Egede Named a SUNY Distinguished Professor

By UBNow staff

Published June 23, 2026

Leonard E. Egede, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Endowed Chair and professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is one of eight UB faculty members recently named as SUNY Distinguished Professors.

The faculty members were appointed to the distinguished professor ranks — the highest rank in the SUNY system— by the SUNY Board of Trustees at its April 28 meeting.

An Internationally Recognized Leader

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Leonard E. Egede.

Leonard E. Egede, MD

Egede is an internationally recognized leader whose work sits at the intersection of chronic disease, health equity and health system innovation.

His research spans across five key domains: reducing health disparities; examining structural racism, social determinants of health, and social risk; advancing telehealth and telemedicine; applying behavioral economics to chronic disease; and addressing non-communicable diseases globally, including in sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Middle East.

Egede brought early and sustained evidence-based attention to the intersections of race, chronic illness, mental health and health care utilization. His influential 2020 New England Journal of Medicine perspective on COVID-19 and structural racism helped shape national policy and is one of the most cited publications on the topic.

Over the course of his career, Egede has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications and secured $28.7 million in research funding. He currently serves as principal investigator on multiple NIH grants. Since 2008, he has led a multidisciplinary team on nine federally funded studies. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to basic and translational biomedical research, he was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2024. He is also the recipient of the prestigious NIH Robert S. Gordon Jr. Lecture Award.

In addition to his faculty role, Egede is president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine and the medical director of clinical research at Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center, where he is helping to advance integrated, equity-focused models of care.  At UB, he continues to drive research and clinical innovation aimed at improving outcomes for underserved populations both locally and globally.