Rodney O. Tucker, MD, MMM, FAAHPM, was born in Gadsden, Alabama and attended Litchfield High School graduating in 1980. He then attended UAB and received his undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Social Work in 1984. After a year of graduate work at UAB, he entered the University of Alabama School of Medicine and graduated in 1989. Dr. Tucker served an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Carraway Methodist Medical Center from 1989-1992 and then served as Chie...
Dr. Marie Bakitas is internationally recognized in pain and palliative care science. Focused on reducing suffering and enhancing quality of life for persons with advanced illness and family caregivers--especially in rural areas--her early tele-health palliative care model ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends), has led to practice and policy changes. She is disseminating ENABLE for cancer and heart failure patients in the Deep South and Veteran populations. Her research, mentorship ...
Dr. Barnett is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Having previously completed a residency in combined Internal Medicine & Pediatrics and a fellowship in Palliative Care for both children and adults, he now attends on the palliative care services at UAB and Children’s of Alabama. He is the Program Director of the UAB Palliative Medicine Fellowship and is the Core Leader for Education in the UAB Division of Gerontology, Geri...
Dr. Bowman holds dual certification in both Geriatric Medicine and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. A clinician educator, her interests intersect frail hospitalized elderly, cognitive impairment & hospital acquired delirium, communication in medicine, and unmet palliative needs in older adults with complex chronic illnesses. She is a member of the American Geriatrics Society Ethnogeriatrics Committee and also serves on the External Guidelines & Practice Recommendations Subcommittee of the AGS Cli...
Dr. Bradley's research focuses on the interactions among biological and psychosocial factors associated with abnormal pain sensitivity in persons with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, and other chronic painful disorders. Several studies are ongoing with support of an R01 grant and complementary grant funds: (1) In collaboration with investigators from the University of Florida, the goal of the R01 project is to characterize ethnic differences in experimental pain sensitivity, endogenous pain inh...
Ronit Elk, PhD has recently joined the University of Alabama, Birmingham as Professor in the School of Medicine; Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care, and as Associate Director of the Southeast Institute for Innovation in Palliative and Supportive Care. Her prior position was at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Using Community Based Participatory Research, her NIH-funded research focuses on partnering with underserved populations, in particular rural African America...
Dr. Goodin is a clinical health psychologist with specialization in pain-related behavioral medicine. He examines the interactions of psychosocial and biobehavioral characteristics in relation to the experience of pain through the key pathways of stress-related hormones (neuroendocrine function) and immune function. His previous and ongoing projects are conducted in collaboration with colleagues at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Florida, as well as UAB.
Over the...
Dr. Iyer's clinical research focuses on patient centered outcomes research in COPD, the third leading cause of death in the United States. His long-term career goal is to specialize in health outcomes and comparative effectiveness research in COPD, focusing on the design, testing, and implementation of novel interventions such as palliative care to improve quality of life for COPD patients. This research builds logically on and was enriched by multiple research projects as a principal or co-inve...
Dr. Rita Jablonski’s internationally-renowned program of research is focused on improving the lives of older adults, especially those with dementia who reside in nursing homes. Her most recent studies have tested interventions that improve oral hygiene for persons with dementia who resist care. The strategies for reducing threat perception using dementia-centric communication strategies are congruent with the principles of person-centered care and nursing home culture change initiatives.
I am a pediatric oncologist with a focus on solid tumors and end-of-life care research. I am originally from Iowa, went to Carleton College in Minnesota for undergraduate before heading to Stanford for my medical training. I joined the UAB faculty July 2018. I live in Homewood with my son and husband and enjoy running, reading, hiking, and spending time with my little guy.
Dr. Sigrid Ladores is a pediatric nurse practitioner who is investigating reproductive health concerns in adolescents and young adults with chronic illnesses. She has presented her research in local, regional, national, and international conferences. She is also a respected scholar and leader in the Philippine Nurses Association of America.
Seth Landefeld is Chair, Department of Medicine and the Spencer Chair in Medical Science Leadership.
Dr. Landefeld brings to UAB an infectious enthusiasm for all the wonderful opportunities in academic medicine – to care for people, to teach, to discover, and to build a healthy society. Recognizing the UAB Department of Medicine as a well established national leader, he envisions the Department as the go-to department in the United States for faculty, learners, and staff who have the am...
Dr. Markland is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a clinician researcher at the Birmingham VA Medical Center and the Associate Director of Clinical Programs in the Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinic Center (GRECC). Her overarching goal is to enhance evidenced-based knowledge regarding the treatment of genito-urinary disord...
Dr. Perna is the lead physician for Aspire Health in the greater Birmingham area. He also serves as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Palliative Care Team at Children’s of Alabama. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine the University of Alabama – Birmingham with secondary academic appointments in Nursing and Pediatrics. Dr. Perna is a graduate of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He is board certified in both Family Practice and Hospice & Palliative Medicine.
Professor of Medicine and Nursing in the Division of Infectious & Senior Scientist (UAB Center for AIDS Research), Senior Scholar (UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care) and Scholar (UAB Lister Hill Center for Health Policy)
I am the Director of the UAB 1917 HIV Outpatient, Dental and Research Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. As a national Nurse Practitioner leader, I have devoted my career to improving access to care for HIV populations. An attorney and NP, I have impacted HIV ca...
Dr. Gabrielle Rocque is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Hematology & Oncology and Gerontology, Geriatrics, & Palliative Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She completed her undergraduate degree, medical doctorate, Internal Medicine residency, and fellowship in Hematology & Oncology at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She also completed a Masters of Science in Public Health from UAB. She currently practices as a medical oncologist, specializing in t...
Dr. Laura Rogers is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She is also a Senior Scientist in the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC), Center for Exercise Medicine, and the Cancer Control and Population Science Program of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. She completed her MD degree at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, internal medicine internship and residency at the Medical College of Georgia, and a Ma...
I am Associate Dean for Global Health in the School of Medicine, Director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research and a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. I am also the principal investigator of the CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS), an NIAID-funded National Network of EMR-collected clinical data at 8 CFAR centers that are merged for the purposes of clinical research. I am the founding director of the UAB 1917 HIV Clinic, which has pioneered treatment pro...
Dr. Keith M. Swetz is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. He is Medical Director of UAB Medicine’s Supportive Care and Survivorship Clinic, and works as an attending physician at The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital, The Kirklin Clinic at Acton Road, UAB Hospital, and at Birmingham VA Medical Center. He also serves at the Ambulatory Clinical Core Leader for the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine at...
Dr. Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the UAB School of Nursing. He graduated from UAB School of Nursing in 1985 with a Bachelor’s degree, received his Master’s degree in Adult Oncology Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco in 1987, a post graduate Adult Nurse Practitioner degree in 2000, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from UAB 2010. He is currently a UAB SON PhD student and his dissertation topic is life-space mobility in elderly rural community-dwelling cancer survivors...
Rodney O. Tucker, MD, MMM, FAAHPM, was born in Gadsden, Alabama and attended Litchfield High School graduating in 1980. He then attended UAB and received his undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Social Work in 1984. After a year of graduate work at UAB, he entered the University of Alabama School of Medicine and graduated in 1989. Dr. Tucker served an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Carraway Methodist Medical Center from 1989-1992 and then served as Chie...
Dr. David Vance is a psychologist who actively researches neurocognitive aging and HIV. His funded studies focus on transcranial direct current stimulation, olfactory dysfunction, cognitive prescriptions, and others. He chairs the Neurocognitive Group of the Women’s Initiative HIV Study, a national longitudinal cohort study. His scholarship has led to numerous publications (+235 peer-reviewed articles) and presentations (+450) as well as being an invited member to a White House forum and an N...
Dr. Walton spent his formative years in Virginia and South Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree in English Literature from James Madison University and earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Following an internship in General Surgery at the University of Kentucky, he completed a Residency in Family Medicine at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Walton went on to complete Fellowships in Geriatric Medicine and Hospice an...
Medical Oncologist and Geriatrician focused on the management of Gastrointestinal Malignancies.
James H. Willig, MD, MSPH, is the Associate Dean of Clinical Education in the School of Medicine. He attended Medical School at the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and completed his residency at the University of Virginia Roanoke-Salem. At UAB, Willig has earned an M.S. in Public Health and completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship. His research interests in quality improvement and medical informatics have found expression in both research into quality issues in HIV primary care...
