University of Alabama School of Medicine
Encyclopedia
The University of Alabama School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
is a public medical school
located in Birmingham, Alabama
. The UAB School of Medicine has branch campuses in Huntsville
and at the University of Alabama
College of Community Health Sciences in Tuscaloosa
. Residency programs are also located in Selma
and Montgomery
.
. By the early 1900s, the work of Abraham Flexner
led to the move of the medical school to Tuscaloosa to become closer affiliated with the University of Alabama
. In 1936, the University of Alabama Extension Center was opened in Birmingham because of the recent population growth there. In 1943, Governor Chauncey Sparks created the four-year Medical College of Alabama with the passage of the Jones Bill (Alabama Act 89). In 1944, Dr. Roy R. Kracke was named dean of the Medical College of Alabama and began assembling teaching staff. In 1945, the Medical College of Alabama was moved from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham and the University's Medical Center was founded. Later, in November 1966, the Extension Center and the Medical Center were merged to form the "University of Alabama in Birmingham," an organizational component of The University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). In 1969, UAB became an independent institution, one of three autonomous universities within the newly created University of Alabama System
. The university's name was changed in 1984 from the "University of Alabama in Birmingham" to the "University of Alabama at Birmingham."
became dean of the new medical school and chairman of the Department of Medicine in 1950. Dr. Harrison began a program of recruitment aimed at making the school a major research and health care center.
In 1966, Dr. John W. Kirklin
joined UAB as chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-In-Chief for University Hospital. Dr. Kirklin brought his knowledge and expertise from the Mayo Clinic
down to Alabama. He was most noted for revolutionizing cardiovascular surgery through his development and refinement of the heart-lung machine
. http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=67184 From his legacy, the UAB School of Medicine and the hospital have continued to be leaders in the healthcare industry.
, however in 1974 UAB assumed control over the Huntsville program.
, which has been used by many physicians for decades was originally edited by Dr Tinsley R. Harrison
, who served as dean of the Medical School and chair of the Department of Medicine.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
is a public medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
located in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. The UAB School of Medicine has branch campuses in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
and at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
College of Community Health Sciences in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
. Residency programs are also located in Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
and Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
.
Founding and Growth
The University of Alabama School of Medicine can trace its roots back to the 1859 founding of the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile, AlabamaMobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. By the early 1900s, the work of Abraham Flexner
Abraham Flexner
Abraham Flexner was an American educator. His Flexner Report, published in 1910, reformed medical education in the United States...
led to the move of the medical school to Tuscaloosa to become closer affiliated with the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. In 1936, the University of Alabama Extension Center was opened in Birmingham because of the recent population growth there. In 1943, Governor Chauncey Sparks created the four-year Medical College of Alabama with the passage of the Jones Bill (Alabama Act 89). In 1944, Dr. Roy R. Kracke was named dean of the Medical College of Alabama and began assembling teaching staff. In 1945, the Medical College of Alabama was moved from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham and the University's Medical Center was founded. Later, in November 1966, the Extension Center and the Medical Center were merged to form the "University of Alabama in Birmingham," an organizational component of The University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). In 1969, UAB became an independent institution, one of three autonomous universities within the newly created University of Alabama System
University of Alabama System
The University of Alabama System consists of three public universities in Alabama, USA: The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa , The University of Alabama at Birmingham , and The University of Alabama in Huntsville...
. The university's name was changed in 1984 from the "University of Alabama in Birmingham" to the "University of Alabama at Birmingham."
Regional and National Emergence
Dr. Tinsley R. HarrisonTinsley Randolph Harrison
Tinsley Randolph Harrison was a US physician and editor of the first five editions of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine.-Biography:...
became dean of the new medical school and chairman of the Department of Medicine in 1950. Dr. Harrison began a program of recruitment aimed at making the school a major research and health care center.
In 1966, Dr. John W. Kirklin
John W. Kirklin
John Webster Kirklin was born in Muncie, Indiana, United States. After graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1942 he made several important contributions to heart surgery while practicing at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota...
joined UAB as chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-In-Chief for University Hospital. Dr. Kirklin brought his knowledge and expertise from the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
down to Alabama. He was most noted for revolutionizing cardiovascular surgery through his development and refinement of the heart-lung machine
Heart-lung machine
Cardiopulmonary bypass is a technique that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery, maintaining the circulation of blood and the oxygen content of the body. The CPB pump itself is often referred to as a heart–lung machine or "the pump"...
. http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=67184 From his legacy, the UAB School of Medicine and the hospital have continued to be leaders in the healthcare industry.
Other Campuses
The main campus of the University of Alabama School of Medicine is located at UAB in Birmingham. All UASOM students complete their first two years at the main campus in Birmingham. The remaining two years can be completed in Birmingham or at one of two branch campuses.Tuscaloosa
In 1974 the University of Alabama created the College of Community Health Sciences. This is a college organized under the University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa, and in conjunction with the UAB School of Medicine provides medical education for the 3rd and 4th years of students who choose to study in Tuscaloosa.Huntsville
The School of Medicine maintains a branch campus in Huntsville affiliated with Huntsville Hospital. The Huntsville campus was originally a part of the University of Alabama in HuntsvilleUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville
The University of Alabama in Huntsville is a state-supported, public, coeducational research university, located in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees, and is organized in five...
, however in 1974 UAB assumed control over the Huntsville program.
Admissions
For the fall of 2010, the average MCAT was 30.6 and the median undergraduate GPA was a 3.76. http://medicine.uab.edu/about/44733/ Of this same year 2,410 applied, 371 were interviewed, 265 were accepted, and 176 matriculated.Distinctions
- In 1960, Dr. Basil HirschowitzBasil HirschowitzBasil Isaac Hirschowitz is an academic gastroenterologist from the University of Alabama at Birmingham best known in the field for having invented an improved optical Fiber which allowed the creation of a useful flexible endoscope...
was the first to explore the stomach with his new invention, the fiber optic endoscope, which is now in the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. - UAB heart surgeon, the late John W. KirklinJohn W. KirklinJohn Webster Kirklin was born in Muncie, Indiana, United States. After graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1942 he made several important contributions to heart surgery while practicing at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota...
, developed a computerized intensive care unitIntensive Care Unitthumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
that became a model for modern ICUs around the world. They help improve care and reduce complications. Kirklin initially gained fame by improving the safety and usefulness of the heart-lung bypass pump. - The Diabetes Research and Education Hospital was dedicated in March 1973, as the first public, university-affiliated diabetes hospital in the nation.
- In 1977, Dr. Richard Whitley administered systemic antiviral for the treatment of the deadly HSVHerpes simplex virusHerpes simplex virus 1 and 2 , also known as Human herpes virus 1 and 2 , are two members of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, that infect humans. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 are ubiquitous and contagious...
(herpes simplex virus) encephalitis, leading to the world’s first effective treatment for a viral disease. - The first use in the United States of color doppler echocardiographyEchocardiographyAn echocardiogram, often referred to in the medical community as a cardiac ECHO or simply an ECHO, is a sonogram of the heart . Also known as a cardiac ultrasound, it uses standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart...
for visualizing internal cardiac structures was introduced by Dr. Navin C. Nanda and occurred at UAB Hospital in 1984. - In 1986, Dr. Thomas N. JamesThomas Naum JamesThomas Naum James was a leading American cardiologist during the last half of the twentieth century. He was chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and then president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston...
, then chairman of UAB's Department of Medicine, presided over the tenth World Congress of CardiologyWorld Congress of CardiologyThe World Congress of Cardiology is a regular meeting of cardiologists from across the world for the purpose of promoting research, training, and treatment of diseases of the heart.-History:...
held in Washington, DC. - World's first genetically engineered mouse-human monoclonal antibody was used at University Hospital in the treatment of cancer in 1987.
- The first simultaneous heart-kidney transplant in the SoutheastSoutheastern United StatesThe Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
was performed at UAB by Drs. David C. McGiffin and David Laskow in 1995. - The journal ScienceScience (journal)Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
named three UAB faculty, Drs. Michael SaagMichael SaagMichael S. Saag is a physician and prominent AIDS researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham . He holds the Jim Straley Chair in AIDS Research, is Director of the Division of Infectious Disease and of the William C. Gorgas Center for Geographic Medicine, and Director of the Center for...
, George ShawGeorge ShawGeorge Shaw was an English botanist and zoologist.Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A. in 1772. He took up the profession of medical practitioner. In 1786 he became the assistant lecturer in botany at Oxford University...
, and Beatrice Hahn, among the top 10 AIDS researchers in the country, and highlighted the AIDS research program at UAB in 1996. - The AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Vaccine Evaluation Unit (AVEU) became the first evaluation unit to enter a Phase III trail of an AIDS vaccine in 1999. - UAB’s Kidney Transplantation Program is the world’s leading transplantOrgan transplantOrgan transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
program, with more than 5,000 transplants being performed since 1968. In each of the last seven years, more kidney transplants have been performed at UAB than at any other institution in the world. UAB is also a national leader in other organ transplants. - The UAB AIDS Center was the first to perform clinical trails of the protease inhibitor Indinavir (Crixivan), one of the first protease inhibitors used in the [triple drug cocktail] to fight HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. - UAB researchers were the first to discover the protein that led to the development of the now well-known drug Viagra, causing what some have called the second sexual revolution. http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=80905 http://www.uab.edu/historical/uabchron.html#1900
- UAB hosts one of only 45 Medical Scientist Training ProgramMedical Scientist Training ProgramMedical Scientist Training Programs are combined M.D. and Ph.D. graduate degree programs offered by a small number of United States medical schools with financial support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences , in recognition of the increasing need for scientists to bridge the...
s in the country. A highly selective program funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the UAB MSTP offers students the ability to earn both an MD and a PhD during a 6-8 year time period. During this time, all tuition is waived and a stipend of $25,000 per year is awarded. Generally, 6-10 students per year are admitted to the program.
Rankings
- In the 2012 edition of US News and World Report, the University of Alabama School of Medicine was ranked #30 nationally in research and #10 nationally in primary care http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/items/04001.
- Five medical specialties at UAB are ranked in the top 20 nationally by the magazine: AIDS, 4th; women’s health, 8th; internal medicine 18th; geriatrics, 19th; and pediatrics, 19th. The school’s primary care program was ranked 34th. http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=80905
- In funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), eight departments within the School of Medicine ranked in the top 10; Anatomy/Cell Biology (No.1). Other departments in the top five are Surgery (No. 2), Obstetrics/Gynecology (No. 3) and Physical Medicine (No. 4). http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=80905
Interesting facts
Harrison's Principles of Internal MedicineHarrison's Principles of Internal Medicine
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine is an American textbook of internal medicine. First published in 1950, it is presently in its eighteenth edition...
, which has been used by many physicians for decades was originally edited by Dr Tinsley R. Harrison
Tinsley Randolph Harrison
Tinsley Randolph Harrison was a US physician and editor of the first five editions of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine.-Biography:...
, who served as dean of the Medical School and chair of the Department of Medicine.