Upstate Medical University presented 16 awards at its fall convocation Sept. 16. The President‘s Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Medicine, Binghamton campus, was given to Yahia Lodi, MD. Below is his biography, as it appears in the convocation program.

By Stephanie DeJoseph

Dr. Yahia Lodi is known for his love of teaching at the Binghamton Clinical Campus, where he is a tenured professor of neurology, neurosurgery and radiology. He was also honored with a visiting professorship at Binghamton University, Thomas Watson School of Engineering.

He has developed three state-of-the-art academic teaching services at United Health System/Wilson Medical Center (UHS-WMC): a comprehensive stroke program, neuro-endovascular and neurocritical care. “Dr. Lodi‘s passion for teaching is extraordinary,” said one. These services provide the core teaching elements for Upstate medical students as well as UHS-WMC for residents and fellows. To further enhance and strengthen the teaching environment, he developed the curriculum and initiated the fellowship program in endovascular surgical neuroradiology and neurocritical care at the UHS-WMC Upstate Clinical Campus.

As part of continuating medical education (CME), Dr. Lodi also started a didactic neurosciences lecture series/case-based CME program at UHS-WMC for students, residents and fellows. His students and trainees are credited with numerous publications and presentations of his work at many national and international meetings as a result of his mentorship and encouragement.

Dr. Lodi received a SUNY Research Foundation award for his collaborative effort with the Thomas Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University for developing a unique data-mining program. In 2014, the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) acknowledged his research in the area of innovative acute stroke, and the American Neurological Association (ANA), the academic neurology professional society, awarded him the honor of ANA fellow.

As the neuroscience site director since 2013, he is in charge of organizing the students‘ clinical experiences in Binghamton and ensuring compliance and Liasion Committee on Medical Education requirements. “I had a fantastic experience during the neuroscience rotation and had exposure to a wide range of clinical and classroom learning. He checked in with my classmates and me regularly to get feedback and to make sure that we were always learning as much as possible,” noted one. Student evaluations consistently comment on Dr. Lodi as an excellent bedside teacher and laud his “availability,” “helpfulness” and “effectiveness.”

Dr. Lodi graduated from Boalmari College in Bangladesh in 1981 and received his MD degree from Mymensingh Medical College, Bangladesh. He completed a residency in neurology at the University of Wisconsin. He has also received subspecialty training in transesophageal echocardiography and neurosciences critical care and stroke at Johns Hopkins University, in endovascular neurology at SUNY Buffalo and in endovascular neurosurgery at Wayne State University/Harper Hospital.