Faculty Notes
New Faculty
Jan 10, 2007

Rula Baluz, M.D. (cardiology) joins us from the Children’s Heart Clinic of Montgomery, AL.   A native of Beirut, Lebanon, she obtained her medical degree from the American University of Beirut and then completed residency and fellowship at the Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans.   Her main clinical interests are in non-invasive cardiology and the medical management of children with congenital heart disease.

Manoj Biniwale, M.D. ( neonatology), received his medical degree at the University of Poona, BJ Medical College in Poona, India.   He comes to Stony Brook following completion of a fellowship in Neonatology at Yale University. He has research interests in in utero gene transfer as a model to treat or prevent congenital disorders.

Mahmut Yasar Celiker, M.D. ( hematology/oncology) (Yasar) joined the division of Hematology/Oncology from Schneider Children’s hospital in October, 2005.   Yasar completed medical school at the Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey before coming to the United States.   He subsequently obtained graduate training in physiology and research at Temple University in Philadelphia and completed his clinical training with a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Schneider Children’s Hospital of LIJ.   He remained on the faculty attending on the BMT unit and conducting research for 2 years before joining the Stony Brook faculty.   Dr. Celiker has interests in bone marrow failure syndromes (particularly Fanconi anemia), sickle cell anemia and childhood brain tumors.   He is currently completing a Masters in Clinical Research at the Albert Einstein University School of Graduate Studies.

Edward Chan, M.D.( hematology/oncology) obtained his MD degree from SUNY-Buffalo and stayed in Buffalo for residency training.   Following residency, he completed a 3 year fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio.   He then remained in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Cripe as a post-doctoral fellow honing his research skills.   Dr Chan’s research interests are in Ron and Ras oncogene cell-signaling pathways in neuroblastoma and other tumor cells.   Dr. Chan was recently awarded a Clinical Research Scholar Fellowship at Stony Brook which will further his academic training in the areas of statistics, clinical trial design and translational research.

J. Craig Cohen, Ph.D. ( neonatology) joined the department as director of neonatology research along with the recruitment of his wife, Janet Larson our new chief of neonatology.   He joins us from Louisiana State University school of medicine in New Orleans where he was Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry.   Dr. Cohen received his PhD   from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1976 and then spent the next 2 years as a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of (nobel prize winner) Harold Varmus and Michael Bishop where he studied the molecular biology of tumor cells.   He then joined the Immunology faculty at Tulane University in 1978 and subsequently moved over to LSU in 1982.   He was ultimately promoted to Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular biology in 1987.   With Dr. Larson, he has established a robust research program studying the role the cystic fibrosis CFTR gene plays in fetal lung development.   In his spare time, he is an avid sailor and was the 1994 North American J80 class sailboat champion.

Christopher Cuccia, M.D. ( general pediatrics) recently completed his pediatric residency at Stony Brook after having received his M.D. from SUNY-Upstate Medical Center.   He was well respected by his peers, supervisors and the nurses and is recognized as an excellent teacher of junior residents and medical students. We are all very happy to keep him here at Stony Brook.

Denise Dixon, Ph.D. ( infectious diseases) joined the faculty last fall but spent time off following the birth of her daughter.   She received her Ph.D. in Psychology at the Albert Einstein University School of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and then obtained additional post-graduate training at the Jackson Memorial Hospital of the University of Miami.   Prior to joining the department, she was an assistant professor at the UMDNJ Newark campus.  Her research interests are in the area of cognition in chronic illnesses, and in the role cytokines play in regulating immune function. She is a great resource for our faculty and her impact on faculty research is already evident.

Mireya Garcia, M.D. ( endocrinology) joined the department last fall.   She received her medical degree from the Instituto Tecnologico (INTEC) Dominican Republic followed by residency at Bronx Lebanon Hospital and fellowship at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.   Prior to joining our faculty she was a research assistant professor at Columbia Presbyterian hospital.   She is interested in all aspects of pediatric endocrinology with particular emphasis on the role of obesity and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes, and in polycystic ovary disease in adolescents and children .   Of note, she is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Kimberly Joiner, M.D. ( general pediatrics) also completed her residency at Stony Brook after obtaining her medical degree from Temple University, Philadelphia.   She distinguished herself by her calm demeanor in acute medical care and for her gentle and effective approach to teaching residents and medical students.   She is a great addition to our faculty.

Janet Larson, M.D. ( neonatology) joined the department last fall as chief of neonatology.   Dr. Larson received her medical degree from the University of Nebraska where she also obtained her clinical training in pediatrics and neonatology.   Following her formal neonatology fellowship, Dr. Larson obtained additional research training at the University of British Columbia.   She joined the faculty of the Louisiana State University Medical School and subsequently moved to the Ochsner Children’s Hospital and Research Institute where she was a member of the division of neonatology and head of the Research Institute.   Dr. Larson, along with her husband and collaborator Craig Cohen, have an established and innovative research program studying the role the CFTR gene plays in fetal lung development.

Jeffrey Morganstern, M.D. (gastroenterology & nutrition) joined the department of pediatrics at Stony Brook this summer.   Dr. Morganstern may be remembered by many as he was a medical student at Stony Brook.   While we tried to get him to stay for residency, he chose to go to the Schneider Children’s Hospital of LIJ for residency followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.   He is welcomed back with open arms, and we won’t hold his earlier decisions against him!

Catherine S. Riley, M.D. ( behavioral & developmental pediatrics) joins the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics on July 5, 2006.   Dr. Riley is a graduate of Indiana University (B.S. in Education), with a M. Ed. Degree from Western Maryland College, and her M.D. from the Mayo Medical School in 1996.   Her internship and residency were completed at the Naval Medical Center IN Portsmouth, NH.   She completed her fellowship training in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, as well as Chief Fellow in that division at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in June, 2006.  

Lycia Maniscalco Ryder, D.O. ( general pediatrics) comes back to us after graduating from our program last year.   She obtained her medical degree from NYCOM and has a strong interest in general pediatrics and medical education.   Welcome back Lycia!

Alfred Scherzer, M.D. ( behavioral & developmental pediatrics) has held a prior Stony Brook faculty appointment in the Department of Preventive Medicine while having a private practice in behavioral and developmental pediatrics in Riverhead.   Dr. Scherzer received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and clinical training at NY Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.   Dr. Scherzer has a longstanding interest in international medicine and has participated in a medical mission program to Ankor hospital in Ankor Wat, Cambodia.   Dr. Scherzer has a joint appointment in Preventive Medicine and is working with the School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics to open this opportunity to residents and medical students.

Shetal Shah, M.D. ( neonatology) graduated from Cornell University Medical College and received residency and fellowship training at NYU Medical Center.   While Dr. Shah is interested in all aspects of neonatology, he has a particular interest in how inflammatory cytokines mediate neonatal illness.