
Associate Professor of Medicine
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine; Sleep Medicine
My patient care responsibilities are centered at the Veterans Administration Western New York Healthcare System (VA) where I care for hospitalized patients with pulmonary problems as well as maintain two active outpatient clinics in the VA system: the pulmonary clinic and the sleep medicine clinic. I also supervise the continuity clinics at the VA. I also have a sleep clinic at UBMD sleep.
My research interests dovetail with my clinical work. I conduct research in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) particularly in regards to pulmonary rehabilitation.
I run multicenter trials in patients with COPD, and I am presently involved in one DOD-sponsored study: examining the effects of respiratory muscle training in patients with lung cancer on outcomes and several pharmaceutical trials of agents to reduce exacerbations. I am also involved in a NIH sponsored trial of a specific supplement NADH on sleep patterns, cognitive function and biomarkers for dementia in the healthy elderly.
I teach medical students primarily in the respiratory physiology course. I enjoy working with students throughout the full spectrum of medical education from first-year medical students to senior fellows in pulmonary critical care or sleep medicine. As the associate fellowship director for pulmonary critical care medicine, I am responsible in conjunction with the program director for the educational curricula for the fellowship.