I am a member of the Section of Addiction Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine, which consists of a team of dedicated professionals providing exceptional acute and chronic care for adolescents and adults suffering from substance use problems and associated conditions. My own work involves serving as the Medical Director of an opioid treatment program (methadone maintenance for opioid use disorder) in Buffalo, and Medical Director of a rehabilitation and residential program for adolescents and adults up to the age of 26.

I have been extensively engaged in research on alcoholism and alcohol-related disease, including the detection and treatment of these commonly encountered conditions in medical settings. Alcohol-related problems are often unrecognized due to a lack of specific diagnostic testing or simply not linking heavy drinking to problems that are not always or not usually alcohol-related (e.g., high blood pressure). If alcohol is recognized as a problem, tools to treat alcoholism have not typically been adapted for primary care nor have many physicians received specific training in managing alcoholism.

With past support of the National Institutes of Health and other organizations, I have conducted cutting-edge research on the assessment and treatment of patients with alcohol-related disease using brief counseling methods and medications that are appropriate for primary care practices. I have also been involved in studying the use of novel laboratory tests for detecting unhealthy drinking patterns and alcohol-related organ damage.

My goal as a clinical researcher is to provide tools that enable physicians to provide care for alcohol and substance related disorders as they do for other chronic diseases such as diabetes and high cholesterol. This includes the use of laboratory tests to monitor control of the disease, guide the use of medications and brief counseling in busy medical settings, and determine the need for more intensive treatment or referral to addiction specialists.

Addictions, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Primary Care

Children, Adolescents, Adults, Seniors/Elderly

Physician Gender:

Male