Internal Medicine Residency Program

Gregory K. Buller, MD, FACP	Gregory K. Buller is the Chairman of the Department of Medicine and previously served as the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and is board certified in Nephrology and Hypertension. Dr. Buller received his medical degree from the University of Kansas, subsequently completing his residency and chief residency at Duke University. He was a National Kidney Foundation Fellow at Duke, and later a faculty member in the Division of Nephrology. Dr. Buller has authored or coauthored more than 75 scientific publications and has served on editorial panels and as a reviewer for several medical journals. His current areas of interest include the renal and blood pressure effects of NSAIDs, potassium homeostasis and the cardiovascular effects of potassium perturbations. Dr. Buller maintains a strong personal interest in general medical education and has been the recipient of the “Teacher of the Year” award given by the Yale and Saint Mary's Residency Programs. He has also served as a Visiting Professor at a number of academic institutions and frequently lectures across the country on a variety of medical topics. His proudest professional achievement remains the tremendous success enjoyed by his former residents, whose careers vary from NIH and other basic science researchers, to professors of medicine at various academic institutions, to local internists and subspecialists.

Jason R. Ouellette, MD, FACP	Jason R. Ouellette is the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and an Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Ouellette graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 2001. He completed his residency in the Yale Traditional Internal Medicine Program in 2004 and is board certified in Internal Medicine. He subsequently served as a Clinician Educator for the Yale Primary Care Residency Program and as Associate Program Director of the Saint Mary's Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Ouellette’s interests include residency program administration and accreditation, curriculum development, resident evaluation, education, recruitment, research and advising. In addition to supervising residents on the inpatient medicine service, he has his own private practice at Saint Mary’s Hospital. He is also a member of the Communication Skills Faculty for students at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Ouellette is a member of the American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Society of General Internal Medicine and the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine.

Shawnette Alston, MD	Shawnette Alston is the Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Program and serves as Director of Ambulatory Education. Dr. Alston received her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2000 and completed her Residency in the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Program in 2003. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and a Clinical Instructor at Yale University School of Medicine. She is a member of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

Thomas Genese, MD	Thomas Genese MD FACP serves as an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, Clinical Instructor at Yale University School of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Family Health Center. Dr. Genese graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2002 and completed his Internal Medicine residency and chief residency at Rosalind Franklin University, formally Chicago Medical School. He is board certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Genese's academic interests include residency program administration and curriculum development, resident evaluation and mentoring, medical education research, quality improvement, and evidence-based analysis. He oversees the procedures education curriculum, quality improvement curriculum and initiatives, and provides guidance to residents on statistical methods. He maintains both a private practice at the neighboring Family Health Center and supervises residents in both outpatient and inpatient settings.

Michael Simms, MD	Dr. Simms joined the faculty in 1984 after completing a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Brown University School of Medicine. Since that time he has immersed himself in the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate/peer education, and hospital infection control. During this score of years he has engaged in virtually every aspect and venue of medical education at Saint Mary’s Hospital and lectured at other institutions; has served on and chaired many committees for the improvement of patient care, education, and quality; and has served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine.Dr. Simms is Chief of Infectious Diseases/ Infection Control, Chairman of the Infection Control Committee, an Associate Clinical Professor Of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and secretary/treasurer of the Connecticut Infectious Disease Society. When not in the hospital he can be found outdoors in the woods, hiking, biking, kayaking and on rainy days/nights feeding his passion for learning new things especially American history.

Majid Sadigh, MD	Majid Sadigh, MD, graduated from Shiraz University Medical School in Iran and completed his residency at St. Mary's Hospital in Connecticut, and an Infectious Disease fellowship at the University of Chicago. He served as Associate Program Director of the Yale Primary Care Program and as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine for many years. A veteran of medical missions around the world, Dr Sadigh has trained physicians and provided patient care from East Timor to Russia to Guyana. In 2002, he was selected from a competitive field of applicants to take part in an AIDS training program led by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association to train African physicians in HIV/AIDS care in Uganda. Dr. Sadigh, as a master clinician and educator, has won numerous teaching and humanitarian awards, with extensive experience internationally in classrooms and at the bedside of patients in Russia, Uganda, Botswana, Rwanda as well as other sub-Saharan countries. He is currently Co-Director of the Makerere University/ Yale University and Kazan State Medical University/ Yale University Exchange Programs. In addition to contributing his clinical insight to the growth of medical residents and the care of patients at St. Mary's Hospital, Dr. Sadigh will be assisting the faculty and house staff with scholarly work and research endeavors.

Eugene Bunnell, MD	Dr. Bunnell received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1986. He completed a fellowship in Internal Medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, and another in Pulmonary Medicine at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He has received numerous teaching awards from the Yale Primary Care Residency Program and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary’s Hospital and Chairman of the Institutional Review Board.

Dr. Sina Raissi, MD	Dr Sina Raissi graduated from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, in 1990. He graduated from Internal Medicine residency program at "Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center" in 1998. Subsequently, he received training as a fellow at Nephrology fellowship program at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia and graduated in 2001. Dr. Raissi joined Medicine Department at St. Mary's Hospital in September of the same year and has been actively involved in clinical teaching of the internal medicine residents on both general medicine, and nephrology rotations. Dr. Raissi is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He is an active member of American Society of Nephrology, American College of Physicians, International Society of Nephrology, and American Society of Hypertension. His primary areas of interest are hypertension, diabetic kidney disease, and electrolyte disorders.

Rebecca Newell, MD	Dr Newell is the Director of the Children and Family Health Center and is a Yale University Clinical Instructor and Quinnipiac University Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor. Dr. Newell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University 1995. She received her medical degree from University of Pittsburgh in 2000 and completed a residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve - University Hospitals of Cleveland in 2004. She went on to become the first Med/Peds Chief Resident at Case the next year. She is currently a general practitioner of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the Children and Family Health Center. Additionally, Dr. Newell supervises residents in the outpatient setting and teaches medical students, physician assistant students and nurse practitioner students. Dr. Newell’s interests include obesity, diabetes and disparities in healthcare. She is a member of the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Pediatricians and the Society of General Internal Medicine.

Ali Vaezy, MD	Ali Vaezy graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and completed a combined residency in Internal medicine and Pediatrics at Yale. He served as chief resident in the Yale Primary Care Medicine Residency Program before joining the faculty at Saint Mary's as a Clinician Educator. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and he is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Yale. He sees both adult and pediatric patients at the Children's and Family Health Center and attends on the inpatient medical service at Saint Mary’s Hospital. His interests include resident education and board review.

Jaideep S. Talwalkar, MD, FAAP	Dr. Talwalkar graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2000. He completed his residency in the Yale Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program, and spent a year as Pediatric Chief Resident at Yale. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Dr. Talwalkar’s interests include primary care residency education, curriculum development and evaluation, resident teaching skills development, cystic fibrosis, and transition of care. He sees general internal medicine and pediatric patients at the Children’s and Family Health Center in Waterbury, CT. He also serves as Associate Director of the Yale Cystic Fibrosis Adult and Transition Clinics at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He supervises residents and medical students in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at Yale and St. Mary’s Hospital.

Gretchen Berland, MD	Gretchen Berland received her medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University, subsequently completing her residency at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Following her residency, she spent two years as a Fellow in the UCLA Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. She is now an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale. Dr. Berland supervises housestaff in both the inpatient and outpatient settings and instructs students at Yale University School of Medicine.

Stephen J. Scholand, MD	Stephen J Scholand is a Clinical Instructor and Consultant in Infectious Diseases at St. Mary's Hospital. He is board certified in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine. Dr Scholand received his medical degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine, in Washington, DC. Subsequently, he completed his residency and fellowship training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He worked at Reading Hospital as a Clinical Instructor in Infectious Diseases before coming to St. Mary's in October, 2006. Dr Scholand has published several articles in the medical literature. His primary areas of interest include rabies, travel medicine and HIV care. Dr. Scholand established a charity, A Rabies Free World in 2003, which seeks to reduce rabies suffering, particularly in the developing world. You can visit Dr. Scholand's website at www.rabiesfreeworld.net or see his new rabies website for children at www.kids4rabiesfreeworld.com.

Arjet Gega, MD	Dr. Gega is an Infectious Diseases attending who recently joined the residency program faculty. He was born and raised in Albania and received his medical degree from Istanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Florida in Gainesville and his Infectious Diseases fellowship at Yale. Dr. Gega has a special interest in chronic viral diseases including HIV, Hepatitis B and C. He has worked and published his research related to HIV and CNS compartmentalization. Currently he is building a Chronic Hepatitis Clinic. Dr. Gega is a member of Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is married and has one son. When he is not working in the hospital he likes to volunteer in the local Albanian Community Centers, watch and play soccer and spend time with his son.

Leigh Aronin	Leigh received her Masters Degree in Health Care Management from Hartford Graduate Center and has been part of the Saint Mary’s Hospital family since 1982. She is the Program Coordinator for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, supervising every aspect of resident recruitment and other vital program functions. She is coordinator, mother, and friend to our residents.

Lisa Trusch	Lisa is the Assistant Program Coordinator for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Lisa joined Saint Mary’s Hospital in May 2007. She was previously employed by Aetna Life and Casualty as the Legal Department Recruiting Coordinator. Her prior experience also includes employment by United Technologies in Windsor Locks, CT, and as an Independent Medical Transcriptionist. She holds an AS Degree from Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Dan Keifer	Dan received his Associates Degree in Electronics Engineering from the Community College of the Air Force. He serves as a Residency Support Specialist, providing administrative and technology support to the Department, coordinating resident schedules and educational conferences, and maintaining the Program’s on-line supports and resources.