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Meet Our Faculty

         
 

Laurel Banach, MD
Assistant Professor
UMass Chan Community-Based HIV and Viral Hepatitis Fellowship
UMass Chan Worcester Family Medicine Residency
UMass Medical School
Hometown: Shrewsbury, MA
Personal Facts: Walks with my dog Phoebe, hiking, and powerlifting

   
   

 

   
      

Rebecca Blumhofer, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Wheaton College, 2004
Boston University School of Medicine, 2010
Boston University School of Public Health, 2006
UMass Worcester Family Medicine Residency, 2013
Areas of Interest: Adolescent Health, Women’s Health, Maternal Child Health

   
         
 

Philip Bolduc, MD
Associate Professor
Director, Community-Based HIV and Viral Hepatitis Fellowship
Brown University, BS in Electrical Engineering
UMass Chan Medical School, 2000
Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, 2003
Areas of Interest: The integration of HIV and Hepatitis B and C management into primary care.
Why Family Health Center? Family Health Center serves a vibrant, diverse, challenging and inspiring patient population.  It is an honor to work with so many talented colleagues who share a mission to provide care to this community and teach generations of students and residents to do the same. Our Ryan White-supported HIV clinical and fellowship programs serve over 350 persons from all corners of the globe with dignity, excellence and compassion.
Personal Facts: I am a Worcester native and a former electrical engineer who worked on solar photovoltaic system research and design changing careers.  I live in the city and participate in civic life in different ways, and am always impressed with the people I meet in different arenas who are working to make Worcester a great community. 

 

   

  Lucy Candib, MD
Professor Emeritus
Radcliffe College, 1968
Harvard Medical School, M.D., 1972
1972-1973 Rotating internship Cambridge City Hospital
1974-1976 Worcester City Hospital/Umass Family Practice Residency
Areas of Interest: Woman-centered care, pregnancy and birth, and throughout the lifecycle; Empowering care of chronic illness, esp. diabetes; Violence and victimization of children and adults, and the aftermath; Culture, immigration, refugees, asylum. Author of Medicine and the Family: A Feminist Perspective (Basic, 1995) Co-author (with Sara Shields, MD) of Woman-Centered Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (Radcliffe, 2010.)
Why Family Health Center? Diversity of staff, patients, cultures, illnesses at a health center with a wide variety of services. Commitment to high quality care linked with training programs (MDs, NPs, social workers, dental residents) all in a setting dedicated to the underserved. Academic faculty with ongoing research interests relevant to our population (conveying prevention to low literacy patients; health care for homeless families; breast feeding practices among low income women; Centering Pregnancy, and many others.) 
Personal Facts: I live on 10 acres on a pond within the Worcester city limits and sometimes bike to work on a recumbent bike. I am working on a book possibly titled “It Runs in the Family” about diabetes and depression in my family of origin.
   
   

 

   
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Lisa Carter, MD
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, M.D., 1999
Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, 2003
Basic Clinical Pastoral Education (chaplaincy program), UNC, 1997
Masters of Public Health in Maternal/Child Health, UNC, 1998
Areas of Interest: Psychiatry, Underserved Medicine
Why Family Health Center? I feel very blessed to have meaningful work that engages both mind and heart. At Family Health Center of Worcester I feel that I am part of a vibrant, thriving team that provides comprehensive services to patients and deeply impacts their lives. I have delightful colleagues and I love working with the residents. I think residents see me as a role model for balancing professional and personal life, which is something we all struggle with in underserved medicine, and I enjoy helping them plan for balanced lives and careers. I truly love my job!

   
         
         
  Sara Casey, DO
Assistant Education Director
Assistant Professor
Providence College
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2011
UMass Worcester Family Medicine Residency, 2014

Areas of Interest: Full spectrum family medicine with OB, geriatrics, diabetes, and OMT. Love to run prenatal and diabetes group visits.
Why Family Health Center? I came to FHCW for  residency, and never left. I love the diversity of our patients and staff, and really enjoy that each day is different from the next. I love being involved in teaching the residents and medical students, and seeing them grow throughout the years.
Personal Facts: I grew up in Spain and moved to the US when I was 16. I love that I get to use my Spanish every day at work. In my free time, I love hiking and biking with my family. We also love traveling as a family and exploring new places.

   
         
  Elizabeth Dykhouse, Ph.D,
Director of Behavioral Science
Assistant Professor  
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
Predoctoral internship with I Ola Lahui Rural Behavioral Health (HI)
Postdoctoral fellowship with Salud Family Health Centers (CO)
Areas of Interest: Dr. Dykhouse's background is in primary care psychology and health psychology. She is particularly interested in the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate care and has experience working with interpreters as well as practicing directly in Spanish.
   
         
         
    Erik Garcia, MD
Assistant Professor Medical Director, Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Project
   
         
  Melanie Gnazzo, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Connecticut
University of Rochester Family Medicine Residency
Areas of Interest: Immigrant and Refugee care, women’s health including maternity care, office procedures
Why Family Health Center? I am excited to be a part of the UMass community. The physicians I work with are excellent clinicians and educators. The other staff work hard to make sure patients are cared for appropriately. Everyone really strives to provide the best care to all patients, particularly those in the greatest need
Personal Facts: I enjoy spending time with my family hiking, exploring small towns and having quiet dinners with family and friends.
   
         
  Emma Howard-Young, MD
Assistant Professor
Pediatrics Residency at UMass Chan Medical School at Baystate Medical Center, 2021
Sidney Kimmel Medical School at Jefferson University, 2018
Areas of Interest: I am a general pediatrician with an interest in mental and behavioral health for kids of all ages. I am passionate about providing trauma-informed care to patients and their families.
Why Family Health Center? FHCW presented a fantastic opportunity for me to practice primary care pediatrics with a focus on mental and behavioral health. I wanted to be a part of an organization that was addressing the social determinants of health that impact our patients, which FHCW does well. I was able to join a team of staff and providers who are dedicated, supportive, and passionate.
Personal Facts: I love to bake and paint in my spare time, and will try any craft or DIY that sparks my interest. Being in nature in any capacity is healing to me. My partner and I have a 1 year old who is a wild joy in our lives, and I love nothing more than spending the day with the two of them.
   
         
         
  Jordan Howard-Young, MD
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship
UMass Worcester Family Medicine Residency
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
MA in International Development, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Areas of Interest: Community psychiatry, complex trauma, anti-racism and structural oppression work, refugee health, LGBTQI+ health, teaching and mentorship, community organizing and storytelling
Why Family Health Center? I immediately felt welcomed and cared for when I came here. I was inspired to join a group of people from different perspectives and disciplines who were passionate about providing the best care they can to structurally-vulnerable individuals and communities. 
Personal Facts: I grew up in Las Vegas, NV. I worked in community organizing and public policy prior to finding my way to medicine. I also have a background in refugee health and sustainable and participatory societal development that inform much of my approach to medicine. I live in rural Western Mass with my life partner, our toddler, and 2 cats.
   
         
         
  Hilary Mislan MD
Assistant Professor
Education Director
University of Massachusetts – Family Health Center of Worcester (2017)
Albany Medical College (2014)
Areas of Interest: Addiction medicine and suboxone; 
Maternal child health and Interconception care; Teaching
Why Family Health Center: I love being at a teaching community health center. We have a huge array of services and can do a lot for our patients holistically. The cultural diversity is always stimulating, both among our patients and our staff. I completed residency here and stayed on because I love my patients and the people I work with, and I've been here ever since! I speak Spanish with about half my patients. 
Personal Facts: I am an avid gardener, outdoors enthusiast, and long-distance runner. I live just outside Worcester with my partner, two young children, and our dog. We also have about 20 chickens. 
   
         
         
  Claudeleedy Pierre, MD
Associate Director, Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship
Director of Perinatal Services
Assistant Professor
Brown University
Brown University Alpert Medical School
Boston University Family Medicine Residency
Greater Lawrence Family Medicine OB Fellowship
Areas of Interest: Maternal Child Health, Underserved Communities/Populations, Diabetes, Teaching, & Team Approach to Health Care
   
         
         
  Angela Rufo, DO
Assistant Professor
Faculty, Sports Medicine Fellowship
   
         
  Amber Sarkar, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Ben Gurion University Medical School for International Health 2010
UMass Family Medicine Residency (Family Health Center of Worcester)
Areas of Interest: Underserved Medicine, Community Medicine, Global Health
   
         
         
  Sara G. Shields, MD, MS
Professor
Harvard University, A.B., 1984 
University of California at San Francisco, M.D., 1989
University of Rochester, 1992
Maternal & Child Health Fellowship, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, 1994
Areas of Interest: Maternity Care, Underserved Populations, Women's Health. Co-author (with Lucy Candib, MD) of Woman-Centered Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (Radcliffe, 2010.) My interests include breastfeeding, group prenatal care, family medicine maternity care, quality improvement in general and in maternal/child health in particular, and the humanities in medicine. I've worked in recent years with a community collaborative trying to address infant mortality, including a project to donate free Baby Boxes with educational materials to Worcester's neediest families. 
Why Family Health Center: When I'm able to be with residents attending one of their own patients' deliveries, I love encouraging the residents to discover and savor their unique longitudinal connections with laboring women and their families. This continuity during maternity care is what makes our role as family physicians so special and so important.
Personal Facts: In my nanoseconds of free time, I enjoy reading novels, knitting, and any kind of outdoor exercise except for things that worsen my fear of heights or my tendency towards seasickness. My goal is to some day complete the Cape Cod half marathon trilogy in one year so that I can get the really cool jacket. I've taken up curling, and I'm currently training to be a docent at Worcester's fabulous art museum so that I can lead more tours for medical students, residents, and doctors to teach observation, teamwork and  communication skills in that unique setting.
   
         
         
  Matthew Silva, PharmD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
   
         
  Lyndsey Stadtmueller, MD
Assistant Professor
Olin College 
Boston University School of Medicine
UMass Worcester Family Medicine Residency 
   
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
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