3 Awarded Professor Emeritus Status

Dr. Stephen Moser received his certificate of Professor Emeritus status from George Netto, M.D., Chair, in February. Dr. Moser retired from fulltime service to the Department in November 2018. Among Moser’s noted achievements in service to the University are election to the UAB Faculty Senate for three terms, where he chaired both the Affairs Committee and Finance Committee.

In service to the UA Health System, Dr. Moser served the UAB Hospital Clinical Microbiology Laboratory as Associate Director for nearly two decades and another seven years as Director, stepping down in 2018. He also worked on the Laboratory Information Systems committees and working groups to include installation of the Cerner Laboratory Module, and served eight years on the Infection Prevention Committee and Antibiotic Stewardship subcommittee of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

In addition, Moser provided research and service to MedMined, Inc., a medical information technology company he helped form with Stephen Brossette, M.D., Ph.D. whom he co-advised (defined the clinical topic) as an MSTP student earning his Ph.D. in computer science, which resulted in two patents.

“This service has had great impact on the practice of infection prevention nationwide, and I consider it my most significant contribution,” Moser said.

Brossette ultimately sold MedMined to Cardinal Health (CareFusion) in 2006 for $95 million. UAB has received more than $5 million from the sale and royalties to date, including some distribution to the Department of Pathology. Additionally, Moser has been principal or co-investigator on grants and contracts from NIH, foundations, and industry with total awards to UAB of more than $9 million. In 1999, he founded the UAHSF Fungal Reference Laboratory under the Department with grants from the HSF Endowment Fund. The laboratory participates in both basic and applied science research with the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine; School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and industry. This is a CLIA certified, CAP-accredited, and licensed by the Alabama as an Independent Clinical Laboratory.

Moser has authored or coauthored more than 100 peerreviewed manuscripts, 7 book chapters, 40 invited lectures, and over 120 presentations at national and international conferences. Beginning in 1992 and continuing through 2018, Moser participated in teaching Microbiology to medical, dental, optometry and graduate students, and Pathology residents. He is author of the Medical Student Microbiology Laboratory Manual, and served on the dissertation committees for and mentored Stephen Brossette (CIS), Daisy Wong (CIS) and Stephanie Momeni (Biology).

Moser has received international recognition as editorial board member and editor of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology published by the American Society for Microbiology, considered a top-tier journal in the discipline of Diagnostic Clinical Microbiology and distributed worldwide. Michael Conner, M.D.

Congratulations to Michael Conner, M.D., on earning emeritus status as professor, Anatomic Pathology. He held a secondary appointment in the School of Dentistry.

Dr. Conner has spent his entire career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, having earned his bachelor of science and doctorate of medicine degrees both at UAB. He diverged for a one-year pediatric internship at the University of Mississippi, before completing a residency program and then two fellowships, in hematopathology and surgical pathology, at UAB. 3

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STEPHEN MOSER, MD, (R) WITH GEORGE NETTO, MD, CHAIR, UAB PATHOLOGY.

DR. MICHAEL CONNER (R) WITH DEPARTMENT CHAIR GEORGE NETTO, MD Dr. Conner simultaneously had appointments in the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, working his way up from assistant to full professor in both. He taught coursework in both departments beginning in 1991, including assisting with the residents’ didactic lecture series and microscopic workshops from 1993 to present.

Conner’s clinical service covered both UAB Hospital and Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center labs. He worked as house staff in both pathology and ob-gyn in those facilities for nearly two decades.

In addition to his clinical work, Conner has served as a member of numerous specialty societies over the course of his career, and on committees ranging from teaching and graduate education advisory, to resident selection, to gynecologic oncology, and many more. He has also worked as reviewer and editorial board member on numerous journals, such as Modern Pathology, Human Pathology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Conner’s research interests focus primarily on surgical pathology of obstetrical and gynecological diseases, including immunohistochemical markers as related to diagnosis and prognosis of gynecological malignancies. His work has been funded by grants from the NIH and its various entities, including NHLBI, NICHD, and the National Cancer Institute.

In addition to his translational research, Dr. Conner has published dozens of abstracts and manuscripts, as well as several book chapters. Conner received his bachelor’s and his doctorate degrees from UAB, as well having completed several residencies within the hospital. In 1979, Conner completed a pathology residency at UAB and began as Chief Pathology Resident. Following this, Conner began a Hematopathology Fellowship and a Surgical Pathology Fellowship. CONTINUED FROM LAST PAGE

Andra Frost, M.D., Professor, Anatomic Pathology, retired in 2019 after more than 20 years as a surgical, cyto- and autopsy pathologist at UAB Hospital.

Dr. Frost started in the Department of Pathology as an associate professor in 1997, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology in 2006. She became full professor in both departments six years later.

Frost was medical director of the Cytotechnology Training Program in the Auburn University School of Sciences. She also served as scientist in the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Cell Adhesion and Extracellular Matrix Center.

She served as chair of numerous committees of pathology professional organizations, with an emphasis on training and cytopathology interests. She is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research, UCAP, and the American Society of Cytopathology,

While at UAB, Dr. Frost served as a mentor for numerous undergraduate and graduate students in both the medical and graduate schools. Before her appointments at UAB, Frost worked for Georgetown University Hospital and as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Georgetown University. She was a surgical pathologist and cytopathologist at George Washington University Hospital.

After moving to Birmingham, Dr. Frost served as a surgical pathologist/cytopathologist/autopsy pathologist at the local Veteran’s Administration Hospital.

Over the years, Frost’s research focus has been on diagnostic pathology within the breast and thyroid, as well as breast cancer biology. She provided effort on research grants funded by the NIH, NCI and other private organizations.

Dr. Frost has served on editorial boards for journals of cancer research, oncology and hematology, and biotechnology and histochemistry. She has been published in more than 118 manuscripts, 7 books, 98 abstracts and additional other publications. She gave invited lectures and served visiting professorships throughout her career at institutes around the country.