19 Faculty Members Join 7 Medical School Departments

By Dirk Hoffman

Mohamed Y. Abdel-Aal Ahmed, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

He is an interventional cardiologist with additional training in structural heart interventions as well as peripheral vascular interventions. His clinical practice includes general cardiology, advanced cardiac imaging, interventional cardiology and complex valvular heart diseases as well as peripheral vascular disease.

Abdel-Aal Ahmed completed a structural heart fellowship, an interventional cardiology fellowship and a cardiovascular disease fellowship, all at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

He completed his internal medicine residency training at the Jacobs School and received his medical degree from the Saba University School of Medicine.

Kimberly A. Boulden, PhD, is a research assistant professor of emergency medicine.

She is the director of MATTERS (Medication for Addiction Treatment & Electronic Referrals) within MATTERS Network, a division of UBMD Emergency Medicine.

Boulden brings more than 10 years of leadership experience to MATTERS and has worked at both the national and local levels to implement and scale harm reduction and recovery-supportive programming.

At MATTERS, she is responsible for strategy and consultation, contract and budget negotiation, execution, and management; program expansion, and organizational and personnel development.

Boulden’s leadership practice centers on effective systems change, transformative assessment, and sustainable community collaboration.

She holds a doctorate in education from Capella University, and has published research on effective university partnerships, stigma surrounding substance use disorder, and responsible computing best practices.

Heather M. Gardiner, PhD, is the inaugural Carl V. Granger Endowed Chair in Health Equity and director of the Community Health Equity Research Institute (CHERI) at the University at Buffalo. She is also a professor of family medicine in the Jacobs School.

A UB alumna, she brings a distinguished record of scholarship, leadership, and community-engaged research. Her expertise spans interpersonal health communication, chronic kidney disease, and organ donation and transplantation. She is a recognized mixed-methodologist with deep experience in both qualitative and quantitative research, including advanced statistical methods.

Gardiner holds a PhD in communication from UB, an MPH in social and behavioral health from Virginia Commonwealth University, and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from UB.

Most recently, she served at Temple University’s College of Public Health, where she directed the Health Disparities Research Lab and the Office of Community Engaged Research and Practice.

Jerrold Lerman, MD, is a clinical professor of anesthesiology.

He is director of the pediatric anesthesiology fellowship program.

A clinician-researcher in pediatric anesthesiology, his interest has covered the spectrum from laboratory investigations of inhaled agents to a panoply of clinical dilemmas and queries. 

He is board certified in pediatric anesthesia by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Lerman completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia at the University of California San Francisco and its Cardiovascular Research Institute.

He completed an anesthesiology residency at the University of Toronto and is an anesthesiology fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Lerman received his medical degree from the University of Toronto.

Nathan J. O’Brien, MD, is a clinical instructor of emergency medicine.

He completed a residency program in emergency medicine at the Jacobs School.

O’Brien received his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Stefany Stempien DO, is a clinical instructor of emergency medicine.

She completed a fellowship in emergency medicine administration and operations and a residency in emergency medicine, both at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Stempien earned her DO degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

Cassidy Tennity, PhD, is a research assistant professor of psychiatry.

She has expertise in forensic mental health and implementation science. She provides psychological services across jail, juvenile detention, and outpatient settings, including forensic evaluations, individual psychotherapy, and psychological testing for ADHD and other clinical concerns.

Tennity’s research and clinical work center on trauma-informed, culturally responsive care for underserved and justice-involved populations across the lifespan.

She completed a doctoral psychology internship at the University at Buffalo and earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Kevin Vinokur, DO, is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine.

He completed a fellowship in medical education and a residency in emergency medicine, both at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Vinokur earned his DO degree from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Conor J. Young, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine.

He completed a fellowship in medical toxicology at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Young completed his residency training in emergency medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University, where he also earned his medical degree.

The biographical information in the faculty profiles of the following new hires was incomplete at the time of publication:

Hassan Ali Al Saleh, DO, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

David N. Burke, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry.

Seth P. Butler, DO, is a clinical instructor of emergency medicine.

Naveed M. Islam, PhD, is a research assistant professor of radiation oncology.

Tiffany Jenzer, PhD, is a research assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Ankita Kapoor, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

Ernesto Leon Velarde Carreno, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.

Joseph Merkel, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry.

Molly D. Moore, MD, is a lecturer in the Department of Pediatrics.

James A. Russell, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.