News Archive 2016

December 22, 2016
By Vincent Yang, MD. PhD, Simons Chair of Medicine

 

 

Dear Members of the Department of Medicine Community:

It is my pleasure to announce the recipients of the 2017 Pilot Project Grants program in the Department of Medicine. We received a large number of applications which were reviewed by an expert panel of faculty volunteers. I am delighted to announce that four grants were selected for funding. They are:

Nirvani Goolsarran, M.D. (Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Hospital Medicine; Lisa Strano-Paul and Latha Chandran, Co-Mentors)
Project Title: Systems Based Thinking in Medical Education: Developing an Approach to Competency in Quality and Patient Safety. A retrospective pilot study.

Dr. Nirvani Goolsarran

Dr. Lisa Strano-Paul
javed-butler
Dr. Latha Chandran
Chelsea Estrada, M.D. (Division of Nephrology and Hypertension; Sandeep Mallipattu, Mentor)
Project Title: STAT3-KLF4 Signaling Mediates Renal Endothelial Injury in Antibody Mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Dr. Chelsea Estrada

Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu
Weiqin Lu, PhD (Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Vincent Yang, Mentor)
Project Title: Interplay between NADPH Oxidase and Mutant KRas in Pancreatic Inflammation.

Dr. Weiqin Lu

Dr. Vincent Yang
Nadia Hasaneen, M.D. (Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Geoffrey Girnun, Mentor)
Project Title: Role of Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) in Lung Fibrosis (funding partially provided by VAMC Northport).

Dr. Nadia Hasaneen

Dr. Geoffrey Girnun
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the applicants and their mentors for submitting the proposals. I would also like to thank the reviewers for their effort in reviewing the applications and providing constructive comments. The review committee was chaired by Dr. Marie Gelato and includes the following members: Drs. Hussein Foda, Susan Lane, Getu Teressa, Minsig Choi, Bill Lawson, Dennis Mynarcik, Ashley Snider and Roy Steigbigel. Mr. Ivan Crnosija provided statistical review. A special appreciation goes to Dr. Bill Lawson for his generous financial support of the program and to Dr. Hussein Foda for funding a project related to the VAMC Northport. Their combined effort in promoting the scholarly activities of the department is much appreciated.

Once again, please join me in congratulating the awardees for their success and wish them the best in conducting their projects.

 

December 22, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 


Dr. Jules Cohen
Dr. Vincent Yang, Chair of Medicine, announced that at its most recent meeting, the School of Medicine’s Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) Committee, had recommended the promotion of Dr. Jules Cohen in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, to Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, pending on the approval of the President. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jules Cohen on the well-deserved and outstanding accomplishment.

 

November 22, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

Dr. Susan Lee The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) acknowledged that the Level 3 NCQA PCMH application of Stony Brook Internists had been successful and had been granted Recognition. Dr. Susan Lee of Primary Care is the lead for this application. Congratulations on such a great achievement!

The following clinicians are linked to this Recognition:
  • Lisa Strano-Paul MD
  • Tracey Spinnato MD
  • Irene Hwu MD
  • David Goodrich MD
  • Jennifer Hensley MD
  • Scott Stein MD
  • Rachel Wong MD
  • Susan Lane MD
  • Kimberly Kranz MD
  • Catherine Nicastri MD
  • William Wertheim MD
  • Susan Lee MD
  • Donna Heinemann MD
  • Stephanie Jones MD
  • Diane Klein-Ritter MD
  • Bibi Zainul MD
  • Suzanne Fields MD
  • Mandeep Patel MD

 

November 21, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

Dr. Vincent Yang, Chair of Medicine, announced that at its most recent meeting, the School of Medicine’s Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) Committee, had recommended the promotion of the following faculty members in the Department of Medicine:

Dr. Jonathan Buscaglia
Dr. Jonathan Buscaglia, Division Chief of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, to Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure; and

Dr. Sam Parnia
Dr. Sam Parnia, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, to Associate Professor of Medicine with Tenure.
All promotions are pending on the approval of the Chancellor of SUNY. Please join us in congratulating Drs. Buscaglia and Parnia, on the well-deserved and outstanding accomplishment.

 

November 18, 2016
By Jonathan M. Buscaglia, MD & Vincent W. Yang, MD, PhD

 

 

Dr. Juan Carlos Bucobo Please join us in congratulating Dr. Juan Carlos Bucobo for his new position within Stony Brook Medicine as Assistant Dean for Clinical Outreach. In his new role, Dr. Bucobo will work alongside Dr. Basil Rigas and Dr. William Wertheim, identifying and recruiting highly-skilled community practitioners into Stony Brook Community Medical (SBCM). Juan Carlos will help manage the SBCM practices in their promotion of quality, effective and accessible care; and work on clinical integration of the SBCM with the current CPMP and SBUH practices.

Juan Carlos has been part of the Stony Brook family since his residency and GI fellowship days. After completing additional training in advanced endoscopy from the Cedars Sinai/UCLA program, he joined the Department of Medicine in 2010 as full-time faculty. He has served as Chief of Endoscopy for SBUH since 2012, and was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine. This year, Juan received special recognition by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for his exceptional service to this international organization, and his overall commitment to quality in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Dr. Bucobo will continue his work as a clinical gastroenterologist, specializing in advanced therapeutic endoscopy and GI cancers. We look forward to watching him flourish in this additional role within the University. Again, join us in congratulating Dr. Bucobo for his achievement!

 

September 6, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

Dr. Javed Butler Dr. Javed Butler's grant application focusing on the effect of HIV infection on cardiac structure and function was funded by the Office of Aids Research at NIH. This 5.6 million USD grant will have multiple aspects of cardiac physiology assessed and will include an echo core lab at Northwestern, MRI core lab at Duke, and proteomics/metabolomics core lab at Duke as well. The coordination will be from Stony Brook and will lead us to better integrate in CV research with other peer institutions.

 

September 6, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

Dr. Allen Jeremias Dr. Allen Jeremias successfully brought a live course on coronary physiology and intravascular imaging to Stony Brook. We will be one of the four sites in the country for this course and the only one in Northeast. This course is focused on teaching interventional cardiologist and other staff the precise assessment of the hemodynamic impact of a specific coronary stenosis as well as how to optimize stent procedures by using intravascular imaging.

 

August 29, 2016
By Stephen Feller (Credited to UPI)

 

 

Dr. Benjamin Luft "CHICAGO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A study of first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York confirmed a link between post-traumatic stress disorder and the development of cognitive impairment, which researchers say affects the treatment of first responders as well as military veterans and other people with PTSD.

Patients with PTSD should be monitored for signs of cognitive impairment, according to researchers at Stony Brook University, based on research consistently showing one condition can be predictive of the other after particularly traumatic experiences.

Previous research has linked PTSD, major depressive disorder and cognitive impairment, though researchers say the new study, published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring, is the first to show increased incidence of impairments in civilian responders to the terror attacks who did not sustain head injuries.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started the program in 2002 in order to monitor the health of police, firefighters and other officials who participated in the search, rescue and cleanup efforts after the attack.

More than 33,000 responders enrolled in the WTC Health Program and roughly one-fifth have developed PTSD, making the results of the research significant and far-reaching.

'This is a problem we must solve,' Dr. Maria Carrillo, chief science officer at the Alzheimer's Association, said in a press release. 'The silver lining in these troubling new findings is that they will help us better understand the relationship between PTSD, cognition and dementia. More research is needed in this area. This is crucial so that we can provide better care for all individuals who experience PTSD.'

For the study, the researchers screened 818 responders at Stony Brook University who reported for annual monitoring visits for cognitive impairment and dementia.

Roughly 12.8 percent of responders in the study had indications of cognitive impairment and 1.2 percent showed signs of possible dementia, which researchers extrapolated out to estimate that overall between 3,740 to 5,300 responders may have cognitive impairment and 240 to 810 may have dementia.

'These numbers are staggering, considering that the average age of responders was 53 during this study,' said Dr. Sean Clouston, an assistant professor of public health at Stony Brook University. 'If our results are replicable, doctors need to be aware of the impact of cognitive impairment among individuals who have experienced traumatic events leading to PTSD. For example, cognitive impairment can compound the course of PTSD and depression, impairing the person beyond the impact of PTSD itself.' "

 

Dr. Ashley Snider            Dr. Ashley Snider

Dr. Ashley Snider, a faculty member in Gastroenterology is a recipient of a 2016/2017 Targeted Research Opportunity Fusion Seed Grant Award – Obesity High Fat Diet and Colon Cancer Racial Disparity.  Congratulations Ashley!

Ashley and her Co-Investigator Dr. Jennie Williams will dissect the alterations in colonic pathobiology unique to African American colorectal cancer patients, including the impact of high fat diet and obesity on the colon proteome and the impact of specific fatty acids on tumor formation.

Image: Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu
  Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu

Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension has been awarded a grant from the American Heart Association entitled Krüppel-Like Factor 15 is critical to the identification of novel therapeutics in chronic kidney disease.  Congratulations!

In the June 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Dr. Mallipattu published an article entitled Krupple-Like Factor 15 Mediates Glucocorticoid-Induced Restoration of Podocyte Differentiation Markers.  The contents of this publication underpin the grant he was just awarded that intends, in its third specific aim, to identify novel small molecules that up regulate KLF15 gene expression.  This is classical translational research and hopefully will discover chemical leads that will ultimately result in effective therapeutics for diseases such as Focal Segmental Glomerular Sclerosis, HIV-associated nephropathy and Diabetic Nephropathy.

Dr. Joshua MillerDr. Joshua Miller

 

Dr. Joshua Miller, a faculty member in Endocrinology, is a recipient of a 2016/2017 Targeted Research Opportunity Clinical Research Award – Diabetes, glycemic control & progression to colon cancer.  Congratulations Josh!

Josh and his co-investigators Dr. Ellen Li, Dr. Jonathan Buscaglia, Dr. Igor Kravets and Dr. Juan Carlos Bucobo will analyze the effects of glycemic control and insulin resistance on the progression of colorectal cancer along the adenoma-carcinoma pathway in patients with diabetes mellitus.  This study will provide data crucial to Dr. Li’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant application investigating Colorectal Cancer.

 

Dr.Getu TeressaDr.Getu Teressa 

 

Dr. Getu Teressa, a faculty member in Hospital Medicine is a recipient of a 2016/2017 Targeted Research Opportunity Pilot / Feasibility Study – Diagnostic Utility of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiogram in Stable Patients with High Pre-Test Probability.  Congratulations Getu!

Getu and his co-investigator, Dr. Javed Butler will test the hypothesis that Coronary Computed Tomography Angiogram use in stable chest pain patients with high pretest probability and no known coronary artery disease is safe, efficient, and improves diagnostic yield of invasive coronary angiography.  Given mounting evidence that the pretest probability assessment algorithm over-predicts the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease and the high rate of low-yield invasive coronary angiography in contemporary practice, such a study is important and can bridge the evidence gap in the evaluation of this patient population. 

 

 

June  2016

 

 

Dr. William Lawson of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine received the Clinical Service Award for consistent superiority in ability, availability and affability in patient care and in cooperation with other providers and/or initiated improvements to enhance patient care.  Other nominees were Dr. L. Baer, Dr. J. Fuhrer, Dr. D. Goodrich, Dr. S. Lee, De. A. Mani and Dr. A. Patnaik.

Dr. Kathleen Stergiopoulos of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine received the Clinical Research Award for an original clinical research manuscript published in a peer-reviewed journal within the last 18 months.  Association of cardiomyopathy with adverse cardiac events in pregnant women at the time of delivery. Journal of American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure 3, 257-266 (2015).

Dr. Agnieszka Bialkowska of the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology received the Basic Science Research Award for an original basic science research manuscript published in a peer-reviewed journal within the last 18 months. A novel small molecule that efficiently inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer xenografts in mice. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 15, 72-83 (2016). The other nominee was Dr. N. Hasaneen.

Dr. Nand Wadhwa of the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension received the Mentoring Award for excellence in mentoring junior faculty, fellows, residents or students in their career development and/or research as demonstrated by career advancement or research productivity.  Other nominees were Dr. M. Bloom and Dr. L. Lense.

Dr. Sahar Ahmad of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine received the Teacher Educator Award for consistent dedication and high quality in teaching and empowering the learning of students, residents, fellows, junior faculty, or peers.  Other nominees were Dr. L. Gruberg and Dr. A. Mani.

image
From the left, Dr. William Lawson (Clinical Service Award), Dr. Kathleen Stergiopoulos (Clinical Research Award), Dr. Agnieszka Bialkowska (Basic Science Research Award), Dr. Nand Wadhwa (Mentoring Award), Dr. Sahar Ahmad (Teacher Educator Award), Dr. Marina Charitou (Chair of the Faculty Awards Program), Dr. Edward Nord (Chair of the Faculty Development Committee) and Dr. Vincent Yang (Simons Chair of Medicine)

 

June 7, 2016
By Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society

 

 

Dr. Susan Lane Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society has announced the recipients of its 2016 Alpha Omega Alpha Fellow in Leadership Award. The three fellows were selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates from medical schools and institutions across the country. The three fellows are:

Brian Clyne, MD (AΩA, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2016, Alumnus), is an Emergency Medicine physician at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Clyne serves as Vice Chair for Education for the Department of Emergency Medicine; Associate Professor of Medical Science and Emergency Medicine; Co-Program Director for the Medical Education Research Fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital; and Attending Physician at both Miriam Hospital’s and Rhode Island Hospital’s Emergency Departments.

Nora Gimpel, MD (AΩA, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2016, Faculty), is a Family Medicine physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. Gimpel serves as Chief of the Community Health Section, the Department of Family and Community Medicine; Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine; and the Director of the Community Medicine Fellowship Program for the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Susan Lane, MD(AΩA, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, 2011, Faculty), is an Internist at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Dr. Lane serves as Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine; Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Medicine; and the Internal Medicine Residency Program Director.

The fellows will each receive $25,000 to be used fund their respective leadership development projects. They will also receive coaching and mentorship from nationally renowned leaders in medicine to help them exemplify the qualities of leading from within, AΩA’s professional values, and the concepts of servant leadership.

Previous fellows have attributed this award to preparing them for career advancements, taking on more responsibility, and better advocating for their needs.

“I am very impressed with the quality of this year’s fellows,” says Richard L. Byyny, MD, FACP, Executive Director of Alpha Omega Alpha. “The AΩA Fellow in Leadership Award is a unique opportunity to support emerging physician leaders in their careers and give them new leadership opportunities in medicine. This group of fellows joins our six previous AOA Fellows in Leadership in becoming the next generation of leaders in medicine.”

 

April 5, 2016
By Yvonne Spreckels, MPA, Director, Department of Community Relations

 

 

Dr. Minsig Choi Dr. Minsig Choi was selected to receive Stony Brook Medicine’s Distinguished Community Service Award. This award is given to individuals who performed the most community service in 2015. The award was presented to Dr. Choi at the Michael A. Maffetone Community Service Award Ceremony and Reception on Thursday, March 31. The event was emceed by SBUH CEO L. Reuven Pasternak and was held in the HSC Galleria.

 

March 4, 2016
By Joseph H. Laver, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Stony Brook Medicine

 

 

Dr. Joshua Miller Dr. Joshua Miller, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, has been appointed as the Medical Director of Diabetes Care for the Stony Brook University Hospital.

This position was created to provide focused and innovative leadership with the intention to elevate and enrich diabetes care in the Stony Brook medical community. In his short time here, Dr. Miller has emerged as a natural leader and energetic physician champion for diabetes care at many fronts. As a person with type 1 diabetics, he has a strong rapport with patients and keen knowledge of the challenges they face in managing their disease. Under his direction, we are confident that Stony Brook Medicine can build the first truly comprehensive diabetes program in the region. Dr. Miller is charged with the mission of spearheading and transforming diabetes care at Stony Brook by overseeing program quality, content, process redesign, efficiency and regulatory compliance. His major responsibilities will be focused on, but not limited to, inpatient diabetes care at Sony Brook University Hospital, as well as:

- Establishing standards and processes for care and education that adhere to national best practices
- Implementing systems for measuring outcomes and reporting findings
- Supporting the Hospital in maintaining accreditation by the American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Program
- Enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and staff educational programs
- Chairing the multidisciplinary Hospital Diabetes Advisory Committee (DAC)
- Providing clinical leadership to the Stony Brook medical community population health management efforts that seek to implement evidence-based strategies for adult diabetes care in selected high-risk populations.

Dr. Miller also maintains a close involvement in information technology initiatives that seek to standardize diabetes protocols and outcome measurement. In the area of population health, Dr. Miller leads a key Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) project related to diabetes and chronic disease management. He is currently facilitating a Joslin Diabetes Center-supported gap analysis of our clinical and educational offerings for patients with diabetes whose outcome will help direct future investment decisions in diabetes-related services.

 

March 2, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

Dr. Juan BucoboDr. Jonathan Buscaglia Stony Brook Medicine’s Endoscopy Unit was awarded continuing recognition on February 21, 2016 by the American Society of Gastroenterology Quality Endoscopy (ASGE) as a unit committed to delivering quality and safety in endoscopy.

The ASGE’s Endoscopy Unit Recognition Program honors units that have demonstrated dedication to quality improvement and places our organization and staff at the forefront of integrating quality, safety and efficiency into clinical practice. Under the leadership of Juan Carlos Bucobo, MD (Director of Endoscopy) and Karen Wiederkher, RN (Nurse Manager for Endoscopy), the endoscopy unit has maintained policies, credentialing, staff training, competency assessment and quality improvement activities in order to be eligible for this award. Stony Brook Medicine’s Endoscopy Unit has been recognized for our commitment to providing high-quality endoscopic care since the program’s inception in 2008 initially under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Buscaglia.

The recognition allows us to use the ASGE “Quality Star” logo. The nationally recognized star is granted to programs that meet the ASGE rigorous criteria. The quality star informs our patients, referring physicians, surveyors and others that we are committed to the highest standards of quality care related to endoscopy.

This award distinguishes the entire interdisciplinary team and all the services that support that team together as providing the highest standards of endoscopy care.

 

February 29, 2016
By Department of Medicine

 

 

          Left: Dr. Nirvani Goolsarran; Right: Dr. Carine Hamo Dr. Carine Hamo MD, one of our rising chiefs, was selected for giving both a platform and poster presentation at the ACGME Annual Meeting for a patient safety project: “Minimizing Harm: Teaching Patient Safety Using an Interprofessional, Team-Based Learning (TBL) Simulation Model”.

Dr. Nirvani Goolsarran MD led the project team which included, Drs. Carine Hamo MD, Wei-Hsin Lu PhD, Stacey Frawley RN, Colby Rowe MS, and Susan Lane MD.