Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Addictions; Family Medicine
I care for patients admitted to Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) and the Terrace House residence at Horizon Health Services as they withdraw and stabilize from drug and/or alcohol addiction. I also see patients at the UBMD addiction medicine ambulatory care office on Sweet Home Rd. There, I care for patients addicted to prescription opiate medications, alcohol or heroin and for patients with chronic pain syndromes who are addicted to prescription drugs. In addition, I am a consultant at the student health center on the Buffalo State College campus, seeing patients who are referred to me for evaluation of a possible or previously diagnosed substance use disorder.
I have an active research portfolio and focus on three main areas of study. I investigate clinical protocols for patients who have a chronic pain disorder that coexists with a prescription drug addiction. I aim to find ways to control pain in these patients while keeping them engaged in treatment for their addiction. In collaboration with the Center for Development of Human Services (CDHS) at Buffalo State College, I investigate clinical management strategies for pregnant women who have a prescription drug addiction. I seek solutions that will help ensure effective treatment—and help ensure these patients stay in treatment—toward the goal of successful newborn deliveries. I also conduct educational research related to the best practices for training physicians on addiction medicine topics, coordinating this work with the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM). Our objective is to ensure that addiction medicine physicians receive appropriate training, particularly as it relates to their role in preventing alcohol and drug addiction and identifying the beginning stages of substance problems.
I teach medical students, family medicine residents and psychiatry and addiction medicine fellows. During the summer, I mentor medical students conducting clinical research. Under a contract with ABAM, I work with UB colleagues to coordinate the national effort to develop addiction medicine fellowship programs and to standardize the curriculum offered in these programs. I conduct training sessions for Buffalo State College nurse practitioners, athletic directors and counselors to help them identify and intervene with students at risk for, or who manifest the early signs of substance use problems.