Yale Medical Group has been growing at a rapid pace in the last few years, not only in numbers of doctors, but also in availability of services. In the last months, new leaders have been preparing to help take the practice in new directions.
Naftali Kaminski, MD, is the new chief of the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and the recently designated Boehringer-Ingelheim Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.
An internationally renowned expert in genomics of lung disease, biomarker discovery and pulmonary fibrosis, he expects to help Yale grow as both a research and clinical destination for patients with common disorders such as asthma, COPD and sleep-disordered breathing, as well as less common diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis and cystic fibrosis.
Dr. Kaminski comes from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM), where he was the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Endowed Chair for Pulmonary Research, and a tenured professor of medicine, pathology, computational biology and human genetics. He was the founding director of the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) at UPSOM, and led the center to national prominence as one of the leading programs specializing in care and research for interstitial lung diseases.
He received his medical degree from the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Israel, and completed his residency at Hadassah Mount-Scopus University in Jerusalem, followed by his fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Sheba Medical Center in Israel. After his fellowship, he was appointed head of Functional Genomics at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, before being recruited to lead the Simmons Center.
Dr. Kaminski was honored recently with the American Thoracic Society Recognition of Scientific Achievements Award at the American Thoracic International Conference, and the Helmholtz Institute International Fellow Award in recognition of his outstanding research.
Tao Zheng, MD, is the new chief of the Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics. As an allergist, she has an active allergy and clinical immunology clinical practice for both adult and pediatric patients.
As a physician-scientist, she has a long-standing interest and passion for caring for patients with allergic disorders, including asthma and atopic dermatitis. Her research laboratory has taken a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of atopic dermatitis, asthma and the atopic march (progression from atopic dermatitis to asthma).
Dr. Zheng comes to Yale from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she was clinical director of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and an associate professor. She completed her medical degree at Tongii Medical University in China, and her MS in histology and pathology at Hubei Medical University. She completed her medical residency at Yale School of Medicine, in addition to a clinical fellowship in allergy and clinical immunology, and a research fellowship in pharmacology and microbiology at University of Alabama in Birmingham.
David Greer, MD, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology, has been appointed division chief of Neurovascular and medical director of the Yale-New Haven Hospital Stroke Program.
Dr. Greer, who came to Yale in 2010, is the Dr. Harry M. Zimmerman and Dr. Nicholas and Viola Spinelli Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery. He is board-certified in neurology, neurocritical care and vascular neurology. In addition, he has special interests in coma and disorders of consciousness, ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.
Dr. Greer completed his medical degree and master’s in English literature at University of Florida, and was a resident, fellow in stroke and critical care, and staff member at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to his responsibilities as vice chairman, he serves as director of Yale’s neurology residency program and is the director of medical studies for the Neurology Department.
Kevin Sheth, MD, is the founding chief of the Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, and chief of clinical research for the Department of Neurology. An assistant professor, he is board-certified in neurocritical care, neurology and vascular neurology. His interests are in the advancement of therapies and care of patients with devastating acute neurological syndromes, especially those complicated by brain swelling and hemorrhage.
Before coming to Yale, Dr. Sheth was the first neurology trained neuro-intensivist at the University of Maryland and R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. He is a nationally recognized clinical and translational scientist and has directed a number of multicenter studies testing novel therapies against brain swelling, stroke and hemorrhage. His research group also develops novel imaging and serum based biomarkers for the neuro-ICU and furthers understanding of prognosis. He is the co-chair of several national working groups developing guidelines in malignant infarction.
Dr. Sheth completed his medical degree at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and was chief resident at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He obtained his fellowship in vascular neurology and neurocritical care from Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women’s Hospital.
David E. Tinker, JD, is the new associate chair and chief of administration for the Department of Surgery. He brings more than 10 years of surgery leadership experience and has over 15 years of health care leadership experience.
Tinker comes to Yale from the University of Vermont Medical Group, Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont, where he was director of the Department of Surgery.
He will take over the position previously filled by Fred Borrelli, MBA, who was appointed COO of Yale Medical Group last fall. Tinker will be responsible for the management and operations, business development, strategic planning and implementation of clinical, research and education programs for the Department of Surgery.
Tinker is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown.