A highly respected scientist, educator, administrator and physician, and national expert on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, Dr. Morgan is professor of nutrition sciences and medicine and director of the Division of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
During a typical week, Sarah Morgan, professor of nutrition sciences and medicine and associate dean of research compliance at University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB), will monitor research involving human patients, teach the concept of enteral formula feeding to medical students, see patients in the osteoporosis clinic, as well as conduct research on rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.
A native Iowan, Morgan received her undergraduate degrees in food and nutrition sciences and dietetics from Iowa State University (ISU). Influenced by her mother, a home economist, and her physician father, Dale Morgan, MD, 51MD, 56R anesthesiology, she discovered early on her interest in science, specifically chemistry, and food and nutrition science.
“It seemed like an excellent fit to blend science and home economics,” said Morgan. “At ISU, I was required to do a summer nutrition practicum, which I completed at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It was a tremendous experience for me, and convinced me to become a physician.”
During her postdoctoral fellowship in clinical nutrition at UAB, she also completed a master’s degree in clinical nutrition. While taking a biochemistry course, the first scientific papers were being published on using methotrexate (an antifolate) to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Morgan was interested in the effects of methotrexate on folate metabolism in the body and hypothesized that patients taking methotrexate developed a folate deficiency, explaining some of the side effects. After 20 years of research on the topic, she is considered an authority on folate metabolism in rheumatic diseases.
Outside of the laboratory, Morgan sees about 30-45 patients per week at the Birmingham VA Medical Center and UAB Hospital and the Osteoporosis Treatment Clinic. “I enjoy working in the Osteoporosis Clinic, which I helped to develop and now manage. I also provide nutrition support for patients in intensive care units,” said Morgan. “I also work toward accreditation of our DXA service (bone densitometry). I read about 125-150 bone scans per week.”
Dr. Morgan and her father also hold a special honor as the only father and child recipients of the UI Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Awards.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor that the UI Carver College of Medicine bestows upon its outstanding graduates. Established in 1998, this awards program recognizes our former students and colleagues who have transcended their fundamental roles as health care providers, scientists and educators to become influential participants in the advancement of the art and science of medicine. Excellence in these areas brings pride and distinction to The University of Iowa and our Carver College of Medicine.