May 6, 2021
Dr. Martha Crowther, professor and associate dean for Research and Health Policy for The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, was named the 2021 Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award winner by UA’s Council on Community-Based Partnerships. Crowther was recognized for her “outstanding achievements in community engagement and her leadership role in advancement engagement scholarship and outreach at the University.” Crowther, a psychologist, also provides behavioral health care to patients at University Medical Center, which CCHS operates. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of California-Berkley and a master’s degree in public health with a focus on chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Veteran’s Administration Palo Alto Health Care System. Her research interests include aging and racial diversity in urban and rural populations with a focus on eliminating mental and physical health disparities in older adults.
Dr. Brian Gannon was promoted to clinical associate professor of pediatrics at The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. He is also a practicing pediatrician at University Medical Center, which the College operates. Gannon completed his undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University and graduated with his medical degree from the University of Tennessee School of Medicine. He completed three years of residency training in pediatrics at Saint Louis University’s Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Gannon has special interests in ADHD, multiple births, children with developmental delays and adoption.
Dr. Anne Halli-Tierney was promoted to associate professor of family, internal, and rural medicine, with tenure, at The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. Halli-Tierney directs the College’s Geriatrics Fellowship, is director of the Geriatric curriculum for the UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, which CCHS operates, instructs medical students and residents, and serves as assistant residency director for Clear Pathways of Excellence. She also cares for patients in the Family Medicine and Geriatrics clinics at University Medical Center, which the College operates. Halli-Tierney earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College and her medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She completed a residency in general internal medicine, a Geriatrics Fellowship and a Clinician Educator Geriatrics Fellowship at the Alpert school of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Her research interests are in end-of-life care and access to care for rural older adults.
Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, professor at The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences and director of UA’s Drug Delivery Group, was included on the Medicine Maker magazine 2021 Power List, recognized for his work in the category of Small Molecules. The list annually acknowledges those who contribute to the development and manufacture of new medicine products. The Power List was put together based on reader nominations and selection by an internal panel of judges. According to Medicine Maker, Kumar was cited for developing technologies that facilitate drug repurposing. Kumar also leads the biomedical sciences initiative of UA’s Alabama Life Research Institute.
