Medical alumni president: activist, advocate for youth

By LOIS BAKER
News Services Editor

Coyne, a pediatrician and ordained priest, is medical director of Memorial Pediatrics at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. A 1985 graduate of the medical school, he holds bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Louis University.

Ordained into the Catholic priesthood in 1971, he changed from Roman to Eastern rites in 1984, joining the Greek Orthodox Church. A committed activist, he worked with youth in St. Louis' inner city while in college and graduate school, and volunteered at various hospitals. He also has worked in refugee camps in Thailand and Haiti.

In the 1960s, Coyne performed with the singing group, "The Mission," which appeared on the Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen and Mike Douglas shows. He later became a vice president of Crunch Records, a subsidiary of Paramount Recording Co.

Once he became a physician, his activism centered on medicine. He served concurrently as medical director of the Erie County Holding Center and as medical director of the Roberto Clemente Pediatric Center of Children's Hospital on Buffalo's West Side. By the time he left the clinic in 1993, patient visits had increased five-fold. In 1991 he spent several weeks setting up medical clinics for northern Kenya's nomads.

He has broadened significantly the reach and services provided by Memorial Pediatrics, which opened 10 new pediatric rooms in 1994. He helped create the Child Advocacy centers in Niagara and Erie counties, which serve children who have been physically or sexually abused, and continues to serve as medical director of both agencies.

Barlow, an anesthesiologist, is medical director of the Millard Fillmore Surgery Center in Williamsville, and chair of anesthesiology for Millard Fillmore Health System. A UB clinical associate professor of anesthesiology, he graduated from the medical school in 1966.

Maher is a 1985 graduate of the medical school and a UB clinical instructor of medicine. A specialist in family medicine, she is emergency department attending physician at Medina Memorial Hospital.