Residents, Graduates and Faculty Awards and Publications

April 2025 Department of Family Medicine Newsletter

2025 Award Recipients 

Dr. Sandy Wang awarded the Family Medicine Community Teaching Award.

We would like to recognize the teaching contributions of community physicians who volunteer their time to teach residents on a regular basis. We are very appreciative of all their contributions to the Family Medicine Residency Program. 

"Dr. Wang not only precepts in multiple areas, including urgent care, inpatient, outpatient, but excels at giving concise and relevant pearls of wisdom at all times of day and in so many different clinical situations." 

Claire M Moynihan, CNM, MS awarded the Family Medicine OB Teaching Award:

This annual award was established to honor an obstetrician/gynecologist clinician at Highland Hospital. It is granted by the Family Medicine residents to the clinician who best exemplifies the following qualities: excellence in clinical judgment and patient care, excellence in clinical teaching, excellence in relating to and respecting Family Medicine residents and their ideals. The award recipient is elected by all Family Medicine residents. A plaque with the names of all the recipients hangs in the Attending Lounge of the Obstetrics floor and is intended to value and recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the Family Medicine Residency Program. We are very appreciative of all their contributions to the Family Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. Jaclyn Grode awarded the Highland Family Medicine Women's Health Care Award:

This award is given to the Family Medicine resident who has contributed most significantly in the area of women's health. The resident's contributions and accomplishments may be of a clinical nature, or in research, or in teaching, or of an administrative nature. 

"Dr. Grode is a highly skilled physician and excellent colleague "
 

Dr. Carlos Diaz-Balzac awarded the Highland Medicine Teaching Attending Award:

The recipient of this award is chosen by majority vote of the Internal Medicine, Med/Peds, and Family Medicine residents, in recognition of outstanding teaching of residents by a physician in Medicine. The winner's name is engraved on a plaque that hangs in the Highland Hospital Library. We are very appreciative of all their contributions to the Family Medicine Residency Program. 

"Dr. Diaz-Balzac interacted with IM, MP and FM residents this year as both a generalist and an endocrinologist, and is praised by residents at Highland as being a highly accessible and lucid teacher of complex inpatient and outpatient issues.   He has received identical praise from our early career APPs at Highland as well; he is a natural educator and a trusted faculty who has had a lasting impact on the residents at Highland this year."

Dr. Timothy Smilnak awarded the Lovejoy Preceptor Award

This award is chosen by all the family medicine residents and is awarded to an outstanding academic or community faculty preceptor at Highland Family Medicine, who demonstrates the qualities like Dr. Frank Lovejoy. These qualities include: dedication to residency education, inspired teaching, and a deep compassion for patients and residents. 

"Dr. Smilnak is always finding ways to teach residents, whether it be outpatient or in-patient. He understands the burden of the work and modifies the teaching to be concrete, realistic, and highly applicable. I have even received articles in my mailbox days after our interactions, showing how he continues to think and help residents improve their clinical foundation."

Dr. Kalyani Sonarikar awarded the Jacob Holler MD Annual Resident Award as well as the STFM Resident Teaching Award:

The Jacob Holler award was established by the Highland Hospital Board of Directors in 1983 and is presented annually to a Highland Hospital Resident, selected by his/her peers, who best demonstrates the qualities of Dr. Holler.   These qualities include deep and caring concern, kindness, integrity, understanding, good humor and, above all, inspired teaching and dedication to resident medical education. 

The STFM Board of Directors authorized the development of an award to recognize teaching contributions by residents. Each family practice residency program can give this award annually to the resident who has best demonstrated an interest, ability, and commitment to family medicine education.

"Being able to work with Kalyani is a blessing any day. She is supportive and is always finding opportunities to teach while on in-patient, in clinic (normal, prenatal, procedure). She is incredibly intelligent but does not intimidate the team with her intelligence. She builds you up and provides instantaneous feedback and opportunities to grow, even when I didn't know I could grow in those ways." 

Dr. Yuki Takeuchi awarded the AFMRD Resident Award for Scholarship.

The award is given to a resident who has demonstrated skills and interest in scholarship.

Dr. Jessica Meyer awarded the AFMRD Resident Award for Advocacy.

The AFMRD Resident Award for Advocacy allows family medicine residency directors to recognize a resident who has demonstrated skills and interest in advocacy.

Dr. Jeanne Beddoe awarded the Family Medicine Faculty Teaching Award.

This award was first given in 1978 to Dr. Don Treat, chair of the department from 1978-87. Since that time, it has been awarded to 48 faculty members (as of 2025) .This award is voted on by the PGY-3's. 

Cynthia Brown awarded the Brown Square Staff Appreciation Award.

This award was established in 2006 by the Brown Square Family Medicine residents to recognize a Brown Square staff member or clinician who has provided significant teaching and support of residents in their practices.  

Resident and Faculty Publications

In this Learners on Location video on undergraduate medical education, Lilyveth Mesa, a third-year medical student, discusses her experience coming to Rochester from Miami and navigating life at SMD with Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Professor of Emergency Medicine Flavia Nobay, MD, and Lilyveth’s advisor, Vice Chair of Family Medicine and Associate Dean Anne Nofziger, MD, Class of 1999.

Scheutzow J, Wang S Beyond the Multivitamin: Embracing an Integrative Medicine Approach to Nutrition in Primary Care Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2025: 14 (1): 63-68.

Fogarty C T, Ly C M. Putting on Our Own Oxygen Masks First. Family Practice Management. 2025;32(4):56.

McKeown A, Taylor C. Navigating Infertility as a Physician. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 16-18.

Takeuchi Y. Navigating Residency and Single Parenting as a Foreigner – Lessons Learned from a Personal Crisis. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 40-42.

Lau J. Advice on How to Live Your Family Medicine Residency Experience to the Fullest. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 38-39.

Chawla A, Holub D. Mentorship and Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 31-32.

Wang S, Minney S. Letter to Parenting Docs – You are Not Alone! Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 25-26.

Wetterau N. Reviving Interest and Satisfaction in Being a Family Physician. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 13 (2) : 23-24.

Carolyn Wolf-Gould, MD, class of 1993, A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States: From Margins to Mainstream. Co-Authors include Dallas Denny, Jamison Green, and Kyan Lynch.

Jack A, Mullin C, Brown E, Burtner M, Standish K, Fields Alecia, Rosen-Carole C, Hartman S. Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Clinical Protocol #19: Breastfeeding Promotion in the Prenatal Period (Revised 2024) BFM 2024 19(8) 575-587

Fogarty CT, Schiano R. The Day I Almost Walked Away: Trust, Gratitude, and the Power of Teamwork.  Ann Fam Med. 2024 Sep-Oct;22(5):451-452. doi: 10.1370/afm.3162

Fogarty CT, Strayer SM, Lord RW Jr, Baltierra DA, Jame PA, Hoff T. Making the Future of Family Medicine Brighter by Breaking it First…. Ann Fam Med. 2024 Jul-Aug;22(4):358-360.

Singh C, Palladino K, Karuza J, Ampadu L, Fogarty CT. Opportunities and Challenges of Interprofessional Education: Postgraduate Nurse Practitioner and Physician Residency. JNP Sept 2024 20(8)

Lau J; Ly C; Wang S. Review of Updated Guidelines on Deep Vein Thrombosis diagosis and Management for Family Physicians. Family Doctor A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. 2024; 12 (4) : 21-25, 52.

Grewal H, Zhuang C, Iqbal M, Ur Rehman BA, Norton J, Vernon CM, Deol S, Brose SW. Integrative approach for women with fibromyalgia in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center: An observational study. Medicine. 12/15/2023; 102 (50) : e36285.

Shifra Mincer, MD, Elizabeth Brown, MD, MPH and Scott Hartman, MD, for the publication "A Cardiovascular and Psychological Stress Test: The Maternity Period and It's Lifelong Impacts" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 12, no 1, Summer 2023 

Sonoda K, Takeuchi Y. Antibiotics for Acute Bacterial Conjunctivitis. American family physician. 06/01/2023; 107 (6) : Online.

Meyer JKV, Diaspro G, Muñoz I, Burmeister C, García-Huidobro D. A mixed-methods evaluation of the ¡Vamos por Más! parenting program implementation in Chile. JBI evidence implementation. 03/01/2023; 21 (1) : 101-112.

Tianrae Chu, MD and Sarah Hudson, MD  G6PD Deficiency: What is A Family Physician to do? Family Doctor Fall 2022 Vol 11 Num 2

Nicholas Antos, MD with Flores R, Harawa N, Vecchio ND, Issema R, Fujimoto K, Khanna AS, Paola AD, Schneider JA, Hotton AL. Factors associated with HIV testing and treatment among young Black MSM and trans women in three jail systems. AIDS care. 07/17/2022; 34 : 1-8.

Alisa Liu, MD, PGY2 and Arthi Chawla, MD, for the publication "White Coat Hypertension, Diagnosis and Managment" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 9, no 2, Fall 2020)

Liu-and-Chawla-White-Coat-Hypertension-Family-Doctor-Fall-2020

Sandy Wang, MD, PGY 2 and Sachiko Kaizuka, MD, for the publication "Addressing Hypertension through Integrative Medicine Approaches in the Clinical Setting" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 9, no 2, Fall 2020)

Wang-and-Kaizuka-Hypertension-and-Integrative-Medicine-Family-Doctor-vol-9-no-2

Jasdeep Bajwa, MD, PGY2, Sandy Wang, MD, PGY2 and Arthi Chawla, MD, for the publication "Consideration of Comination Therapy for Treatment of Hypertension in the Clinical Setting" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 9, no 2, Fall 2020)

Bajwa-Chawla-Wang-Consideration-of-Combination-Therapy-for-Hypertension-Family-Doctor-vol-9-no-2

Sandy Wang, MD, MPH; Sachiko Kaizuka, MD; Holly Russell, MD, MS and Michael Mendoza, MD, MPH, MS, FAAFP, for the publication "The Under Utilization of Sleep Medicine for the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Opioid Use" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 8, no 3, Winter 2020)

www.nysafp.org/NYSAFP/media/PDFs/Family%20Doctor/69608-Family-Doctor-Winter20_WEB.pdf

Elizabeth Loomis, MD; Andrew Hayes and Holly Ann Russell, MD, MS, for the publication "Overcoming Barriers to Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 8, no 3, Winter 2020)

www.nysafp.org/NYSAFP/media/PDFs/Family%20Doctor/69608-Family-Doctor-Winter20_WEB.pdf

Scott Hartman, MD, FAAFP and Kristin E. Smith, DNP, FNP-C, AAHIVS, for the publication "HIV: What Family Medicine Clinicians Need to Know" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 8, no 3, Winter 2020)

www.nysafp.org/NYSAFP/media/PDFs/Family%20Doctor/69608-Family-Doctor-Winter20_WEB.pdf

Sachiko Kaizuka, MD; Gale Johnsen, MSN, PhD, FNP-C; Yoshiko Tamura, MD; Traci Salter, RN-BC, MS, FNP-BC; Wade Turnipseed, MS, LMFT and Arthi Chawla, MD, for the publication "Lessons Learned from Taking Over Chronic Pain Management with Opioids from Other Clinicians" in (Family Doctor-A journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, vol 8, no 3, Winter 2020)

www.nysafp.org/NYSAFP/media/PDFs/Family%20Doctor/69608-Family-Doctor-Winter20_WEB.pdf

Resident Community Engagement

Gabrielle Capone, MD, worked with her peers in outreach during a heatwave: Keeping watch on the unhoused during the extreme heat.

Sarah Minney, MD, talked about raising awareness of preeclampsia.  Raising Awareness about the dangers of preeclampsia.

Ellerie Chen, MD, talked about emotional health as part of a healthy lifestyle.  Take care of your emotional health as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Dominick DeFelice, MD, discussed how to keep pounds off during the holidays. Healthy Holiday Eating.

Hannah Root, MD, explains what parents need to know about RSV: RSV Cases in the Community.