Associate Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Cardiology; Cardiovascular Disease
As a general cardiologist, I care for patients with a spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, including acute and chronic manifestations of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathies, valvular disorders, arrhythmias and aortic and pericardial diseases. I have expertise in the role of echocardiography and nuclear cardiac imaging for the evaluation of cardiac disorders, including transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), nuclear stress testing (myocardial perfusion imaging), viability imaging and multiple-gated acquisition scan (MUGA) studies for evaluation of cardiac function. I also perform stress testing, electrical cardioversions to manage arrhythmias and interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs). I care for inpatients in the critical care and cardiac monitoring units (telemetry) at the Buffalo General Medical Center (BGMC) and the Gates Vascular Institute (GVI), and I provide consultative services there as well. I continue to provide care for patients after they are discharged from the hospital, and I also provide outpatient consultations at the UBMD Internal Medicine office in Amherst. I care for patients with chronic cardiac conditions, evaluate patients with chest pain or shortness of breath and provide preventative cardiology services for patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. I am also part of a multidisciplinary team that cares for patients with sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition that can affect the heart.
My research interests are focused on clinical cardiac imaging. They include using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to evaluate patients with mildly elevated biomarkers of cardiac injury and elucidate mechanisms of transient ischemic dilation of the left ventricle in patients without significant coronary artery disease. I also help supervise positron emission tomography (PET) studies at the UB Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) in patients with ischemic heart disease, to better identify patients at risk of sudden cardiac death from ventricular arrhythmias.
As program director for the fellowship in cardiovascular disease, I organize the fellowship didactic curriculum and case discussions. I mentor the fellows and coordinate their training to help them achieve their specific career goals, including their preparation for subspeciality training in interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure or advanced cardiac imaging.
I also teach medical students and residents. I teach in the second-year medical student cardiovascular curriculum, and I coordinate and lead small-group case discussions for third- and fourth-year medical students. I also provide didactic teaching to residents.