UAB Briefs: Saving back-to-school bucks, harnessing the genome

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 Iron City Ink at sydney@starnespublishing.com or jchambers@starnespublishing.com.

Saving money on back-to-school

It’s almost time for kids to go back to school, and UAB expert Stephanie Yates can help parents save money on their school items.

Yates is an associate professor of finance in the Collat School of Business and director of the UAB Regions Institute for Financial Education.

“Budgeting is key to shopping smart and saving as much as possible,” Yates said in a UAB news release. “Families who prepare and are knowledgeable about sales and different offers out there really benefit.”

For example, Yates said parents should be aware that their children will need supplies all year, not just in the fall.

“And this may be the only time of year they are on sale, so you should stock up now if you can,” Yates said.

Other tips—

Create an estimated cost list. Look at your student’s school supplies list, estimate the total costs of basic purchases and set aside funds for shopping.

Know your options. In addition to the usual big-big stores, check for bargains at thrift stores, auction websites. If your child wears a uniform, check with your school to see if they re-sell old uniforms.

Shopping online can be convenient for the busy parent or college student who does not want to make a few extra trips to the store, and it is a great way to compare prices and find coupon codes. Consider the cost of shipping and taxes when making higher-priced purchases.

Shop with a gift card, which can be used online and in the store. It also forces you to stick to a set budget because you can’t buy anything once the money on the card is spent.

Shop for school supplies during tax-free weekends. Alabama’s tax-free weekend is July 21-23 this year. There are also breaks on clothing and electronics. For details, go to the Alabama Department of Revenue website.

Eyes on Pell City

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital recently announced it will open a new full-service clinic in Pell City on July 24 to serve residents and St. Clair and surrounding counties.

The clinic will offer adult ophthalmology and optometry, pediatric optometry, eye exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses, cataract evaluations, glaucoma screenings, diabetic eye exams, dry-eye testing and an optical store.

For an appointment, call 205-812-0445 or visit the official clinic website.

Harnessing the genome

Full-scale recruitment for the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative has begun at University of Alabama at Birmingham clinics in Birmingham, according to a UAB news release.

The AGHI – a partnership between UAB and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology – was announced March 9 as one of America’s first statewide efforts to use genomic analysis to identify people at high risk for genetic disease.

The initiative will recruit a diverse group of participants from every Alabama county and provide free genomic analysis and interpretation.

The goal is to add 2,000 participants the first year and more than 10,000 over five years.

The first 100 participants were recruited in a pilot project in May.

“This project will result in immediate health benefits to some participants, and in the long term will help to address problems of chronic disease and rising health care costs in the state,” said Dr. Bruce Korf, AGHI co-director and chair of the UAB Department of Genetics.

Recruitment is now open in Birmingham at UAB Kirklin Clinic and Medical Towers in Birmingham. The process takes about 30 minutes. Participants learn about AGHI from patient navigators.

The majority of participants will undergo a genotyping array test, assessing some 650,000 identified genomic biomarkers. The genotyping test will look for the presence of variants in 59 specific genes known to contribute to disease and for which the potential for prevention or treatment exists.

All of the genetic information of consenting participants will be saved in a database for research use.

To learn more about the AGHI, call 855-462-6850 or go to uabmedicine.org/aghi.