wp-contentointment Archives

Olmsted Center for Sight Names New President and CEO

March 28, 2013 by BNMCin Homepage, Member Institution(s), News2 Comments

The Olmsted Center for Sight Board of Directors elected Tammy Owen as the organization’s new president and chief executive officer.
Olmsted’s search committee underwent a national search for the successor of former president and chief executive officer, Ron Maier, after he retired in September 2012. There were 50 candidates being considered for the position. The seven-member search committee was able to narrow it down to three finalists. With over 20 years of experience working in health care operations, Owen was considered to be a great fit for the position.

Patricia Clabeaux, chairperson of Olmsted Center’s Board of Directors stated that “[Owen’s] strong background in health care management, with a special focus on service delivery, and a team-oriented, results-driven leadership style will serve us well.”

Throughout her 22 year tenure, Owen has held many leadership positions including vice president, ambulatory and rehabilitation services; vice president, strategic planning and network development; vice president, physician services; president, DeGraff Memorial Hospital; and president, Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital. In her most recent position, Owen served as the chief operating officer of the Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute.

A Boston native, Owen received her Bachelor of Science degree in physical education/athletic training and her Master of Science degree in sports medicine/education from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. She went on to receive both her Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy, and her MBA from the University at Buffalo.

She serves on numerous boards, has taught as an adjunct faculty member at both the University at Buffalo and Daemen College, and has been named in Buffalo Business First’s 2012 Top 50 Healthcare Executives and Women of Influence lists.

Owen will begin her tenure in April 2013, continuing the innovative provision of services for blind, visually impaired and physically disabled Western New Yorkers.

BNMC, Inc. Names New Chief Financial Officer

January 7, 2013 by BNMCin Campus-wide, News4 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, January 7, 2013

For more information, contact:

Kari Bonaro, Director of Communications
kbonaro@bnmc-old.local or 716.218.7157

BNMC, Inc. Names New Chief Financial Officer

(BUFFALO ) – The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC, Inc.) recently named Patrick J. Kilcullen its Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Kilcullen will be responsible for the accounting and financial operations of the BNMC and related entities.

He most recently served as Vice President of Finance and Administration for Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation in Williamsville, NY. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Albright Knox Art Gallery. He has also acted as an independent consultant and worked in the pharmaceutical and public accounting industries.

Kilcullen graduated with a B.B.A. from Niagara University. He resides with his wife and three children in Newfane.

ABOUT THE BNMC, INC.

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. is the umbrella organization created in 2001 by the institutions located within the Medical Campus. The BNMC, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, their 12,000 employees, and the community; coordinates activities related to sustainable planning, development and enhancement of its 120-acre space; and works to create a distinct, innovative environment that provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and active and healthy living. The BNMC, Inc. is led by a dynamic team dedicated to creating innovative, sustainable environments.

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UB Department of Medicine Names New Chief of Nephrology Division

October 1, 2012 by BNMCin Member Institution(s), NewsLeave a Comment

Release Date: October 1, 2012Contact: Ellen Goldbaum, goldbaum@buffalo.edu
University at Buffalo
716-645-4605

UB Department of Medicine Names New Chief of Nephrology Division

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Richard J. Quigg Jr., MD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and former chief of its nephrology section, has been named the inaugural Arthur M. Morris Chair in Nephrology and chief of the division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

A photo of Quigg is at http://www.buffalo.edu/news/13714.

The announcement was made by Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine in UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The primary focus of Quigg’s research laboratory is to identify pathogenic mechanisms that underlie kidney disease. He is nationally and internationally renowned for his research into diseases of the glomeruli. Glomerular diseases damage the clusters of blood vessels called glomeruli, which filter blood in the kidneys, letting protein and sometimes red blood cells leaks into the urine, ultimately interfering with proper kidney function.

Quigg’s research interests include the role of the complement system, a major factor in the body’s immune response and other defenses, in glomerular disease, lupus nephritis, and diabetic nephropathy. He uses a variety of contemporary techniques to investigate disease pathogenesis and to identify sites of potential therapeutic manipulation. In addition to using animal models, his lab is involved in clinical studies examining the role of the complement system in various kidney diseases and examining gene profiles from renal tissue obtained from patients with these conditions.

Quigg received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University. He completed his medical residency at SUNY Stony Brook and research and clinical fellowships in nephrology at the Boston University Medical Center. He was wp-contentointed to the University of Chicago in 1994 as an associate professor, and was promoted to professor in 2001. He served as chief of the Section of Nephrology at the university and was director of its Functional Genomics Facility. Before joining the University of Chicago, he was an assistant professor at the Medical College of Virginia.

RPCI Welcomes New Vice Chair to Surgical Oncology Team

August 7, 2012 by BNMCin Homepage, Member Institution(s), NewsLeave a Comment

Steven Hochwald, MD, FACS, has joined Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) as Vice Chair, Chief of Gastrointestinal (GI) Surgery and Professor of Oncology in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
He is the former University of Florida Edward M. Copeland Professor of Surgical Oncology. He was also the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Physician Leader of the GI Oncology Center at the University of Florida’s Shands Cancer Center. His research focuses on technical advances in minimally invasive esophageal and GI surgeries and developing new targets and agents for treatment of pancreatic and other GI cancers.

A graduate of John Hopkins University, Dr. Hochwald went on to receive an MD from New York University (NYU). He did his residency at the NYU Medical Center Department of Surgery, serving as Executive Chief Resident from 1996-97, and completed clinical and research fellowships in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

“There’s a well-developed infrastructure in Roswell Park’s surgical program and a collaborative atmosphere throughout the institution,” said Dr. Hochwald. “The Institute is poised to make significant advances that will benefit cancer patients, and I’m very pleased to be working alongside this outstanding team.”

He was featured on the Best Doctors, Inc.’s Best Doctors list. In 2007, Dr. Hochwald received the Cancer Liaison Physician Outstanding Performance Award from the Commission on Cancer. He is a member of many professional societies. He serves on numerous editorial boards including: Open Surgical Oncology Journal, World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, International Journal of Surgical Oncology, World Journal of Gastroenterology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, World Journal of Surgical Procedures and Cancer Reports. He has also served on several National Institutes of Health study sections and scientific advisory boards for the American Cancer Society.

“Dr. Hochwald has been a terrific addition to our surgical team,” said William Cance, MD, FACS, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology. “He brings so much as a surgeon, in his interactions with patients, as a mentor and instructor, and his research complements our program beautifully.”

UB Department of Medicine Names Head of Gastroenterology Division

July 17, 2012 by BNMCin Member Institution(s), News, ResearchLeave a Comment

News Release

UB Department of Medicine Names Head of Gastroenterology Division

Andrew H. Talal, MD, MPH, has been named chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.Download JPEG

Contact

Sara Saldi

saldi@buffalo.edu

716-645-4593

Release Date: July 17, 2012

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Andrew H. Talal, MD, MPH, associate professor at the Weill Cornell Medical College has been named chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition in the University at Buffalo’s Department of Medicine; he also has been wp-contentointed UB professor of medicine.

The announcement was made by Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine in UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Talal will join UB in September, when Thomas Mahl, MD, clinical professor, who recently served as interim chief, steps down; previously Michael Sitrin, MD, professor, had been leading the division.

Talal has an international reputation for his clinical and translational work in hepatology, the branch of medicine that deals with the liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas, and management of these disorders. He has been recognized as an authority on viral hepatitis in HIV-infected individuals. A board-certified gastroenterologist and hepatologist, he is a physician-scientist in the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, a consortium between Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

His research interests include: the development of biomarkers of the progression and treatment outcomes in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; the evaluation of hepatitis C virus-specific immune responses in injection drug users; treatment outcomes in special populations infected with hepatitis C virus (HIV/HCV co-infection, methadone maintenance, patients with bleeding disorders and thalassemia); and novel treatments for hepatitis C.

Talal currently is conducting research funded by such federal agencies as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control on HCV evaluation and treatment among patients in drug treatment programs and risk factors for AIDS among IV drug users.

Talal was the recipient of a Clinton Global Initiatives award from the W.J. Clinton Foundation in 2006, which fostered the development of treatment algorithms for hepatitis viruses B and C.

Talal earned his MD from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and received his MPH from the University of North Carolina. He completed his medical residency at the University of Iowa and research and clinical fellowships in gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina.

Before joining the Weill Cornell Medical College, he was a research associate and clinical scholar at the Rockefeller University in New York.

UB Medical School Names Dubocovich Senior Associate Dean for Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement

July 13, 2012 by BNMCin Member Institution(s), NewsLeave a Comment

News Release

UB Medical School Names Dubocovich Senior Associate Dean for Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement

New post reflects UB medical school’s emphasis on attracting — and serving — culturally diverse populations

UB’s Dubocovich is the new senior associate dean for inclusion and cultural enhancement in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Contact

Ellen Goldbaum

goldbaum@buffalo.edu

716-645-4605
twitter @egoldbaum

Release Date: July 13, 2012

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, chair of the University at Buffalo’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, has been named the inaugural senior associate dean for inclusion and cultural enhancement in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She will continue to serve as chair of the UB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

In making the announcement, Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences at UB and dean of the medical school, said: “In addition to being an outstanding scientist in molecular pharmacology and drug discovery, Dr. Dubocovich has the expertise, administrative leadership and visionary skills needed to develop and implement through the new Office of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement innovative programs that insure the school and the university are enriched through cultural enhancement.”

Cain explains that the new post was established in line with the school’s diversity policy, which seeks inclusion and cultural enhancement as a means toward achieving excellence for students and faculty, enriching the learning environment, strengthening the school’s ties to nearby communities and contributing in measurable ways to improving the health of the community.

“Diversity within medical school classes enhances the educational environment,” he said, “by helping students to break down stereotypes and racial biases and challenge assumptions; broadening students’ understanding of how language and culture affect medical care; teaching how embracing differences in race, ethnicity and other cultural experiences can enhance interactions between doctors, patients and their families; increasing students’ awareness of health and health care disparities in nearby populations; and increasing students’ interest in service to underserved communities and overall civic commitment.”

In 2008, Dubocovich was recruited to UB from Northwestern University, where she had founded and directed a highly successful professional development program for a diverse group of doctoral students in the biosciences.

In her first full year in Buffalo, she established a similar series of programs at UB, called Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences (CLIMB), which provides mentoring experiences for biosciences students at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels. The goal is to provide students from diverse populations the support they need to adapt and thrive in the biosciences, in college, graduate school and beyond.

This year, the program for graduate students, led by Dubocovich, was awarded a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health Initiative for Maximizing Student Development grant.

Cain said that the CLIMB programs complement the medical school’s other innovative Post-Baccalaureate Program and Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) initiatives.

UB Medical School Names Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics

July 10, 2012 by BNMCin Member Institution(s), News, ResearchLeave a Comment

News Release

UB Medical School Names Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Barnabei has conducted research on postmenopausal women through the Women’s Health Initiative and other federally funded studies

Dr. Barnabei will join UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on Oct. 1.

Download JPEG

Contact

Ellen Goldbaum

goldbaum@buffalo.edu

716-645-4605
twitter @egoldbaum

Release Date: July 10, 2012

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, the Patrick and Margaret McMahon Endowed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, has been named the

new chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Barnabei (pronounced Barnaby), who also will serve as medical director of Women’s Health Services at Kaleida Health, will join UB on October 1.

The hiring of Barnabei brings to eight the number of new chairs recruited by Michael E. Cain, MD, UB vice president for health sciences and dean of the UB medical school, in the past four years. These national hires, Cain says, are a critical piece of his strategic vision for the medical school’s future.

According to Cain, Barnabei rapidly emerged as the top candidate following a comprehensive national search, possessing all the skills needed to advance the UB department and expand its basic and clinical research programs in service of UB’s 2020 strategic goals. Under Barnabei, Cain says, the department will enhance the excellence of its graduate medical education and mentored research training programs. She will help develop and align a comprehensive clinical program at Great Lakes Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the community.

Barnabei has been an investigator on some of the most important clinical trials examining the effects of hormone therapy on postmenopausal women, including the Women’s Health Initiative, the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) and the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions (PEPI) trial. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and industry. Her early research focused on the genetics of the X chromosome as well as perinatal genetics.

Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Barnabei also is a certified menopause clinician. She provides obstetrical care in the low-risk setting and manages the gynecological care of women of all ages, with expertise in the care of the midlife woman and vulvar disorders.

Barnabei has held leadership positions at both George Washington University and The Medical College of Wisconsin in areas of women’s health and menopause. In recent years, she has been involved in hospital- and community-based activities aimed at lowering the infant mortality rate in inner-city African American children.

A native of Vineland, New Jersey, Barnabei received her PhD in biology and her MD from the University of Virginia. She did her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago. She served as an assistant professor and associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In 2010, Barnabei received the Outstanding Faculty Award from The Medical College of Wisconsin. She holds leadership positions in the North American Menopause Society and the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.