Inside Pediatrics Spring/Summer 2026

Perhaps the most salient sign of the team’s success so far is this: Patients who once had no choice but to go hundreds of miles away for treatment are now able to stay in Alabama for their care. “They are now being sent back to us by the doctors, who are saying, ‘Hey, UAB has a great program—go back there, you don’t need to come see us anymore,’” Gupta said. “So it has

been very fulfilling that people are recognizing we are acing our game here.”

With changes of this magnitude, Gupta believes the division can start to move from excellence to eminence, which was another of his goals when he first arrived. ●

FACULTY HIRED SINCE SEPTEMBER 2024

RAHMATH ALTHAF, D.O., an assistant professor, earned her medical degree from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in general pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia and her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at UAB. Her research and clinical interests include IBD and intestinal ultrasound.

SIRINE BELAID, M.D., an assistant professor, earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her residency in general pediatrics at the University of Iowa Stead Family’s Children’s Hospital and her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

BABAJIDE OJO, PH.D., an assistant professor, earned his doctoral degree in nutritional sciences from Oklahoma State University. He completed his postdoctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine. He received the NIH MOSAIC K99/R00 award in 2023. His research interests include using patient-derived intestinal organoids and murine models to determine how the environment (dietary components, therapies) shapes epithelial metabolism and differentiation in intestinal health and inflammatory bowel diseases.

STEPHANIE SAAYBI, M.D., an assistant professor, earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. She completed her residency in general pediatrics at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at UAB. She completed an additional fellowship in pediatric advanced hepatology and liver transplant at Northwestern University.

MAGGIE VICKERS, M.D., an assistant professor, earned her medical degree from UAB. She completed her residency in general pediatrics and her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Regional One Health. Her clinical interests include general gastroenterology, nutrition, and inflammatory bowel disease.

DAVID WILLCUTTS, M.D., an assistant professor, earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he also completed his residency in pediatrics and his pediatric gastroenterology fellowship. He completed an additional fellowship in pediatric advanced hepatology and liver transplant at the University of Colorado.

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Inside Pediatrics | Children’s of Alabama