Dr. Richard Blinkhorn Named Chair of Medicine at Albany Medical College
ALBANY, N.Y., September 8, 2009—Richard J. Blinkhorn, Jr., M.D., has been appointed chair of the department of medicine and Richard T. Beebe Chair of Medicine at Albany Medical College and Chief of Service for Medicine at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. As such, he will oversee the clinical, education and research activities in the divisions of allergy and immunology, cardiology, clinical nutrition, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general internal medicine, HIV, hospital medicine, medicine-pediatrics, nephrology, pulmonary and critical care medicine, and rheumatology.
Dr. Blinkhorn previously served as Robert Craig Chairman and professor of internal medicine, chairperson and program director of the department of internal medicine, at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as clinical professor of medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine. Prior to his responsibilities at St Joseph’s Hospital, Dr Blinkhorn was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and Director of Infectious Disease at the MetroHealth Medical Center.
“We are delighted to welcome someone of Dr. Blinkhorn’s caliber to lead the largest academic department at Albany Medical College,” said Vincent Verdile, M.D., dean of Albany Medical College and executive vice president of health affairs at Albany Medical Center. “His vast experience in professional development and medical education and his demonstrated excellence in leadership roles will be invaluable to our faculty, residents and students of the Albany Medical Center.”
Board certified in infectious disease, Dr. Blinkhorn has a particular interest in tuberculosis (TB) and mycobacterial diseases. While in Phoenix, he served as medical director of the Craig Tuberculosis Clinic, as well as the deputy TB control officer for Maricopa County Health Department, and the Deputy State TB control officer for the Arizona Department of Health Services.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Davidson College, and earned his medical degree from Bowman Gray (Wake Forest University) School of Medicine. He served as chief resident in medicine at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, where he also completed an infectious disease fellowship.
A recipient of numerous research grants, Dr. Blinkhorn has been published in a number of journals including the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and the Archives of Internal Medicine. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American College of Physicians and the Association of Program Directors of Internal Medicine.
Albany Medical Center is northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center. It consists of Albany Medical College, Albany Medical Center Hospital and Albany Medical Center Foundation, Inc. Additional information about Albany Medical Center can be found at www.amc.edu.
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Sue Ford
