UAB Briefs: Stories of Fountain Heights, saving lives, a Top 25

Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs, in which we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.

Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention?

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Stories of Fountain Heights

Once a place of pride for first-generation black homeowners and one of Birmingham’s first desegregated neighborhoods, the Fountain Heights area is now blocked off by two interstates and many of its houses are abandoned or decayed, according to a story at UAB News.

But Samantha Richardson, a graduating UAB senior from Pinson who has earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in art history, is doing her part to raise public awareness of the neighborhood’s plight and tell the stories of some of its residents.

Her 50-page publication, which tells the story of the community over the last 50 years, is part of the BFA exhibit staged at AEIVA by the Department of Art and Art History from April 24-May 6.

“I was initially interested in the area’s rich history as an entertainment district and a birthplace of the civil rights movement,” Richardson said in the story. “When I learned about the underserved community just north of the highway, I became fascinated by their story. … I’ve spent the past several months visiting the community center and local church, interviewing and photographing residents.”

While at UAB, Richardson did other undergraduate research designed to create awareness about underprivileged communities in Birmingham. For example, she co-directed a documentary film about two public housing communities impacted by poor conditions and worked on a branding campaign for the Foot Soldiers, a civil rights group.

She is already working as a freelance motion designer at Cayenne Creative, creating graphics for social media, designing print materials and producing videos.

See her work at samrich.net.

Stop the Bleed

Even at horrible mass shootings, there are people who die needlessly because nothing is done to stop them from bleeding out, according to Dr. Jeff Kerby, a UAB trauma surgeon.

“In events such as the shootings at the Pulse nightclub, in San Bernardino or Sandy Hook, we know that, in some cases, shooting victims bled out and died before first responders could arrive to perform emergency medical treatment,” Kerby said in a UAB news release.

The American College of Surgeons and Hartford Consensus have launched an awareness campaign -- called Stop the Bleed -- to provide the general public with the knowledge and tools to respond quickly in such situations, even before emergency personnel arrive.

“We are advocating that trauma kits, containing instructions, tourniquets, gauze and gloves, be located at public places such as courtrooms or schools, and that the public become educated in their use,” Kerby said.

For more information, go to the Stop the Bleed website, bleedingcontrol.org.

Taking the next step

The UAB Women and Infants Center will host a night dedicated to women at a Birmingham Barons game at Regions Field on Wednesday, May 3, at 7:05 p.m., according to a university news release.

Attendees will be able to donate new and gently used shoes for women in need at the YWCA Central Alabama.

“The shoes will be donated to…  help (the women) take the next step in their journey,” said William Andrews, chair of the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

UAB doctors will throw out the first pitch and sing the national anthem, as the Barons take on their Southern League rivals, the Mississippi Braves.

Making the Top 25    

The UAB National Alumni Society has announced the 2017 class of the UAB Excellence in Business Top 25.

The Top 25 award program, now in its fifth year, is designed to identify and celebrate the success of alumni business leaders. Each company must have been founded, owned or managed by a UAB graduate.

To see a complete list of honorees, click here.The awardees will be honored at a luncheon at the UAB National Alumni Society House on Friday, June 23, at 11:30 a.m.

Tickets to attend are $75 and can be purchased online.

A big grant

UAB will launch the Strategically Focused Obesity Research Center using a four-year, $3.7 million grant from the American Heart Association, according to a university news release.

The center will try to determine the metabolic abnormalities imprinted in the womb that contribute to excess weight gain in offspring that continues into adulthood.

Researchers will also seek to determine the underlying molecular and genetic causes of obesity.