UAB Briefs: Antarctic honors, data from All of Us, online bargains
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
HONORS AND EXPEDITIONS
UAB biology professor James McClintock, an expert in polar and marine biology, is best known for his work in Antarctica and has been featured on CNN, NPR and National Geographic.
And he just received an important recognition from his colleagues in the field.
He is the inaugural recipient of the 2018 SCAR Medal for Education and Communication, awarded by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, according to the SCAR website.
McClintock received the award for his decades-long educational efforts emphasizing Antarctic climate change and impacts on marine biology.
The medal was awarded in June during the Polar 2018 Conference Dinner in Switzerland.
“What I like most about this award is that its creation reflects the growing recognition across the scientific community that science education and communication are essential elements to effectively addressing pressing issues of science in today’s world,” McClintock said in a UAB news release.
The last decade, McClintock has studied what he calls “the dramatic impacts” of climate change and ocean acidification on Antarctic marine organisms and has lectured on the subject in Europe and North America.
“Antarctica, like the Arctic, is a barometer of climate change … of what we all collectively face due to a human-induced warming climate and ocean acidification,” McClintock told Iron City Ink in 2016, at the time of his selection as a member of the famed New York-based Explorers Club.
And the work of McClintock and some of his UAB colleagues in studying marine biology in Antarctica continued this past spring, beginning in February.
McClintock, biology professor and expedition co-leader Chuck Amsler and four other researchers with UAB ties spent 16 weeks at Palmer Station researching the ecology of the Antarctic seafloor communities.
The veteran team, which has been engaged in research expeditions to Palmer Station for 19 years, focused their research on the continuing studies of the National Science Foundation-funded research program on the chemical ecology of Antarctic marine algae and invertebrates.
“Our research is important to understanding these vibrant communities, and we use unique features of Antarctica as tools that allow us to learn things that are applicable worldwide but can best be studied there,” Amsler said in the news release.
The other members of the 2018 expedition team were Maggie Amsler, a research associate in the Department of Biology; Michelle Curtis, a graduate research assistant from UAB; Sabrina Heiser; and Cecilia Brothers, collaborating researcher and UAB graduate.
ALL OF US
UAB has received a five-year, $45 million award from the federal National Institutes of Health to support the Southern All of Us Network, part of the nationwide All of Us Research Program.
The aim of All of Us nationally is to enroll 1 million or more volunteers who share health information about themselves for many years.
It is hoped that the data gathered will allow medical researchers to prevent and treat a variety of health conditions more precisely.
Researchers are also seeking volunteers from communities that have historically been underrepresented in biomedical research.
UAB is the lead institution for the Southern All of Us Network, which seeks to recruit 93,000 participants from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
As the leader for the Southern All of Us Network, UAB will direct the efforts of 11 universities and medical facilities in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
The UAB program is led by Dr. Bruce R. Korf, chief genomics officer at the School of Medicine and Dr. Cora E. Lewis, chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health.
“We are honored to be a part of building one of the largest databases of its kind for health research, and we are excited that the data will reflect the diversity of our region and nation,” Korf said in the release.
Alabamians age 19 or older, regardless of health status, are eligible to enroll in the program by visiting joinallofus.org.
AFFORDABLE ONLINE
Two UAB online degree programs have been ranked among the most affordable in the United States by the rating service Great Value Colleges.
The Master of Public Health online degree, which is available in five different concentrations, ranked 15th on the Great Value Colleges top 20 list. Students enrolled in the program are charged in-state tuition, regardless of their residency.
The Collat School of Business online Bachelor of Science in finance degree ranked 26th out of the top 30 in the nation.
The rankings were compiled based on tuition value, student to faculty ratio, national recognition for educational excellence and discounted tuition for online students.