Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 4 Issue 1

Propped up against a mini-bookshelf in the
right corner of Dr. Pamela Payne Foster’s office
sits a whiteboard full of projects that she
is collaborating on, including lupus clinical trials,
COVID-19 vaccine accessibility, chronic kidney disease
research, an Alabama literacy project and artificial
intelligence, which contribute to her various research
interests in public health of rural and underserved
communities in Alabama.
For Dr. Foster, a preventative medicine/public health
physician and a College of Community Health Sciences
professor of community medicine and population
health, collaboration has been the foundation for how
she’s navigated her career for almost 18 years at the
University of Alabama.
Her passion for community-based participatory
research has created impactful work for the Alabama
community like Project FAITHH, which aimed to
decrease HIV/AIDS-related stigma in rural Alabama by
implementing a faith-based anti-stigma curriculum
among Black churchgoers.
And while for some, the continuous commitment to so
much would burn someone out, Foster handles it all
with ease and a smile because of her students.
“The students keep me motivated; their energy and
enthusiasm keep me kind of going,” she said. “I do a
lot of mentoring, and so that gives me a lot of lot of
enthusiasm. I love to mentor students that are going
to go on to do better than me, right? Like, right now,
I have a student that I mentored in his PhD program.”
As two students stopped by her office to drop by and
say hello, it was easy to see how influential Dr. Ford
had been to her students.
This ingenuity toward community engagement and
a commitment to mentorship are qualities Dr. Foster
showcased that earned her nomination and won the
2023 Lahoma Adams Buford Peace Award last May
in recognition of her advocacy in public health. The
award that Dr. Ford said felt like a testament to all the
work she’d done.
Karen Johnson, an assistant professor, one of Dr.
Foster’s mentees and the person who nominated
her, sat amongst two and a half tables full of excited
supporters inside the Tuscaloosa River Market when
Dr. Foster received her award.
“I cried,” Johnson said. “I was cheering, tearful, I just
left like was, you know, it’s just such a well-deserved
moment.”
Shameka Cody, an associate professor in the Capstone
College of Nursing, said she was also a little teary and
couldn’t think of a better recipient than Dr. Foster
because she’s touched people in the community and
helped get them to the work they desire to do.
“Not only does she directly impact people in the
community, but she connects people together to
different resources so that they can do the work to
impact the people out here in the community,” Cody
said.
Johnson said Dr. Foster stood head and shoulders above
the other nominees. She said Dr. Foster’s training and
pedigree of academic and for the pursuit of peace
accomplishments.
“She demonstrated excellence in every single area
and then beyond. Academically, her contributions
to science and the field were incredibly varied and
impactful and then in terms of the local community
in Alabama, she’s actively serving the community
with her research with, her time and her skills, both
as a medical doctor, as a researcher and a community
activist,” Johnson said.
Dr. Foster said that winning the award felt fantastic
and humbling because she knew some winners, like
Bryan Fair, Rhoda Johnson, Ellen Spears and Lea Yerby.
“I was also humbled that somebody was watching me I
appreciate it,” Dr. Foster said.
Cody said it’s been inspirational to watch Dr. Foster
as a researcher in the field of HIV. She said when it
comes to mentoring, Dr. Foster constantly makes
herself available to Cody and checks on her mental
and physical wellbeing.
“Being a mentor is more than just checking in about
the work that’s being done, but we really have to check
on our mentees and make sure that they are actually
doing well mentally and physically so that they can
be the best scholar that they’re set to be and that I
appreciate,” Cody said.
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