The Value of Vaccines

“Vaccines are one of our best tools for prevention and health protection,” said Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, a professor of Community Medicine and Population Health at the College of Community Health Sciences and a preventive medicine physician. During a presentation as part of Mini Medical School, the College’s collaborative program with The University of Alabama OLLI…


Grand Rounds: The Great Masquerader- GYN Edition

Between 5 and 12 percent of emergency visits to hospitals in the US are for complaints of abdominal pain. The cause can range from something as simple as indigestion to a ruptured colon. The difficult part for medical staff is knowing how to diagnose this common ailment. Women, especially those who are sexually active and…


Colonoscopies the Gold Standard: Other Screening Tools 

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the US, and last year the American Cancer Society began recommending screening at age 45 for those at average risk. The age had previously been 50. But many health insurers only pay for colonoscopies, considered the gold standard of colorectal cancer screening, for people beginning at…


Health equity still out of reach

African-American women are more likely to die of breast and cervical cancer than white women. African-American men are more likely to die of prostate cancer than white men. Hispanic and Native American women have higher rates of cervical cancer than women of other racial and ethnic groups. These disparities, as reported by the National Cancer…


New CCHS Faculty

Dr. Maryam Jafari Bidgoli joined the College as assistant professor of Health Economics in the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and the Institute for Rural Health Research. Bidgoli earned doctoral and master’s degrees in Economics from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She served as a visiting assistant professor of Health Economics for…


January 2019 Accolades: Dr. Robert Sheppard and Dr. Nathan Culmer

Dr. Robert Sheppard, associate professor of medicine and founder and director of the College’s Hospitalist Medicine Services and Hospitalist Medicine Fellowship, was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from The University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association. The award is given “For superior accomplishments and contributions to the University of Alabama School of Medicine.” Sheppard was…


Accolades: Dr. Robert Sheppard and Dr. Nathan Culmer

Dr. Robert Sheppard, associate professor of medicine and founder and director of the College’s Hospitalist Medicine Services and Hospitalist Medicine Fellowship, was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from The University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association. The award is given “For superior accomplishments and contributions to the University of Alabama School of Medicine.” Sheppard was…


Mission Moment: Millennials changing food trends, benefits everyone

Millennials are driving trends in the food industry, but those changes can help everyone, said Suzanne Henson, a registered dietitian at University Medical Center, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences. Henson, also assistant professor in the College’s Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine, gave the first presentation of the spring…


November 2018 Accolades

Dr. Gregg Bell, assistant professor in the College’s Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and Institute for Rural Health Research, provided a poster presentation about his research on National Data Centers at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego, California, November 10-14. Research on long-acting, reversible contraception conducted by…