AlumniBulletin - The University of Alabama at Birmingham

SCHOOL &
UNIVERSITY NEWS
by Roger Shuler and Dawn Mesa
Dean Deal Announces
Plans to Step Down
William B. Deal, M.D., vice president and dean of
the UASOM, recently announced his plans to step
down from that post and return to the faculty when
a successor is named. Deal has served as dean for
seven years, serving as interim dean prior to being
named to the post permanently in October 1997.
“Will Deal has done a superb job positioning the
School of Medicine to take advantage of the latest
developments in academic medicine, not only in
teaching future physicians, but also in the fields of
research and patient care,” says UAB president
Carol Z. Garrison, Ph.D. “Under his leadership, the
school has continued to enhance its international
reputation in these areas, and he has built well for
the future, both in terms of program development
and physical facilities. We are very grateful to him.”
“We have established an excellent team here,
and through their hard work we have been able to
build upon the fine reputation of this institution,”
Deal says. “I believe that now is the time to
bring in someone with new ideas to further
enhance the educational and research programs
that we have established.”
One unit that has evolved under Deal’s leadership
is UAB’s Department of Genetics, which was
initially a division within another department.
The department was created when the growing
body of knowledge about the human genome
made it apparent that increased research, teaching,
and clinical opportunities would develop in
the field. To chair the new department, the
UASOM recruited one of the nation’s foremost
geneticists, Bruce Korf, M.D.
On the research front, the School of Medicine
consistently has been one of the top-funded institutions
in the nation, currently ranked 17th in
the nation in funding from the National
Institutes of Health. Total extramural funding for
the school tops $176 million.
UAB has opened the Hugh Kaul Human
Genetics Building and the Biomedical Research
Building II, with the Richard C. and Annette N.
Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Building soon to follow. When the Shelby
Building is completed in 2006, UAB anticipates
an additional $100 million in funding.
Construction for medical education has also
been a priority during Deal’s tenure as dean. UAB
recently completed renovating Volker Hall, the
primary teaching site for medical students. This
$40-million project created learning and teaching
facilities that reflect the current philosophy of
teaching students in small groups and the use of
interactive computer models and appropriate
study areas. In addition, the Faculty Office
Tower—a six-story office tower atop parking deck
four’s expansion—opened in December 2002 and
houses UASOM faculty and staff, including the
office of the vice president and dean of the
UASOM. Another construction project of note is
the $13.6-million, 93,000-square-foot clinic and
teaching facility in Huntsville, which is the primary
clinical and academic space for the school’s
Huntsville program.
Deal joined UAB in 1991 as professor of medicine
and associate dean of the medical school. He
earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry and
his medical degree from the University of North
Carolina. He served as dean of the University of
Florida College of Medicine and was president of
the Maine Medical Center Foundation and the
Maine Medical Center in Portland.
A search committee to recruit Deal’s successor
has recently been named.
Research Funding Continues
to Rise at UAB; NIH Tops $200 Million
The University of Alabama at Birmingham continues
to garner significant research funding from
the National Institutes of Health, topping $200
million for the first time. Figures released by the
NIH show the university increased its funding by
nearly $22 million, or 11.5 percent, in FY 2002 to
a total of more than $211 million.
The School of Medicine at UAB led the funding
increase, garnering nearly $177 million, an
increase of more than $16.3 million or 10.2 percent.
The School of Public Health jumped nearly
$9.7 million (almost 128 percent) to $17.2 million.
The School of Nursing also had a dramatic
increase, nearly doubling its funding to $2.3 million,
an increase of more than $1 million or 86.6
percent. The School of Optometry saw an
increase of 43.1 percent to $2.9 million. All of
UAB’s schools that receive NIH funding saw
increases of at least 4 percent last year.
Overall, UAB ranks 19 in NIH funding among
all institutions of higher education and 11 among
public institutions. Top-rated schools at UAB
include Medicine (#17); Health Related
Professions (#2); Public Health (#11); and
Nursing (#16). Seven departments in the School
of Medicine are in the top 10—anesthesiology,
biology, medicine, microbiology, OB/GYN,
physical medicine, and surgery.
UAB Awarded $1 Million
for Lupus Research
UAB has received a two-year, $1-million grant
renewal from the Alliance for Lupus Research to
2
support its ongoing investigation of new treatments
for lupus. The research project was one of
two recently selected by the alliance for funding at
this level on the basis of promising results shown
in initial studies.
UAB’s investigation focuses on B lymphocytes,
the cells that produce antibodies that help fight
infections. “In lupus, the B cells are activated
abnormally and produce antibodies that damage
healthy tissues,” says Robert Carter, M.D., associate
professor of medicine in UAB’s Division of
Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. “Our
studies are investigating ways to halt the activation
of these cells.”
One method is to block the effects of a protein
called B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS), which is
crucial to the survival of B cells. Another strategy is
to stimulate proteins called death receptors, which
are part of the normal process of turning off activated
cells. “Laboratory studies have shown that
blocking BLyS or stimulating death receptors effectively
eliminates activated B cells,” Carter said.
The research team is now working to develop
therapies that will selectively target BLyS or death
receptors in destroying harmful B cells. “A targeted
strategy should provide a significant advantage
over current lupus therapies, which kill healthy
cells as well as harmful ones and which can have
serious side effects, particularly when taken for
long periods.”
Grant Focuses on Rural Smokers
UAB has received a three-year, $300,000 grant
from the March of Dimes Foundation to institute a
training program to teach rural physicians and medical
students how best to help patients quit smoking.
“It is especially meaningful because the
money was raised by volunteers across the
country through WalkAmerica,” says Lesa
Woodby, Ph.D., research assistant professor of
medicine with UAB’s Department of Family
and Community Medicine and associate director
for education and evaluation with the
Birmingham V.A. Geriatric Research Education
and Clinical Center.
The grant is one of four recently awarded by
the national foundation to support research and
innovative programs aimed at preventing premature
births, birth defects, and other serious health
problems. “Each year, 460,000 babies are born
prematurely, increasing their chances for potentially
serious health problems,” Woodby says.
“While smoking doesn’t account for all premature
births, it is a leading risk factor.”
Over the next three years, the UAB program will
train 75 rural family-practice physicians, their staffs,
and more than 360 third-year medical students to
assess patients’ tobacco use and willingness to quit
smoking and how best to help those who are ready