Written by Shawna Masters, Heersink School of Medicine News, October 21, 2022
Alan T. Tita, M.D., Ph.D., professor and senior vice chair of Research and Innovation in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN), has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
Induction into NAM is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine. Membership within the Academy recognizes those who have made major contributions to advance health care, medical sciences, and public health and have demonstrated a dedication to service.
“I am thankful to the Academy and the members who nominated me for this recognition,” says Tita. “This is the result of the support of our department and institution and extensive collaborations.”
The Academy specifically praised Tita as “an innovative and impactful perinatal epidemiologist and clinical trialist.” They noted his leadership of “large, collaborative, multi-center national and international trials and observational studies that have shifted practice and policy and improved the quality of national and global obstetric care.”
Tita, who was recently named the Mary Heersink Endowed Chair in Global Health, also serves as associate dean for Global and Women’s Health and director of the Center for Women’s Reproductive Health at UAB.
“This is amazing and humbling,” says Tita. “I have benefitted from the support and collaboration of so many colleagues and mentors. This is crucial for successful clinical research, and I think this honor rewards that collaboration.”
In 2022, alone, Tita led the groundbreaking Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and he was selected to lead the Coordinating Center of the P3 (Pregnancy and Postpartum/Postnatal) EQUATE (Enhancing Access and QUAlity To Achieve Equitable Maternal and Infant Health) Network.
