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06/26/26
Letter from the Chair
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 By now, most of you have seen the bittersweet news that I will be stepping down as your chair on August 30 to serve as executive vice dean and chief academic officer for the School of Medicine & Dentistry. In this new role, I’ll oversee educational, faculty development, and clinical research missions across the school and will remain closely connected to the DOM and the work we do to advance these strategic priorities.
In the coming weeks, an interim chair will be selected to lead the department beginning September 1, as leaders conduct a national search for the permanent chair. I’ll work directly with the interim chair and department leadership to ensure a smooth transition.
It has been an honor to serve as your chair for the past five and a half years. Working alongside you and witnessing what this team can accomplish together has been a highlight of my career. We’ve welcomed nearly 100 new faculty members, expanded access to care across our community and region, created new training pathways for residents and fellows, and increased our research funding and resources. These achievements belong to all of you.
Thank you for your tremendous dedication to our shared mission. I have every confidence that this department will continue to push forward—advancing care, discovery, and education in ways that improve our patients' lives. I hope you'll bring the same energy and commitment to the next chapter of the department's story.
Best,
Ruth O’Regan, MD
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Top Stories
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Strong Memorial Named HeartCARE Center
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The collaborative Cardiac Care team is the first program in the Finger Lakes and Western New York to earn American College of Cardiology’s HeartCARE Center designation. “This is tremendous recognition of the quality of our programs and ever-present commitment to enhancing and improving care,” said Thomas Curran, MD, interim chief of Cardiology.
Learn more about our designation >>
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Bulletin Board
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Opportunities & Updates
- Clinical Research Methodology Program: Early-career faculty and senior fellows are encouraged to apply for this one-year training program designed to help build a foundation for a successful clinical research career. Learn more and apply by Monday, July 20.
- Environmental Health Science Pilot Funding: URochester faculty can apply for up to $50,000 to support research studies investigating how environmental factors influence human health. Submit preliminary proposals by August 10.
Events & Lectures
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In Memoriam
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Remembering Richard Farmer
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Richard G. Farmer, MD, an internationally respected gastroenterologist who served as chief of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at University of Rochester Medicine from 2003 to 2008, passed away last November at 94. His work as a physician, mentor, diplomat, and educator left a lasting imprint on modern gastroenterology and on the global medical community.
View Farmer's obituary >>
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Off the Clock
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In his spare time, you can typically find Miklos Z. Molnar, MD, PhD, who recently joined Nephrology and serves as the director of transplant medical services in the Transplant Institute, either jet-setting or hiking. Here he is enjoying paella on a recent trip to Spain and posing next to a waterfall in Letchworth State Park a few weeks ago.
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Special Announcements
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Recognition
- Congratulations to Rachel Rodenbach, MD, MS, of Hematology & Oncology, who received a Translational Science Scholar Award to study the impact of a digital story intervention on existential distress in patients with myeloid cancers referred for stem cell transplantation.
- Check out this animation describing the focus of Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Cancer Microenvironment program, led by Laura Calvi, MD, of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, and Scott Gerber, PhD, of Surgery, Oncology. The program investigates how the bone marrow microenvironment influences cancer initiation, progression, and treatment response.
Publications
- Eric Small, PhD, of the Aab Cardiovascular Center, led the study “Epicardial Contributions to Fibro-Inflammatory Signaling in a Pkp2-Deficient Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy Model,” published in Circulation: Heart Failure.
- Miklos Z. Molnar, MD, PhD, of Nephrology, led the study “Association of PIRCHE Scores and Allograft Injury in Kidney Transplant Recipients” in Frontiers in Immunology.
- Richard Wing, MD, of Nephrology, was co-first author of “Pulmonary Hypertension, the Forgotten Right Ventricle, and Vascular Access in Hemodialysis Patients,” a perspective article in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
- Kah Poh “Melissa” Loh, MBBCh, BAO, MS, of Hematology & Oncology, led the study “Patient and Oncologist Expectations of Functional Prognosis Among Older Adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” published in Blood Advances.
- Sullafa Kaura, MD, MBA, of Hospital Medicine, led the study “Defining the Hospital Night: Deriving and Validating Electronic Health Record-Based Measures of the Inpatient Sleep Experience,” published in Sleep.
- Suma Prakash, MD, of Nephrology, led the study “Understanding the Kidney Replacement Therapy Decision-Making Process,” published in BMC Nephrology.
- Members of our Antimicrobial Stewardship Program published “Cephalosporin Use and Patient Outcomes Following Removal of Penicillin–Cephalosporin Cross-Reactivity Alerts from the Electronic Health Record” in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
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Social Spotlight
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