Dr. Birrer earned his undergraduate degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated with a BS in Biology. He subsequently was accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in 1982 with his principle area of study in microbiology and immunology. He performed a medical internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and subsequently completed a residency in medicine at MGH. Dr. Birrer entered the med...
My research is focused on the use of monoclonal antibodies that bind cancer cell surface receptors for cancer therapy in combination with chemotherapy agents, Wnt inhibitors, or radiation. This research involves investigation of the mechanisms of enhanced cytotoxicity produced by combination treatment. Orthotopic and metastatic breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer xenograft models are being used to optimize therapeutic regimens in collaboration with investigators from the Divisions of Gynecolo...
Dr. Cheng completed his medical education at Hunan Medical University in 1985. Later, he continued his graduate training at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, and Hunan Medical University, where he later became a faculty member. Dr. Cheng served as vice chairman of the Center for Molecular Biology at Hunan Medical University from 1993 to 1996. He completed additional postdoctoral training at the Kimball Research Institute (New York Blood Center) and Emory Un...
I am an Associate Scientist and Clinical Investigator at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. Through this role, I have access to all clinical trials being conducted at UAB for all cancer types. As an active member of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), I likewise have access to a broad array of national cooperative group clinical trials for most malignancies, including breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer among others.
I have special research interests in the areas of ...
Dr. Mark H. Deierhoi joined the UAB Department of Surgery in 1986. He has been instrumental in the evolution of transplantation surgery at UAB. He currently serves in the renal transplant program. He also sees patients at the VA Hospital.
Dr. Deierhoi has served widely in his field, most notable with the Southeastern Organ Procurement Foundation assuming numerous committee and leadership roles with the foundation including presiding in 2003.
A consistently funded researcher, Dr...
Dr. Elmets major research interests focus on environmental influences on the skin and on the immune system. His research has investigated how ultraviolet light and other environmental agents interact with immunological function of the skin. Initial studies in mice showed that in vivo exposure of murine skin produced a local deficiency in the antigen presenting function of skin, thereby resulting in the preferential generation of antigen specific regulatory T-cells. Studies examining the mechanis...
Janusz H.S. Kabarowski received his B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry from University College London, UK. He was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the Leukaemia Research Fund centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (Chester Beatty Laboratories) in London in 1997. Dr. Kabarowski subsequently conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Owen Witte at UCLA. Dr. Kabarowski joined the Department of Microbiology at UAB as an Assistant Professor in 2003 and has a secondary faculty appointment in the De...
Dr. Mountz is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the UAB Recombinant Inbred Strain Facility. Dr. Mountz is the Co-Director of the UAB Bone Center, the UAB Center for Aging, Basic Biology Component, and is a Physician at the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Mountz is the recipient of the J. W. & Virginia Goodwin-Warren D. Blackburn, Jr. Research Chair in Rheumatology (2002) and recipient of the Max Cooper Award for Excellence in Research (2003). Dr. Mountz was designate...
I am a board-certified gynecologic pathologist with 21-year expertise in light-, immunofluorescence-, and high-resolution confocal-microscopy. I work as a staff pathologist at the UAB hospital and examine surgical tissues and provide the diagnoses. In my research projects, I have been involved in numerous collaborative studies and evaluated human, mouse and rat tissues. Pathologic findings have ranged from bacterial and viral infection, immune complex deposition and histopathology of female repr...
Dr. Thannickal is Professor of Medicine and the Ben Vaughan Branscomb Chair of Medicine in Respiratory Disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Following his fellowship training at Tufts University School of Medicine, he has held faculty positions at Tufts, University of Michigan and UAB, where he currently serves as director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. Under his leadership, the division has grown to over 65 faculty members and expanded its...
