Overview

The Division of Preventive Medicine serves as the major focus for preventive medicine activities within the Department of Medicine. It includes over 20 faculty and a total staff of some 280. A research-oriented Division, its faculty contributes to knowledge of medical and health systems, behavioral aspects of disease, epidemiology, prevention, control, and disease outcomes. A focus on health disparities and women’s health guide many Division activities. Scientific Program Areas include:

• Cancer Prevention and Control
• Other Chronic Diseases including Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Obesity
• Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Methodology
• Addiction and Homelessness
• Behavioral Science

There are currently over 70 active projects with award amounts totaling more than $110 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Large-scale research projects include:

• Women's Health Initiative (WH, NIH) one of the largest projects ever to examine cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis in women;
• Prostate, Lung, Colo-rectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO, NCI) a collaborative effort designed to determine whether screening tests that detect the cancers under study at an early stage will reduce mortality;
• Look Ahead (NIDDK) a multi-center, randomized clinical trial addressing whether interventions designed to produce sustained weight loss in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes improve health;
• MI-Plus (NHLBI) and VA MI-Plus are two parallel studies investigating the dissemination of evidence-based practices  to community physicians in the care of post-myocardial infarction patients;
• Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA, NHLBI) a multi-center, longitudinal study examining how heart disease develops in adults. The Division has one of the Field Centers and the Coordinating Center.
• Alabama Cooperation for Cardiovascular Equity (ACCE, NHLBI) a partnership between UAB and a minority health serving system.
• Dental Practice Based Research Network Coordinating Center, a collaborative effort with the Network Chair office in the UAB School of Dentistry that is undertaking a series of studies of importance to general dental practice.

The Division works closely with other Divisions in the Department of Medicine and with other Departments and Schools within UAB. Several faculty members from outside the Division are actively involved in ongoing research and training activities and many have secondary appointments within the Division. Similarly, Division faculty members contribute to training and research activities housed elsewhere.

The Division has especially strong links with the Birmingham VA, where Division faculty have been funded recently to develop a health services research infrastructure. Also, the Division Director leads an innovative VA fellowship program to train post-residency physicians to become leaders in quality of care research and administration. It also has active collaborations with the Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation, charged with overseeing quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries in Alabama.

A National Research Service Award training program has been funded under the T-32 mechanism by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This program will train young investigators in clinical effectiveness research, also under the leadership of the Division Director.

The Division has formal links with the international research community. These include:

• a Fogarty-funded clinical research training program focusing on cardiovascular disease in India;
• a collaborative endeavor, also funded by Fogarty, for enhancing provider performance in drug addiction treatment in the Ukraine;
• a study of smoking factors among Brazilian women funded by the Canadian organization, Research for International Tobacco Control.

The Division houses a Multi-Center Studies Coordinating Center facility that functions synergistically with the Division’s Data, Information and Statistics Core (DISC). DISC is a strong infrastructure support unit involving 5 Faculty statisticians from across UAB, as well as some 21 full-time Division employees who provide statistical computing, data management, and information services support.

The Division’s research infrastructure also includes a research clinic with approximately 6,000 participant visits per year. The clinic has laboratory and imaging facilities including Dual Energy Xray Absorptiometry (DEXA), an MRI limb scanner, ultrasound and an X-ray system and graded exercise test facilities.

Also physically housed in the Division are:

• COERE - University-wide Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education
• RRSF - Recruitment and Retention Shared Facility
• MHRC - Minority Health and Research Center

In addition, Division faculty play leading roles in UAB’s Center for Health Promotion, Arthritis Center, Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Center for Aging, among others.