Improving the health of our neighbors means addressing the root causes of poor health in our communities.
The pulse of the community. The power of care.
A healthier Buffalo is within our reach. Together with committed community partners, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has launched The Buffalo Primary Care Initiative, a collective effort created to significantly increase the number of practicing physicians specializing in family medicine working within the City of Buffalo. By training highly qualified and compassionate doctors, and keeping their medical school debt to a minimum, we can put them to work helping the community where it’s needed the most—Buffalo’s underserved East and West Sides.
Adding more primary care physicians to our community is the first step in creating improved, more equitable health in Buffalo. Here’s why:
Preventive care: Primary care physicians focus on preventive medicine, helping catch and manage health issues before they become severe.
Better access: More doctors mean shorter wait times and easier appointment scheduling.
Continuity of care: Regular access to the same doctor means better management of chronic conditions and fewer visits to the doctor each year.
Health education: Primary care doctors provide valuable health education, growing individuals’ health literacy.
Cultural competence: Increasing diversity among primary care providers helps address cultural barriers to better health.
Coordination: Helping patients navigate the complex healthcare system ensures better overall care management.
The Initiative at work
A doctor takes the blood pressure of a community member at a medical clinic.
The Buffalo Primary Care Initiative will place doctors where they are needed most while reducing the cost of medical school for doctors who want to support Buffalo communities with significant need. With the average graduate of UB’s Jacobs School carrying more than $225,000 in medical school debt, graduating physicians are often forced to choose more lucrative specialties rather than focus on primary care. The Buffalo Primary Care Initiative is a program for medical students; to receive support and minimize loan debt, each recipient must pledge to specialize in primary care and commit to practice for at least five years in one of Buffalo’s most at risk and in need neighborhoods.
To reduce health disparities by improving access to primary care physicians in Buffalo’s most underserved communities, with your support we will:
Place 4 primary care physicians in the East and West Sides of Buffalo each year.
Improve health care access for approximately 10,000 residents each year in these communities.
Decrease rates of preventable diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Your Impact
At the Jacobs School, we are betting big that by making primary care a more accessible specialty for our students we will significantly increase the number of physicians in our community and pave the way to better health for all of our neighbors. A gift in support of The Buffalo Primary Care Initiative is a gift to support bright and caring physicians who are invested in the future and in a healthier Buffalo. Your support will help provide direct access to primary care for thousands of Buffalo residents, improving the health outcomes and the economic well-being of city residents.
“Our motives for giving are simple," said Thomas J. Guttuso Sr., MD ‘60. "In my former role as Dean of Admissions for the medical school, I witnessed firsthand the need for scholarship funds to help students financially. We also wanted to give back in gratitude for the education I received.”
Established by faculty and staff members, alumni, former residents and friends, the Department of Nuclear Medicine Endowment Fund underwrites activities and projects that enrich and enhance the academic environment in the department, and throughout the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Established in 2000 by the family of Kornel L. Terplan, M.D., this fund provides an annual lecture at the discretion of the Chair of the Department of Pathology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.
Dr. Eugene A. Gorzynski — who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at UB — was a popular professor and scholar in the Department of Microbiology.
For years, experts from the National Institute of Health, Harvard Medical School, Yale School of Medicine and other prestigious institutions have inspired students and faculty at UB through the Dr. Suk Ki Hong Memorial Lecture.
The Seal the Deal Endowment Fund is used to enable top students to say “yes” to UB when it might not otherwise be possible, or to stay in school when outside obligations might prevent them from staying through to graduation. The fund was established by Raymond P. Dannenhoffer, Ph.D., '87, M.A., '82.
The Diversity and Inclusion Funds may support a variety efforts throughout the school, including a student scholarship, programs for individuals from underrepresented groups, and other initiatives to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
The purpose of this fund is to provide financial support for a variety of activities within the Department of Neurology in the area of Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders.
Every year, this fund provides at least one award to a fourth-year medical student at the beginning of the fourth year, to help with expenses related to residency application.
Established in 1988 by class members of the Medical School Class of 1958 through their 30th reunion, this fund provides an annual scholarship to one or more students enrolled at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
At the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, our mission is to graduate expert, caring physicians who are prepared to address the health care needs of today’s patients.
Established by the Medical Class of 1973, this fund provides one or more annual grants to a student (or students) enrolled in UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The Dean’s Innovation Fund provides the Dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences unrestricted funds to respond rapidly and flexibly to ideas as they arise.
The General Pediatrics Fund supports pediatric medical research for the Department of Pediatrics within the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Initiated by concerned local physicians and business leaders, the Western New York Medical scholarship is a successful initiative that uses proven strategies to address two key objectives — student debt and projected physician shortages.
The Emergency Fund is available to students whose unexpected financial circumstances could impact their ability to remain enrolled in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
A healthier Buffalo is within our reach. Together with committed community partners, the Jacobs School has launched The Buffalo Primary Care Initiative to increase the number of practicing family medicine physicians working within the City of Buffalo.
Established by Dr. James J. White, Dr. Robert Gillespie, Dr. Eugene and June Mindell, and other alumni and friends of UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, this fund is used by the chair of the Department of Orthopaedics to augment the salary line designated by the school for the department’s chair position.
Established by Michael and Peggy Cain, the Dean’s Enrichment Endowment Fund provides a variety of resources that help the medical school achieve its priorities, while also inspiring others to invest in the school.
The Family Medicine Endowment Fund was created in 1997 to support the department’s mission in perpetuity. The fund was established by various donors in order to enhance the programs and activities of the Department of Family Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, at the discretion of the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine.
At the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, our mission is to advance health and wellness across the life span for the people of New York and the world through the education of tomorrow’s leaders in health care and biomedical sciences, innovative research and outstanding clinical care.
“We want to encourage medical students interested in working with the underserved to consider family medicine as a career choice, and we hope this will help,” said Mrs. Adelaide Griswold and The Reverend Brendan Griswold, who established this fund.
Established by Erie County Medical Center Medical-Dental staff and alumni gifts, this fund provides an annual award to a University at Buffalo medical student who has demonstrated an exceptional level of caring for others.
For many years, UB students have participated in short-term global health mission trips where they provide medical care in an interdisciplinary team setting to individuals in rural areas that have limited resources and fragmented healthcare.
These trips enable UB students to learn how to provide culturally-competent care in a global healthcare setting. They set up "mobile" pharmacies and clinics, dispense medications, counsel patients and assist providers with medication selection. These experiences not only give students hands-on training but teach a level of compassion and patient care that cannot be learned in a classroom.
Your gift will help offset travel and related expenses for UB students and ensure they have the medical supplies necessary to treat all of the individuals in need that they encounter.
Medical students incur an average of nearly $180,000 in debt by graduation. Debt of this magnitude discourages many talented and diverse students from pursuing a career in medicine. It also influences their choices about what field to specialize in and where they ultimately choose to practice.
News from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Twelve Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences faculty members have received funding through the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program for projects starting in January 2026.
A partnership between the MATTERS Network, UB, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office is working to ensure that upon release from prison people who need medication for addiction treatment, linkage to treatment programs and support continue to receive it without interruption.
A trainee in the emergency medical services (EMS) fellowship at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was recently honored for her clinical research study on fatal ambulance collisions.
A genetic variant is likely putting some children suffering with myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — at higher risk of developing heart failure, which can be fatal, according to a new study.
A pilot study revealed that preloading healthy ingredients into shopping carts can increase the nutritional quality of groceries of families with young children without increasing grocery costs.
