35 Faculty Members Join 10 Medical School Departments

By Dirk Hoffman

Saikat Boliar, PhD, is an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology. His research focuses on understanding the biology of HIV-1 virus-host interplays that enable establishment of viral latency and persistence during anti-retroviral therapy.

He received his doctoral degree in virology from the University of Kentucky.

Boliar also holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry degree from West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences in West Bengal, India.

Jennifer A. Campbell, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor of medicine.

She is also a trained implementation scientist. Over the course of her training, Campbell has developed expertise in community and public health, health services research, qualitative and mixed methods research, and implementation science. 

Her research has focused on four broad areas:

• developing and implementing interventions that address existing health disparities in type 2 diabetes across the individual, community, and health systems
  
• understanding the role of structural factors that impact individual health indices, health systems, and population health
• evaluating the role of multidimensional adversity in diabetes clinical outcomes and patient reported outcomes, with a specific focus on the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• understanding the impact of social determinants of health on health outcomes among marginalized populations and communities in the US and globally

Campbell received her doctoral degree in public health from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and her Master of Public Health degree in community health education from California State University, Long Beach.

John S. Dimeglio, MD, is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and an outpatient psychiatrist.

He completed a general psychiatry residency at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, where he also earned his medical degree.

Leonard E. Egede, MD, is the Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine.

He is also president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine of the UBMD Physicians’ Group.

Egede is a nationally recognized health disparities researcher whose work focuses on developing and testing innovative interventions aimed at addressing and ultimately eliminating health disparities in chronic medical and mental health conditions that result from race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geographic location.

He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Egede came to UB earlier this year from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he was chief of the Division of Internal Medicine and director of the school’s Center for Advancing Population Science.

His postgraduate training and fellowship appointments include an internship and residency in internal medicine at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where he also served as chief resident. He completed a Health Services Research Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Egede earned his medical degree from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, and his master’s degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Obinna Ekwunife, PhD, is an assistant professor of medicine.

He is a health economist and implementation scientist whose research focuses on developing, testing and implementing cost-effective strategies to address health inequalities in adults with chronic diseases.

Ekwunife works on establishing cost-effective interventions to inform decision-making, particularly in low-income and marginalized settings.

He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington; a Takemi Fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health; and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology/University of Bremen.

Ekwunife received a certificate in health economics and outcomes research from the University of Washington and completed the professional certificate program in data sciences at Purdue University.

He received his doctoral degree in health economics from the University of Nigeria.

Mohammad S. El-Atoum, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

He completed an infectious diseases fellowship at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and an internal medicine residency at the Jacobs School.

El-Atoum received his medical degree from the University of Jordan.

He is board certified in infectious diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Patrick O. Kenney, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

He is a physician-scientist with clinical specialization in infectious diseases across the age spectrum.

In his clinical role, Kenney see inpatient consults at Oishei Children’s Hospital and Buffalo General Hospital, as well as outpatient pediatric patients at the UBMD Pediatrics clinic in the Conventus building. 

His basic and translational science expertise includes biochemistry, protein chemistry, microbiology, and related disciplines. 

Kenney completed a combined adult and pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He completed an internal medicine-pediatrics residency at the Jacobs School.

He received his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Alexus P. Ludwig, DO, is a clinical assistant professor of neurology.

She is a board-certified neurologist specializing in the comprehensive treatment of patients with epilepsy.

Her clinical practice focuses on providing comprehensive care for patients with epilepsy, with a particular passion for caring for women with epilepsy, especially during pregnancy, the postpartum period, and lactation.

Ludwig sees patients at both the UBMD Neurology clinic at Conventus and the UBMD Neurology clinic in Williamsville, while also providing consultation and inpatient management for adult patients with a wide range of neurological disorders at Buffalo General Medical Center.

She completed an epilepsy fellowship and a neurology residency, both at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She also completed an internship in internal medicine at the Jacobs School.

Ludwig earned her medical degree from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Lars-Kristofer Peterson, MD, is a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Marta Plonka, MD, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

She completed an emergency medical services fellowship and an emergency medicine residency at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Plonka earned her medical degree from the Jacobs School.

Lisa Ranzenhofer, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry.

Her research is focused on improving clinical interventions and subsequent outcomes for individuals with and those at risk for eating disorders and associated health concerns.

Ranzenhofer completed a fellowship and an internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

She received her doctoral degree in medical and clinical psychology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Andrew H. Rogers, PhD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Behavioral Medicine.

His lab is broadly focused on the intersection of chronically painful medical conditions and substance use. Rogers’ program of research seeks to use novel research methodology to identify biopsychosocial mechanisms of pain and substance use that can be targeted with brief, personalized behavioral interventions.

Rogers completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric pain at the University of Washington. He completed a clinical psychology internship at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

He earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Houston.

Susana Ruano, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

She completed a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a pediatrics residency at the Jacobs School.

Ruano earned her medical degree from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine.

Sonia Sharma, PhD, is an assistant professor of medicine.

Her interest is in disease progression, prognosis, and treatment effects for comorbid health conditions that fall within the cluster of common co-aggregating pain disorders now known as Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (COPCs).

A primary area of her research focus is to assess and characterize symptoms such as pain and fatigue, and critical brain processes such as executive function, that interfere with functional ability and quality of life in individuals with COPCs, to help patients better manage their symptoms and function.

Sharma completed a National Multiple Sclerosis Society postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, a postdoctoral research fellowship at Malmö University, and a postdoctoral fellowship and research career development at the University at Buffalo.

She earned her doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University at Buffalo.

Joseph T. Smith, PhD, is an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology.

His laboratory broadly focuses on uncovering the biomolecular mechanisms that regulate mitochondrial dynamics, metabolism, and cell differentiation in kinetoplastid parasites.

Kinetoplastid parasites infect millions of people worldwide, from the Americas to Africa and Asia, where they cause devastating consequences, ranging from permanent physical mutilations to chronic infections with a 30% mortality rate and no available treatment options.

The Smith lab’s primary model organism is Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness in humans and nagana disease in domesticated livestock across sub-Saharan Africa. Its secondary model is Trypanosoma cruzi, a related parasite that causes American sleeping sickness (Chagas disease) in Central and South America.

He earned a Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning associate level teaching certificate from the Univesity at Buffalo.

Smith earned his doctoral degree in biomedical science (molecular parasitology) from Meharry Medical College.

Katherine Vermilye, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

She completed her fellowship and residency training, and earned her medical degree, at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Rebekah Walker, PhD, is an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Population Health.

She is a health services researcher whose research aims to reduce and eliminate health disparities by addressing social and structural determinants of health, with particular emphasis on addressing the influence of food insecurity on adults with chronic disease. 

Walker completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina focused on health disparities, and gained exposure to multidisciplinary research incorporating public health, implementation science and community-based research principles.

She earned her doctoral degree in health and rehabilitation science at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her PhD focused on health services research with training in health behavior, health economics, and advanced regression techniques, including path analysis and structural equation modeling.

Eric Weidert, DO, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

He is a fellowship-trained pediatric rehabilitation medicine physician (also known as a pediatric physiatrist). His practice focuses on optimizing the health and function of children with disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders.

Weidert completed a pediatric rehabilitation medicine fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Sparrow Hospital/Michigan State University.

He earned his medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

The biographical information in the faculty profiles of the following new hires was incomplete at the time of publication:

Hamza F. Abbasi, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

Mausma I. Bawa, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

Ethan Craig, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of surgery.

Raphael Fraser, PhD, is a research associate professor of medicine.

Lisa Gentner, MD, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Kathleen J. Hoban, DO, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Zakariya T. Kashour, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

Lindsay Kosinski, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of orthopaedics.

Andrea Lazarus, PhD, is a research assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology.

Selina A. Mahmood, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of neurology.

Fiyinfolu O. Odemuywia, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

Helen A. Potter, MD, is an academic scholar in the Department of Surgery.

Osman A. Sharif, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

Evan W. Shaw, MD, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Evan Walsh, MD, is a clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Kristin Weidert, DO, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

Charles Wilber, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of family medicine.