Dye received his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and did an internal medicine residency at UAB, followed by a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at UAB.
He has served in various leadership roles at CVA, where he has practiced as an interventional cardiologist since 1977.
“I am honored to serve in this role and continue to work with all of the physicians at Brookwood Medical Center,” Dye said.
New Clinic to Open in Leeds
UAB Medicine will open a $5 million, 17,000-square-foot clinic in Leeds in the summer of 2015. The internal medicine and pediatric facility, which will be located near the Bass Pro Shop off I-20, will feature double-board-certified physicians who have appointments in the departments of Medicine and Pediatrics.
A UAB Hospital outpatient diagnostic center, immediately adjacent to the clinic, will feature MRI, CT, ultrasound, digital X-ray, bone-density scanning and mammography. Full ambulatory lab services also will be provided on-site, and UAB specialists will conduct weekly clinics there.
“We are excited about this project,” said Reid Jones, chief operating officer for UAB Health System. “The eastern market is growing so much, and many of our patients from that area travel downtown to receive lab, X-ray and other services. UAB Medicine-Leeds will enable these patients to receive services in a location more convenient to them.”
Brasfield & Gorrie are directing the construction of the clinic, and Birmingham-based Johnson Development is leading the planning, financing, and management of the project.
UAB Medicine-Leeds will replace the current UAB Medicine-Moody clinic. Stephen Russell, MD will lead the new clinic in its plans to provide enhanced care.
“The plan is to have four physicians and two nurse practitioners working together when we are fully functional,” Russell said. “Because we will have radiologists there with six primary care providers practicing simultaneously, we will have many of the diagnostic services you can find at The Kirklin Clinic radiology available to us in Leeds. When you add the specialty suite and the outpatient laboratory, it ensures our patients will continue to receive the quality of care they have come to expect from us.”
Coffin is New CEO of SourceMedical
James M. Coffin, PhD has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of SourceMedical.
Coffin mostly recently served as the Worldwide Vice President of Dell’s Healthcare and Life Sciences Division. In his six years at Dell, Coffin transformed the Dell business unit from a PC manufacturer in the HCLS industry into the world’s leading provider of healthcare IT services.
Prior to Dell, Coffin held several senior leadership positions within IBM, including his last position as Worldwide VP for IBM’s Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry.
“I am honored by the Board’s decision and wish to thank them for extending to me this exciting opportunity to lead the SourceMedical team to the next level in its evolution,” Coffin said.
Merlin Honored in Hospice
Jessica Merlin, MD, MBA, an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UAB, has been named an inspirational leader in hospice and palliative medicine under the age of 40 by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Merlin, who earned her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, is particularly interested in management of chronic pain within the context of palliative care. Her focus is in patients with HIV.
“These patients have higher rates of mental illness and substance use, and I am particularly interested in treating pain and emotional suffering among individuals with these complex co-morbidities,” Merlin said. “There is little research on chronic pain in HIV, and few palliative care physicians choose chronic pain as their focus. This award is very meaningful to me as it brings attention to this understudied area.”
