18 Faculty Members Join 12 Medical School Departments

By Dirk Hoffman

Dahong Chen, PhD, is an assistant professor of biochemistry.

Among his areas of research focus are: autism, computational biology, developmental biology, gene expression, gene sequencing, genome-wide screening and molecular and cellular biology.

He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.

Chen obtained his doctoral degree in behavioral neurobiology from the University of Oklahoma.

Kyle Kelleran, PhD, is an assistant professor of emergency medicine.

He earned his doctoral degree in applied kinesiology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Michael Lamb, PhD, is a research assistant professor of surgery.

He is an environmental psychologist who is the director of surgical education in the Department of Surgery.

Prior to coming to UB, he was the Thomas R. Slaughter Scholar-In-Residence at the Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York, where he developed programs to promote civic engagement and foster transformative experiences for its students.

Michelle Lombardo, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of family medicine.

She is board certified in family medicine and cares for patients of all ages — from newborn to end-of-life care.

In additional to her clinical practice, Lombardo has in interest in teaching and mentoring medical students and residents. She will be serving as a faculty coach in the newly updated Well Beyond medical curriculum at the Jacobs School.

Lombardo completed a fellowship in maternal and child health at Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and a family medicine residency at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

She earned her medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Sriganesh Ramachandra Rao, PhD, is an assistant professor of ophthalmology.

His retinal cell biology and anatomy laboratory focuses on three main areas:

• organelle trafficking dynamics in photoreceptor cells
• lipid homeostasis in the retina
• geometric modeling of the retinal architecture

He completed a fellowship as a Knights Templar Pediatric Ophthalmology Postdoctoral Fellow at the University at Buffalo.

Ramachandra Rao earned his doctoral degree in biochemistry from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

Sushama K. Thandla, MD, MPH, is a clinical assistant professor of family medicine.

She earned her master’s degree in public health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Thandla earned a public health certificate in American Indian Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. She also earned a certificate in the master educator program at the Royal College of Physicians/University at Buffalo.

She completed a residency in family medicine at the University at Buffalo ECMC Family Medicine Program and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarth, India.

Thandla earned her medical degree from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.

Dawei David Wang, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

He completed a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Arizona.

Wang completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

He earned his medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

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

Katie Carlberg, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

Britany Espino, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics.

Steven D. Green, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine.

Elizabeth A. Hendricks, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Michael D. Kagan, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology.

Daniel J. Kruger, PhD, is a research associate professor of emergency medicine.

Christopher Manion, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine.

Ilavarasy Maran, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of neurology.

Kenneth P. Seastedt, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of surgery.

James L. Thompson, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry.

Tara Tyson, PhD, is a research associate professor of radiation oncology.