Faculty and Staff Experiences

The following quotes are from faculty and staff members who worked, studied, and volunteered abroad. Contact information for these individuals is also included below.

Adekola Alao, MD

Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital 1702
Email: alaoa@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=alaoa
"I am from Africa, did medical school in Africa and residency in psychiatry in UK. I still participate in medicine in South Africa regularly and think it might be of interest to students."

Richard Aubry, MD

Department: Obstetrics & Gynecology, UHCC 4079
Phone: 315 464-5706
Email: aubryr@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=aubryr
"I was a People-to-People Ambassador to Cuba, and spent 10 days with 30 healthcare professionals (along with David Gagnon, Paul Fuller, Judith Barriero) studying low infant mortality which Cuba has achieved. I have a Powerpoint on the trip, although I think the trip is probably not repeatable in the present political climate."

Shawky Badawy, MD

Department: Obstetrics & Gynecology, Crouse Hospital 308WT
Phone: 315 470-7905
Email: badawys@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=badawys
"I have been participating in International programs in Egypt, and also giving presentations to some of the universities. In these scientific meetings, many people attend to discuss their scientific views. The participants include Professors, Residents, and others. I have been successful in attracting some Fellows (sponsored by their government) to come here and complete thesis for their Ph.D. degree. It's a personal effort on my part to help my colleagues in Egypt."

Joseph Bearman, MD

Department: Pediatrics
Phone: 315 637-5747
Email: joebearman@msn.com
"I had 2 visits to Santa Cruz, Bolivia providing care to indigent children in clinics run by 2 international organizations: Curamericas and The Healthy Child Foundation. The second time I took a peds resident and 2 medical students from Upstate. It was a very hands-on experience, challenging, and eye-opening for the young doctors. I am still in contact with them and they would be eager for another visit. This experience would be of great interest to other students. A wonderful project for Upstate would be to involve itself with the Children's Hospitals both in Santa Cruz and Montero, the small city I worked in."

Debra Buchan, MD

Department: Medicine, Setnor Hall 4508
Phone: 315 464-5412
Email: buchand@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=buchand
"I practiced on Oahu for 4 years (1991-1995), precepting U. Hawaii medical students on the wards and in the clinic. I still have contacts there. I highly recommend that Upstate students consider an elective in Hawaii, especially this time of year (Winter). The John A Burns School of Medicine (U Hawaii) offers electives for visiting students. One of the electives is on a remote Pacific island."

Mantosh Dewan, MD

Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, 713 Harrison Street, Room 336
Phone: 315 464-3105
Email: dewanm@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=dewanm
"I was in Bombay, India, on an annual "Visiting Professorship". I was able to teach and have set up a research collaboration with several papers published on data from here. I’m sure we could accommodate students or faculty with an interest in Psychiatry [or anything else with some effort]."

Maureen Famiglietti, RN

Department: Pediatrics, UH 5626
Phone: 315 464-9441
Email: famiglim@upstate.edu
"I am an RN and have worked for 7 years with Dr. Leonard Weiner as the study coordinator for Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials (PACTG) we conduct here. In the last year, the PACTG has begun expanding clinical trial work into Brazil, Haiti, South Africa and Thailand. I am waiting for an opportunity to travel, probably to South Africa to provide assistance to a site beginning to conduct studies with HIV infected children and pregnant mothers. At this point, most of the visits are short, 1 or 2 weeks at most and are not predictable as to when they will occur. As I haven't yet gone, I probably can't offer a lot to a student in terms of real life experience. But we are always happy to talk with a student about our clinical trials work and how it is expanding to international
sites."

Robert Kellman, MD

Department: Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences, Computer Warehouse Building 241
Phone: 315 464-4636
Email: kellmanr@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=kellmanr
"I've been doing a fair amount of overseas lecturing as part of an educational foundation called the AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Osteosynthesefragen). I've lectured in Japan, Thailand, Switzerland, Canada and Spain."

David Lehmann, MD, PharmD

Department: Medicine, Computer Warehouse Building 330
Phone: 315 464-5365
Email: lehmannd@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=lehmannd
"Taught pharmacology in Nepal until problems at the medical school there and civil war made it untenable. Hope to return."

Bradley Olson, MD

Department: Pediatrics, UH 5400
Phone: 315 464-5831
Email: olsonb@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=olsonb
"I spent a week in El Salvador providing pediatric services to 5 very rural communities across El Salvador. That was the first time I have ever done anything like this but I have now been bitten by the bug and intend to go back to El Salvador as often as possible. This trip was organized through the Episcopal Dioceses of central New York. Another effort that was a part of this trip was developing a cottage industry of hand embroidered surgical scrubs and lab coats that the women in the two most remote villages sewed. These are beautiful with typical El Salvadoran designs and vibrant colors. I have examples that I intend to sell in pediatrics. This project could easily be expanded with Upstate and would make a huge difference in a country where the average monthly income is $140 per month. I would be happy to promote this trip as it evolves. At present I think it will be a yearly trip. What I could easily see happening would be for the cottage industry to expand and I would be happy to promote this aspect of the work in El Salvador."

David Reed, MD, FACEP

Department: Emergency Medicine, Jacobsen Hall 903
Phone: 315 464-4363
Email: reedd@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=reedd
"I have a very strong personal interest in international medicine and would be eager to participate in institutional efforts to promote medical students and resident's exposure to the practice of medicine from a global perspective. I have worked more than five years at St Jude's Hospital in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. I take two senior emergency medicine residents to this small Caribbean island hospital for a two week elective experience where we deliver emergency care to the St. Lucian population in a relatively primitive practice environment. Outstanding exposure to advanced disease states, and unique diseases such as tetanus, dengue fever, and a great deal of penetrating and blunt trauma. I would likely be able to include one or two 4th year medical students with strong clinical skills. This annual trip is ongoing and up until now has been supported with funds from the Dept. of Emergency Medicine. The St. Lucia is an on-going annual event that might be of interest to other faculty and students. However should best be reserved for students with strong interest and clinical skills. In November of 2004, I spent two weeks in Bombay and Bangalore, India, working with indian physicians who are attempting to develop the specialty of emergency medicine into their medical system. A 2nd year EM resident accompanied me and presented research at the Bombay meeting."

Rosemary Rochford, PhD

Department: Microbiology & Immunology, Weiskotten Hall 2202
Phone: 315 464-5468
Email: rochforr@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=rochforr
"We are interested in determining the etiology of endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma, the most common childhood cancer in Equatorial Africa. Epstein-Barr virus and Plasmodium falciparum are co-factors in the etiology but the mechanisms of their interaction is unknown. To address this question, we have established a research program in collaboration with the Kenyan Medical Research Institute in Kisumu, Kenya."

Robert Shprintzen, PhD

Department: Communication Disorder Unit, CIM Physicians Office Building, 725 Irving Ave, Suite 504
Phone: 315 464-6590
Email: shprintr@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=shprintr
"Have traveled, and continue to do this in a number of ways. First, I have been a fairly regular guest lecturer overseas, often spending several weeks assisting with programmatic issues. Most recently, I have done this in Italy, Israel, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa and Taiwan. More importantly, we are in the process of forming an International Consortium for the study and treatment of velo-cardio-facial syndrome and related disorders. This consortium will involve Upstate, Schneider Children's Medical Center in Tel Aviv, the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and the Mater Hspital in Brisbane, Australia. These efforts are combined with development projects for philanthropic giving and research dollars. This experience should well be of interest to other faculty and students."

Harold Smulyan, MD

Department: Medicine, UHCC 5th Floor
Phone: 315 464-4535
Email: smulyanh@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=smulyanh
"I spent a year in Oxford England at the old Radcliffe Infirmary doing some teaching, working in clinics and mostly research. This was 30 years ago but still have some connections at the new John Radcliffe Hospital. I also spent 6 months in Paris at Hopital Broussais 8 years ago. This was almost entirely in research, but many of my colleagues are still active at their new hospital and at other hospitals in the city. I am still in contact with many of them and am still collaborating on papers and projects."

Dawn Sweeney, MD

Department: Anesthesiology & Pediatrics
Email: dsweeny@twcny.rr.com
"I have been on a number of mission trips to foreign countries. I have been to Belize on seven occasions with a small group from Cincinnati (I used to
work at Cincinnati Children's). I work as a Pediatrician on these trips, and go to health clinics in various villages. Most of what I see on these trips would be similar to that seen in a walk-in clinic or outpatient office. There is some interest in developing educational programs for the village schools which could potentially be a student endeavor. There is also a construction team which helps to maintain the clinics, build additions, paint or do any other necessary work. Everyone pays for their own expenses on these trips. In addition to the trips to Belize, I have been to Jordan, Morocco, Nicaragua, China and Venezuela as a pediatric anesthesiologist with Operation Smile, Rotaplast, and Face-to-Face. I am sure that all of these organizations must have some policy regarding students, but I do not know any specifics. I have a number of residents from the department of anesthesiology who are interested in participating on such trips. I am not sure if residents and students would be required to pay their own expenses, but the expenses for physician volunteers varies between the groups. There is a pediatrician from this area who is planning to join the trip to Belize in the future. It would be possible for a student to join us, particularly one who might be interested in educational activities. These activities would not need to be confined to pediatrics. For example, a health fair could be planned for a couple of villages, etc."

Paula Trief, PhD

Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Weiskotten Hall 1162
Phone: 315 464-1681
Email: triefp@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=triefp
"I have presented papers at a state psychological association meeting in Australia. This experience could also be available to students."

Carl Wiezalis, MS, RRT, RT

Department: Respiratory Therapy, Silverman Hall 1227
Phone: 315 464-6868
Email: wiezalic@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/chp/programs/csrc/faculty.php?ID=wiezalic
"I have had much experience in working with respiratory therapy professionals in other countries. I would like to see an organized SUNY-wide initiative for organizing such international collaborations."

Priscilla Worral, PhD, RN

Department: College of Nursing, UH 1816B
Phone: 315 464-4405
Email: worralp@upstate.edu
Website: http://www.upstate.edu/faculty/?ID=worralp
"I have presented research papers in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Dublin, Ireland; Toronto & Montreal, Canada. I have not had the opportunity to-date to conduct research or teach more than a workshop. I mention it because I am interested in participating in an exchange program in my role as coordinator of nursing research at University Hospital. We have few resources at Upstate to develop a research presence in nursing. An exchange program that includes doctorally prepared nurses at University Hospital as well as those at the College of Nursing would enrich all parties and might raise campus awareness of nursing research."