Paul Erwin, MD, dean of the School of Public Health at UAB, has received the Doris Spain Award for Distinguished Service from the Tennessee Public Health Association.

The award is especially meaningful to Erwin due to his relationship with Spain.

"Doris Spain was my boss when I worked in the Tennessee Department of Health, and has been a mentor and friend," Erwin said. "She has devoted her career to the valuable work of the Tennessee Public Health Association, creating one of the strongest state affiliates of the American Public Health Association across the country."

Erwin has been a member of TPHA since 1991 and served as president from 2016 to 2017. Before joining UAB as the dean of the School of Public Health, Erwin was a professor and the head of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Department of Public Health, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

Since his appointment at UAB, he has joined the Alabama Public Health Association.