My clinical practice has focused on the comprehensive care of seriously mentally ill adults, and individuals with co-occurring disorders in an integrated primary care/behavioral health clinic. I also provide pro bono forensic examinations for refugee and immigrant populations seeking asylum through our UB student run clinic, the Human Rights Initiative.
Research projects of our team are related to psychiatry, cultural care and public health. Currently, initiatives focus on clinical outcomes of patients served in the integrated clinic setting, cultural dexterity in behavioral health clinics, and sequelae of torture among asylum seekers in the United States.
I enjoy teaching, and I mentor pre-med and medical students. I feel fortunate to have worked as a nurse and in the field of public health before going to medical school. Integrating my nursing, public health and physician experiences broadens my perspectives of how health care professionals affect individuals and communities through our health care system, which helps me prepare students and residents to care for patients in these complex, evolving environments.
I am keenly interested in preparing trainees to care for vulnerable populations such as those patients living in poverty, seeking asylum and/or recovering from trauma. With the help of an NIH grant, I collaborated with other professionals in the community to establish a cultural competency program at the medical school. This program aimed to teach students how to care for patients from diverse cultural backgrounds with empathy and respect. The program helped to improve access to preventive and primary services for refugees resettled in Western New York. Working on Buffalo’s Lower West Side with vulnerable and underserved populations has taught me about caring for individuals from diverse cultures within our city, and from around the world. I continue to learn from patients and communities and try to use these in-depth experiences to train the next generation of family medicine physicians and students from other health care professions.
Family Medicine
Female
This UBMD physician is also a member of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, teaching the next generation of doctors and researching to advance care in WNY and beyond. Learn more about this physician’s research and teaching activities, as well as view credentials, publications, professional involvement and more below.