Martinez recognized for working to eliminate hepatitis globally

UB faculty member Anthony D. Martinez is one of just eight individuals worldwide being recognized by the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination as 2024 Elimination Champions who are working to eliminate hepatitis globally.

The award “recognizes outstanding individuals in acknowledgment of their contributions to health equity in the fight for global hepatitis elimination.” Awardees were recognized for having been responsible for “substantial and demonstrable improvements in hepatitis prevention, testing, care and treatment in their country or community.”

Martinez, associate professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, directs the “La Bodega” hepatology clinic at Erie County Medical Center, which has treated more than 5,000 patients since its opening in 2013. He has received multiple honors both nationally and globally for developing and leading a novel “co-localized” model for managing viral hepatitis and addiction disorders.

“Our work may not fix most of what is broken in the world, but our hope is to make some progress in equity in our society,” Martinez said in his acceptance interview with the coalition. “Most importantly, this award honors the team and it’s a great tribute to our patients. These folks have no idea how they have changed the world. They are the foundation for every single thing that we do.”

He notes the walls of La Bodega are inscribed with thousands of names and messages that have been left by the patients who were treated there and are now cured of HCV.

“Those names urge us on, a constant reminder of who we are fighting for,” he tells UBNow. “I think that’s what this award is about: the people who have made us.”

Because liver disease and addiction disorders are often connected, Martinez structured La Bodega as a comprehensive hepatology clinic with a built-in addiction medicine program; it utilizes an outreach team of social workers who partner with addiction facilities.

This year, the clinic has treated almost 300 patients, including high-risk pregnant women, using a new same-day, rapid-start model for HCV treatment.

“We are currently one of the only models implementing a rapid-approach start in the country (and globally) at this volume,” he explains.

The program has twice been awarded a New York State Department of Health Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award in honor of World AIDS Day.

Martinez’s clinic has also attracted national attention. Last winter, a senior adviser to the National Institutes of Health and the White House visited La Bodega to see how the program works and how it could be a model for national HCV elimination.  

La Bodega will also soon acquire newly FDA-approved point-of-care testing machines, which will contribute to the rapid diagnosis of HCV and could accelerate elimination efforts.

“We are in the final stages of acquiring two machines and implementing an outreach program in the addiction, incarceration and post-incarceration settings,” Martinez says.

He and his colleagues continue to spread the word about novel approaches to treating HCV and addiction disorders.

Over the past year, the team has presented nationally and internationally at about two dozen conferences, with more presentations coming up at the California Street Medicine Symposium; the International Conference of Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users; and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases conference.

“This achievement is a true testament to Dr. Martinez’s hard work, dedication to patient care and commitment to the field,” says Ramon E. Rivera, assistant professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. “He has not only made us proud locally, but has also become a great ambassador for the University at Buffalo on a global scale.”

Samuel D. Cloud, chief medical officer of Erie County Medical Center, is particularly appreciative of Martinez and his team’s dedication to ECMC’s mission and the patients they care for.

He adds: “There is no question that Dr. Martinez’s brainchild, La Bodega, has garnered widespread recognition for its pioneering approach to co-localized care. Most importantly, and what is reinforced every day, is the tremendously positive impact these efforts have had on our patients’ quality of life.” Cloud is also assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine in the Jacobs School.

Martinez works in the Division of  Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Jacobs School and sees patients through UBMD Internal Medicine.