UAB, Birmingham to Expand Mini Medical School Program

By Hannah Echols | UAB News Shaundra Blakemore, M.D., and Brian Sims, M.D., Ph.D., were once students in the Birmingham City Schools system who had a passion for science. After college, they transformed their passions into a career by attending medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Fast forward, and they are returning to BCS classrooms to inspire the next generation of health care professionals. Launched in 2022 by the UAB Department of Pediatrics and administered through community engagement in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, the UAB Mini Medical School provides a series of virtual and in-person experiences to increase middle school students’ exposure to science, technology, engineering and math careers, with a particular focus on health care. After a successful first year with 25 students from across the Birmingham and Jefferson County areas, UAB partnered with Birmingham City Schools to expand the program for the 2023-2024 school year. They now have programming during the school day for 60 Birmingham City Schools students. Their partnership with the YMCA has continued to reach out to students beyond BCS during the after-school hours. “BCS helped pave our way to medical school and beyond,” said Sims, program co-director and professor of ...