UB Experts among Top Implantable Defibrillator, COPD Researchers
Published January 8, 2014 This content is archived.
Based on their published scientific articles, two University at Buffalo physician-scientists have been recognized as leading investigators in their medical specialties by the global health care information website Expertscape.
The service ranks Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of medicine, among the world’s top 10 implantable defibrillator experts.
In addition, Sanjay Sethi, MD, professor of medicine and chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, emerged as one of the nation’s top five experts in the research and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
UB was named one of the nation’s top five institutions for COPD research, along with Brigham and Women’s Hospital; the University of California, Los Angeles; The Johns Hopkins University; and National Jewish Center.
Rankings Based on Long-term Research Contributions
The rankings are generated from algorithms based on detailed reviews of articles appearing in the PubMed database — which draws from thousands of scientific journals — over the past 10 years.
The number of citations and a journal’s impact factor are among the criteria affecting the rankings.
Curtis is Noted Atrial Fibrillation Expert
Anne B. Curtis, MD
Curtis, who treats patients through UBMD, the university’s physician practice plan, is a leading clinical cardiac electrophysiologist and an expert in cardiac arrhythmias.
Her clinical research has significantly advanced knowledge of human cardiac electrophysiology and heart rhythm abnormalities.
She has been involved with 89 clinical trials and research studies as principal investigator, co-investigator, sponsor or steering committee member.
In 2013, she was first author on a New England Journal of Medicine paper on the Block HF (heart failure) trial she led, which demonstrated significant benefits from cardiac resynchronization therapy.
She also has published more than 272 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, reviews and editorials as well as a book on cardiac pacing.
In addition, Curtis has been a key contributor to guidelines on atrial fibrillation issued by the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines.
She was honored with a 2010 Distinguished Fellowship Award from the International Academy of Cardiology.
Sethi Researches COPD Mechanisms of Infection
Sanjay Sethi, MD
Sethi, who also is vice chair of research for UB’s Department of Medicine and a staff physician with the VA Western New York Healthcare System, has worked to redefine the role and understand mechanisms of infection in the pathogenesis of COPD.
He has led several innovative clinical trials in the treatment of COPD and has co-authored more than 150 research articles, reviews and book chapters.
He also has served on editorial boards for PLOSOne, Respiratory Research and Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews and has been a consultant for the development of global GOLD guidelines for COPD management.
Sethi’s clinical practice is located at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, where he runs the COPD Study Clinic, funded by the Veterans Health Administration, with Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine.
Research from this clinic has fundamentally changed how bacterial exacerbations of COPD are understood and managed.
In addition, through research funded by the National Institutes of Health, Sethi has worked to redefine how bacteria can harm the lung in COPD, even when patients are in their usual state of health. His current research is exploring why COPD patients become more susceptible to bacterial infection, thereby opening up new avenues for treatment.