Anne Zinski

Anne Zinski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, where she also serves as Director of Educational Research, Evaluation, and Assessment. She holds additional appointments as an Associate Scientist at the UAB Center for AIDS Research and the Minority Health & Research Center, reflecting her interdisciplinary contributions to public health and medical education.

Her research centers on enhancing educational practices in medical training, with a focus on the validity and reliability of clinical grading, real-time feedback mechanisms, and the prevention of learner mistreatment. She investigates how teaching methods, such as gamification and technology integration, affect student engagement and performance, particularly in foundational courses like microbiology.

Dr. Zinski’s scholarly work spans both medical education and HIV-related public health. Her recent publications analyze perceptions of mistreatment between students and preceptors, the impact of behavioral interventions on HIV care retention, and the role of psychosocial factors in patient outcomes. These studies often employ mixed methods, including surveys, focus groups, and longitudinal data analysis, and are published in journals such as Academic Medicine, Medical Science Educator, and AIDS and Behavior.

She has contributed to major research initiatives, including the iENGAGE trial, which evaluates behavioral interventions for newly diagnosed HIV patients. Her work highlights disparities in HIV care related to race, gender, and socioeconomic status, and emphasizes the need for structural improvements in clinical evaluation and patient support systems.

Dr. Zinski earned her PhD in Public Health Education and Promotion from UAB and began her career in the Division of Infectious Diseases, focusing on patient self-care behaviors. She transitioned to medical education in 2015, where she has since led program evaluation and research efforts to improve learner assessment and competency communication.

She actively collaborates with researchers across disciplines and has published on topics ranging from hepatitis C care linkage to psychiatric comorbidities in HIV patients. Her leadership in educational research continues to shape evidence-based practices in medical training and patient-centered care.