2025 Annual Report

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

to reduce barriers and connect silos,” he said.

step-down units and cardiovascular perioperative areas. He then worked closely with Children’s leadership on staffing and operations planning. On October 14, 2012, the program moved into the new building—seamlessly. The success of the move laid the foundation for a quantum leap in the ability of the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center of Alabama to provide state of-the-art care. Today, the program consistently ranks among the top performing pediatric and congenital heart centers in the nation by numerous metrics, and the Society of Thoracic Surgery has classified the program as an overperforming center—one of 12 in the country. For Lau, who served as the division director of pediatric cardiology from 2012 until his appointment as chair in 2025, the experience left a lasting impression about what’s possible when Children’s and UAB work together. “The opening of the Heart Center marked one of the most satisfying periods of my career,” he said. As he steps into his new role, he hopes to lead more collaborative efforts with similarly meaningful impact. The Heart Center’s success is a powerful example of the synergy between Children’s and UAB—a synergy Lau believes can grow even stronger. “What I’ve seen is a real willingness among leadership across both institutions

Lau has outlined three key priorities to strengthen that collaboration: maximizing current resources in clinical care, education and research; strategically recruiting and developing faculty; and building a resilient foundation of financial stability and physician well-being.

Education and research are cru cial parts of his strategy, and UAB and Children’s have a history of successful collaboration on both. From an education perspective, Children’s serves as the teaching hospital for the UAB pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. “There’s this deep core of understanding between Chil dren’s and the department that we are really training the future physicians for the state,” Lau said. And that’s a crucial role in a state that, Lau says, needs more physicians and pediatricians. “Part of our duty here is in our obligation to do that,” he added. On the research side, the two institutions work together to “advance knowledge for the children of Alabama and beyond for the future,” Lau said. This benefits both entities, sometimes leads to advancements and breakthroughs that influence the broader world of medicine, and enhances the reputation of both. “When we collaborate more extensively and continue to strengthen those ties of collaboration, two important things happen,” he said. “First, children receive better care, now and in the future. Second, our faculty experience significantly greater job satisfaction.” Faculty support is another central pillar of Lau’s vision. Since becoming chair, he has met with many faculty members—some he’s long known, others he’s come to know better through these conversations.

“When we collaborate [...] two important things happen: first, children receive better care, now and in the future; second, our faculty experience significantly greater job satisfaction.”

YUNG LAU, M.D.

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CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA | UAB MEDICINE