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09/18/26
Letter from the Chair
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 The Department of Medicine is an extraordinary team—a true powerhouse that shines because of the strength, resilience, intellectual curiosity, collaborative spirit, and compassion of our faculty and staff. It is a tremendous honor and privilege to serve you in this interim role.
I look forward to working with our many teams as we continue to advance innovative patient care, education, and research. After 38 years here, I know many of you but am looking forward to meeting the many new faculty and people in training hired in the last several years. Please don't hesitate to introduce yourself.
Working closely with our division chiefs and leaders across the department, we will continue to strengthen recruitment, advance our training programs, and expand opportunities for research and scholarship. We will also deepen our support for our regional hospitals and communities. We recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving these goals as each specialty, division, and clinical environment has different needs. Part of our work is ensuring that each team has what they need to succeed.
Our collective efforts have tremendous impact, but we also recognize that the work can take a toll. Our leadership team and programs are steadily working to address the “pebbles under our feet”—the everyday obstacles and inefficiencies that make already demanding jobs harder. We are making progress, including new processes and technologies designed to reduce unnecessary burdens and allow us to focus more of our energy on the work that matters most.
I am grateful for all that you do and excited about what we can accomplish together.
Becky Monk, MD, FACP
Interim Chair
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Top Stories
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Tracking First Responders’ Health Challenges after 9/11
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A quarter-century after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, research by Mark Utell, MD, of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, and colleagues has expanded understanding of the challenges first responders and survivors experienced. Scientists’ analysis of World Trade Center dust helped shape care. Read more.
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Hidden Immune Cells in Lungs Could Lead to Better Flu Vaccines
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Researchers have identified long-lived immune cells in the lungs that can help the body remember past flu infections. Our scientists’ early investigation shows promise for improving nasal flu vaccines. Read more.
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Ramsdale Selected for Digital Health Research Role
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Erika Ramsdale, MD, of Hematology/Oncology, was named director for Digital Health Research and Innovation in the new Digital Strategy and Innovation Office. She is the primary liaison connecting digital health and data innovation initiatives with the academic research mission. She has expertise in clinical research, clinical practice, and data science combined with experience leading technical teams. In her new role, Ramsdale will work to bridge enterprise technology, clinical research, and data science, while ensuring innovative partnerships generate research-quality data, and researchers have clear pathways to engage with emerging technologies.
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Bulletin Board
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Opportunities & Updates
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Roll Up Your Sleeve: Employee Flu Vaccine Clinics Available: As the respiratory virus season approaches, vaccination against influenza is strongly encouraged for all healthcare personnel. Getting vaccinated helps protect you, your loved ones, our patients and our community by reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and spread of the virus. Get vaccinated.
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Open House for Renovated 8-3400 Unit: After 17 months of renovations creating a connection to the new tower, the 8-3400 ICU team is celebrating with an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, October 5. The unit will be back in action on Tuesday, October 6.
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Webinar on Strong Expansion Project—What’s Ahead: What’s Ahead: CEO David Linehan will moderate a discussion on the Strong Expansion Project, what it means and what’s ahead, featuring SMH Chief Operating Officer Deirdre Salanger and Chief Nurse Executive Kate Valcin. Register here for the October 5 discussion.
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RFA: CTSI Pilot Studies Program in Translational Science: This program funds pilot projects in translational science through multiple awards that address fundamental challenges and barriers common to translational science research, which generates scientific and operational innovations to overcome longstanding challenges in the translational research pipeline. CTSI will fund projects that focus on generalizability, dissemination, and implementation of solutions, making research faster, more efficient, and more impactful. Read the RFA for more information about the five awards.
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Off the Clock
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Angela Branche, MD, of Infectious Diseases, and Stephanie Shulder, PharmD, BCIDP, should have worn their dancing shoes to volunteer at the Fairport Music Festival, which benefits Golisano Children’s. They were movin’ and groovin’ to the music while keeping the crowds hydrated.
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Special Announcements
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Achievements & Accolades
Dumyati to Receive Medical Society Award for Outstanding Service
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Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, of Infectious Diseases, will receive the Monroe County Medical Society’s highest honor: the 2026 Edward Mott Moore Physician Award. It recognizes outstanding service to the medical profession and community, and she will be celebrated on October 15.
Dumyati leads infectious disease surveillance for the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program, helping inform national public health policy.
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Schwartz Center Recognizes Shaw for Compassionate Care
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Marjorie “Margie” Shaw, JD, PhD, of Health Humanities and Bioethics, who works closely with our Palliative Care team, was honored by the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care with an honorable mention for the Compassionate Caregiver Award.
In his nomination, Robert Horowitz, MD, of Palliative Care, said, “She approaches places where ethical uncertainty and emotional strain intersect with clinical care and models a deliberate practice that shapes how patients, families, and healthcare professionals care for one another.”
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Friedberg Elected to AACI Board of Directors
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Wilmot Cancer Institute Director Jonathan W. Friedberg, MD, MMSc, of Hematology/Oncology, was elected to the Association of American Cancer Institute’s Board of Directors. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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In the News
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Conrad Gleber, MD, MBA, of Hospital Medicine, was recently on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” He joined Gregg Nicandri, MD, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, in a feature story about our use of new life-saving AI technology that detects sepsis faster than ever before. You may recognize members of the 4-1600 team as well.
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Emily Weis, MD, of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, spoke with Spectrum News about a recent study showing the Rochester region is among the most challenging places to live with asthma.
Publications
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Mehmet Aktas, MD, of Cardiology, and Scott McNitt, MS, Jean-Philippe Couderc, PhD, MBA, Wojciech Zareba, MD, PhD, and Jonathan Steinberg, MD, all of Cardiology Heart Research, authored “Symptom-Triggered 6-Lead ECG Monitoring Significantly Increases Arrhythmia Detection Beyond Traditional Ambulatory Monitoring,” published in JACC: Advances.
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Tarandeep Singh, DO, and Theresa Bingemann, MD, of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, authored “Differential Rates of Oral Food Challenges Among Patients of Different Races,” published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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Mical Raz, MD, PhD, of Hospital Medicine and Health Humanities and Bioethics, authored “We Have Been the Real Experts Since Foster Care was First Created—The (Mis)Uses of Foster Youth Voices in 1990s Child Welfare Policymaking and Legislation,” published in Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences.
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Augusto Litonjua, MD, MPH, of Pulmonary & Critical Care, was an author of “Early-Life Wheezing and Childhood Cognition in the ECHO Cohort,” published in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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Social Spotlight
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