Leadership & Contributors
UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence Steering Committee
Lisham Ashrafioun, PhD
Dr. Lisham Ashrafioun is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a research investigator at the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System. His research focuses primarily on intervention development to address novel therapeutic targets among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) as well as chronic pain. For example, he has conducted several clinical trials focused on addressing loneliness and social isolation among individuals with SUDs. He is a co-principal investigator for the RCORP-Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Prevention, where he is also leading a pilot project on the reduction of stigma related to SUDs in rural communities.
Caroline Easton, PhD
Dr. Caroline Easton is a professor of psychiatry, academic division chief in addiction psychiatry, and director of digital therapeutics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Easton is nationally and internationally known for her expertise on “best practice procedures” for the treatment of clients with co-occurring addiction and mental health, including family violence. Current research projects include a collaboration with investigators across the U.S.A. as well as investigators from India and the U.K. on the development of digital therapeutic models of care to treat chronic mental illness, addiction, co-occurring mental health and medical health, and intimate partner violence. She is a co-principal investigator for the RCORP-Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Prevention.
Gloria Baciewicz, MD
Since 1986, Dr. Gloria Baciewicz has specialized in the treatment of addiction. Professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, she serves as an addiction psychiatrist at Strong Recovery. Dr. Baciewicz is certified in addiction medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine and board certified in psychiatry, with added qualifications in addiction psychiatry.
Hochang Benjamin Lee, MD
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee is the John Romano Professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. His primary research interests are: 1) developing innovative models for delivery of behavioral health services for medical and surgical patients, 2) prevention of neuropsychiatric morbidity after major surgery among elders, and 3) Asian American mental health issues, especially among elders. Dr. Lee is the editor-in-chief for the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and president of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine.
Daniel Maeng, PhD
Daniel Maeng is a health services researcher with a focus on health economics and policy analysis. His research area includes evaluation of various state- and system-level interventions and initiatives, and he has extensive knowledge and experience in analyzing secondary data sources (e.g., health plan claims, electronic medical records, and large patient surveys). Since 2018, Dr. Maeng has been working as a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center to examine the economic impacts of behavioral health programs and interventions.
Jade Malcho, MD
Dr. Jade Malcho is senior clinical instructor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is also the associate director of Opioid Safety. Dr. Malcho earned her medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her emergency medicine residency and addiction medicine fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Malcho has served on the board of the New York Society of Addiction Medicine. Her academic interests include the intersection of the treatment of pain and substance use disorders, public policy, and quality improvement.
Itza Morales, MSB, CASAC
Itza Morales is co-director of operations and opioid treatment sponsor at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Strong Recovery. She oversees the opioid treatment program, Sobriedad Fuerte (a treatment team for the Latino patient population), the intake and referral team, and the substance use disorder in primary care (SUD-PC) program, among other initiatives. As a project lead with UR Medicine Center of Excellence, Morales is working to reduce stigma and expand access to medications for opioid use disorder in underserved rural communities. With experience that includes research, direct patient care, and administrative roles, she is passionate about expanding services for individuals with SUD and for Latino and African American patient populations in particular.
Corey Nichols-Hadeed, JD
Corey Nichols-Hadeed is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a faculty member on the UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence dissemination core. Her role in the department has primarily focused on exploring the impact of policy and law on health outcomes with a focus on patient safety across the lifespan. This work is centered on the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and information sharing across broad audiences.
Holly Russell, MD, MS
Dr. Holly Russell is an associate professor of family medicine and addiction medicine. Dr. Russell’s expertise is in promoting health behavior change including work in physical activity and nutrition promotion, smoking cessation, and treatment of substance use disorder. She is the director for Opioid Safety at the University of Rochester Medical Center and directs the Addiction Medicine Program in the Department of Family Medicine. Her work focuses on increasing access to treatment for opioid use disorder in nontraditional settings and using telemedicine to expand access. She also leads a project using a treatment-based alternative-to-suspension program for teenagers who are caught using e-cigarettes in school.
Patrick Seche, MS, CASAC
Patrick Seche is the chief administrative officer of the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Psychiatry. Previously, he was senior director of addiction services at Strong Recovery, where he oversaw three clinics. On the steering committee for UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence, Seche focused on substance use disorder, methadone treatment, and community relations.
Contributors
Julie Achtyl is the program director of the Strong Recovery Outpatient Clinic and a clinical coordinator at the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry and co-director of addiction psychiatry services. Achtyl has primary oversight of the adolescent/young adult clinic, the adult CD clinic and CCBHC outreach services. A certified trainer in Clinical Supervision Foundations II in New York State, Achtyl blends her passions of counseling, leadership, and teaching through training professionals and teaching at CASAC programs. She has also taught courses in group counseling and individual treatment planning.
Emily Clark is a senior instructor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Clark attended medical school at Kansas City University and completed her residency and fellowship at the University of Rochester. She holds board certifications in general psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry. Dr. Clark's areas of interest include Alzheimer's disease and memory disorders, geriatric mental health, and telepsychiatry outreach. She has recently been serving as the consulting and supervising psychiatrist for the Behavioral Health Assessment Officer model in the rural Appalachian New York region.
Dr. Wendi Cross is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and in Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is a clinical psychologist and faculty on the dissemination core of the UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence. She is also director of the education core of the UR Health Lab. She conducts research, publishes widely, and collaborates with investigators on a variety of research including using technology to enhance health care and to meet the behavioral health needs of rural communities.
Dr. George Nasra is professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where he serves as chief of the Division of Collaborative Care and Wellness. He is board certified in general psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and psychosomatic medicine. Dr. Nasra's career interests include collaborative and integrated care as well as increasing access to psychiatric services and reducing stigma for mental health. He is dedicating time currently to developing new models of care integration between psychiatry and other areas of medicine.
Kelly Quinn is the community outreach specialist for Strong Recovery at the University of Rochester. She was promoted from the position of peer recovery specialist where she developed peer led support groups and resurrected projects such as the Patient Advisory Committee which Quinn still remains the staff advisor for. Quinn is the founder and executive director of Recover Collaborative 501c3 incorporated in 2020 where she provides educational opportunities for individuals seeking CRPA (Certified Recovery Peer Advocate) certification in addition to professional development for those already certified. Quinn also works as a consultant and partners with community agencies to assist in the development and success of peer service lines. Quinn is a person in recovery and strives for transparency of her own recovery process stating, “Just by living authentically we empower others to do the same.” Quinn has been an advocate for the recovery community since 2014 when she started her work as a spokesperson for the initiative Embracing Race and Enhancing Equity. In addition to all her work in the recovery community Quinn is also the executive director and founder of a women’s advocacy group called Hell Hath No Fury International which strives to aid and empower survivors of domestic violence and assault incorporated just this past year and already gaining global success.
Upon graduation from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Canadian born performance artist Charmaine Wheatley has been primarily based in New York City since 1997. Her work is held in international museum and library collections, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. She has received numerous awards and done many artist in residencies, most recently at the University of Rochester Medical Center and University of Buffalo, both in New York as well, a lifetime AIR of The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA.
Her current program of work involves sitting with people from stigmatised communities like mental health or HIV capturing likenesses and fragments of conversation with watercolour on paper. Portraits of individuals in aggregate a portrait of a community and place.
Dr. Timothy J. Wiegand specializes in medical toxicology and addiction medicine. He is an associate professor of emergency medicine and public health sciences and the director of toxicology at Strong Memorial Hospital and for UR Medicine. Dr. Wiegand is also the medical director of Huther Doyle, a New York OASAS-certified addiction services provider in Rochester, New York, where he works in a collaborative model providing a variety of services for patients with substance use disorders and serves as facilitator for their Project ECHO program on pain, opioid prescribing, and addiction. In addition to ED, hospital and clinic work treating drug exposure, intoxication and withdrawal Dr. Wiegand is involved with medical education and research in toxicology and addiction. He is the associate program director for the UR Medicine Combined Addiction Medicine Fellowship, and he is core faculty for the emergency medicine residency at Strong Memorial Hospital. He lectures locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally on topics in addiction medicine and medical toxicology and serves on the board of directors for several state and national organizations including as an at-large director for the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a second term (completing 2022) for the American College of Medical Toxicology, the Medical Toxicology Foundation and he is currently president of the New York Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Wiegand is particularly interested in education in addiction medicine and the integration and collaboration between addiction medicine and medical toxicology.
