Awards, Abstracts, Publications, Presentations

Under the mentorship of Smita Bakhai MD, MPH, FACP, residents have presented approximately 73 meeting abstracts and conference proceedings over last seven years on local, state, national and international platforms.

See a selection of our residents’ work:

Jawdat Mustafa

• Co-recipient of the Evan Calkins, MD, Community Based Research 2022 award for “Interprofessional Collaboration for Safe Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain: QI Project.” $1500 award at the 2022 Jacobs School research day.

Einas Batarseh

• The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) established the inaugural ACPM Board of Regents Scientific Excellence Award in 2022. Its scientific review committee selected Batarseh’s scientific poster, “Strategies to Address Healthcare Disparity in Colorectal Cancer Screening (CRC),” as a semifinalist for the 2022 award. Mentor and PI: Smita Bakhai, MD, MPH, FACP.
• HeRO Award, issued by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2021)
• Social Justice and Equity Award (2021)
• “Leverage EMR to Change Practice Patterns and Streamline Non-EMR Workflows — An Interfacility Transfer Process Improvement Effort with Far Reaching Implications,” submitted at National conference and Celebration of Scholarship Day. Mentor: Sashank Kaushik, MD, MBA.
• “Multi-faceted Strategies to Address the Barriers to Health Care Disparity in Colorectal Cancer Screening (CRC): Quality Improvement project” (2021)
• Batarseh E, Kersten BP, Pinelo AC, Vertalino V, Nadler JN, Schwartz SA. Reply to Chan and Majluf-Cruz: Is the Angioedema Associated with COVID-19 a Real Entity, a Mimic, or Both? Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 Mar 1;203(5):646-647. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202012-4365LE. PMID: 33357023; PMCID: PMC7924578.
• Halasa N, Piya B, Stewart LS, Rahman H, Payne DC, Woron A, Thomas L, Constantine-Renna L, Garman K, McHenry R, Chappell J, Spieker AJ, Fonnesbeck C, Batarseh E, Hamdan L, Wikswo ME, Parashar U, Bowen MD, Vinjé J, Hall AJ, Dunn JR. The Changing Landscape of Pediatric Viral Enteropathogens in the Post-Rotavirus Vaccine Era. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Feb 16;72(4):576-585. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa100. PMID: 32009161; PMCID: PMC7884803.
• “Streamlining Interfacility Patient Transfers at VA WNY by Creating an Order Set That Minimizes the Time and Errors in the Entry of Required Notes and Consults,” A Western New York Healthcare System. Lead: Sashank Kaushik, MD, MBA.

Jacqueline Jordan

• “Improving Warfarin Safety During Clinic Merger Amid COVID-19”
  Quality Improvement Project, selected for poster presentation at American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) annual meeting, June 16, 2022, Denver, Colorado. Mentor and PI: Smita Bakhai, MD, MPH, FACP.
• “Mitigating Maternal health Risk by improving Covid-19 Vaccination Rates”
  Quality Improvement Project, selected for poster presentation, American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) annual meeting, poster presentation by 4th year  IM/PM resident, June 16, 2022. Denver, Colorado. Mentor and PI: Smita Bakhai, MD, MPH, FACP.
• “Improving ‘Discharge Instruction’ Note for Nursing Staff,” VA Western New York Healthcare System. Lead: Sashank Kaushik, MD, MBA.

Yadunath Pokharel

• “Reduce Time to Locate Inpatient Orders in CPRS,” project for VA Western New York Healthcare System
  Lead: Sashank Kaushik, MD, MBA
• “Quality Improvement Project Improves High-Risk Medication Safety in a Community Based Primary Care Clinic That Underwent a Recent Restructuring During the Pandemic,” presented at Celebration of Scholarship, 2021
• 2020 Evan Calkins, MD, Community-Based Research Fellowship award for project: “Working Together to Make Women Healthier”
• “Estimating Cardiovascular Risk in a Patient with Non-traditional Risk Factors,” poster presentation at Annual American College of Preventive Medicine Virtual Conference, May 2021. Mentors: Stanley F. Fernandez, MD, PhD; Smita Bakhai, MD, MPH, FACP
• “Improving Warfarin Safety During Clinic Merger Amid COVID-19,” quality improvement project
• HeRO Award, issued by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2021)

Kenyani Davis
(now clinical assistant professor of medicine and Chief Medical Officer at Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc.)

• Evan Calkins Grant, 2014: “The Elephant in the Room: the Underutilization of Hospice services Within the African American Community in Buffalo, NY”
• GME 2013-2014 Quality Improvement Award for “Increasing Obesity Screening Amongst Clinical Providers at Hertel-Elmwood Clinic”

Zubair Butt

• GME 2014-2015 Quality Improvement Award for “Improving the medical care of chronic lung disease patients at HEIM Clinic”

Aparanjita Kolluru

• Fellowship in Health Policy at the American College of Preventive Medicine. 2014. Washington, DC.

Wudeneh Mulugeta

• GME 2014-2015 Quality Improvement Award for “Improving Transition of Care Through Timely Primary Care Follow Up.”
• First place award poster presentation: Scholarly Exchange Day and Department of Medicine Research Day in Buffalo, NY. Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Orlando, FL. 2014. “Improving Patient Safety When Using Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.”
• GME 2013-2014 Quality Improvement Award for “Improving Patient Safety When Using Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. “
• Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award. 2013

Erin Campbell

• The cooking for Health Initiative: An Interdisciplinary Pilot Program, 2013, February 2014. Poster presentation, American College of Preventive Medicine. New Orleans, LA. Green Belt Certification, Lean Six Sigma. UB TCIE 2014

Imran Ahmad, Rashmi Bismark and Tyler Evans

• “Burnout and Health Promoting Behaviors Among Residents in Buffalo, NY,” 2013 Scholarly Exchange Day, University at Buffalo, First Place Award for Poster

Rashmi Bismark

• Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, Gamma Lambda Chapter, SPHHP

Bi Tadzong

• Gold Humanism in Medicine Society, University at Buffalo; Green Belt Certification, Lean Six Sigma, UB TCIE

Dhanashri Kohok

• GME 2011-2012 Quality Improvement Award for “Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors at a Renal Transplant Clinic – Interventions to Minimize Clinical Inertia”; Green Belt Certification, Lean Six Sigma, UB TCIE

Joel Beatty

• Pfizer Fellowship in Health Policy, ACPM (Jul-Aug 2011); Green Belt Certification, Lean Six Sigma, UB TCIE

Sohaib Aleem

• Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges 2010-2011; Green Belt Certification in Lean Six Sigma

Roberto Diaz Del Carpio

• Chair, UB Resident’s Committee; Green Belt Certification in Lean Six Sigma

Deirdre Wheat
(now clinical assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Professions; Medical Director: Quality, Disease and Case Management at Independent Health, Buffalo, N.Y.)

• Independent HealthPhilip Goldstein, MD Memorial Award, Dept of Medicine University at Buffalo; Outstanding Resident Poster in Clinical Preventive and Lifestyle Medicine, “Intention to Receive HPV Vaccine Among Male College Students,” ACPM Annual Conference, February 2010

Christopher Co and Deirdre Wheat

• First Place in Category of Patient Safety, “An Assessment of Patient Sign-outs Conducted by University at Buffalo Internal Medicine Residents,” NY Chapter ACP Annual Resident/Student Poster Competition, April 2010