Faculty Information
Residency Program Director
Donald R. Bordley, MD
Dr. Bordley has been Residency Program Director and Associate Chair for Education since 1997. Since joining the URMC faculty in 1981, Dr. Bordley has focused his career on resident and student education. A recognized national leader in medical resident education, Dr. Bordley has served on the executive council of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) and was President of APDIM in 2008-2009. His clinical role is as a General Medicine Hospitalist, attending on the Inpatient Teaching Service 10 weeks/year. His outside interests include cycling, skiing, and hiking.
Associate Program Directors
Bilal Ahmed, MD
Dr. Ahmed has been Associate Program Director since 1999. He oversees all resident educational programs and rotations at Highland Hospital as well as our Board Preparation program. Trained in the United Kingdom, where physical diagnosis is still a high art, Dr. Ahmed is widely regarded by residents and faculty members alike as our most gifted bedside teacher and diagnostician.
In addition to bedside teaching, his academic interests include teaching humanistic skills and seeking methods to emphasize empathy as a key ingredient in physician-patient interactions. He currently serves on the National Board of Medical Examiners. His outside interests include constructing and flying model WWII airplanes.
Catherine F. Gracey, MD
Dr. Gracey has been Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency 
Program since 2002, most recently focusing on resident evaluation and feedback and on faculty development. Her clinical role focuses on resident ambulatory education as one of the program's lead ambulatory continuity preceptors and on developing the ambulatory curriculum. Her research interests include teaching humanism and communication skills, in part through her work with the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, running, and playing with her family.
Alec B. O'Connor, MD, MPH
Dr. O’Connor has been an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency (Director of Inpatient Services at Strong Memorial Hospital) since 2007, and was Associate Program Director for the Medicine-Pediatrics residency from 
2003-2009. He has published on a variety of topics, is currently a physician champion for the new electronic medical record at Strong and Highland Hospitals, and is a Councilor for the New York Special Interest Group of the Association of Program Directors in Medicine. His clinical role is as a General Medicine Hospitalist, attending on the Inpatient Teaching Service 12 weeks/year. His outside interests include cycling, running, and skiing.
