Dr. Moro O. Salifu to Be Honored by Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
Apr 11, 2011
On April 14 at Sports Ball 2011, the annual gala fundraising event for the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Moro O. Salifu, MD, MPH, MBA, professor of medicine and chief of nephrology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, will be honored for his contributions to Brooklyn community health. Other honorees include talk show host Tavis Smiley, attorney and television personality Star Jones, and New York Times sports columnist Bill Rhoden.
An ardent advocate for patients with kidney failure, and others who need organ transplants, Dr. Salifu is outspoken on the need for organ donation, especially in the Black community. African Americans are three times more likely to experience kidney failure than Americans of European descent.
Board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology, Dr. Salifu is known for his outstanding clinical skills. He also is a highly respected and productive researcher. A study on atherothrombosis that he conducted with colleagues was cited as one of the top scientific articles published in the journal Thrombosis and Haemostasis in 2006-2008.
Dr. Salifu succeeded Distinguished Teaching Professor Eli A. Friedman, MD, who was division chief for 46 years. Before assuming his current leadership role, Dr. Salifu was associate division chief, director of the Fellowship Program, medical director of transplantation, and director of the Vascular Access Program.
A native of Ghana, Dr. Salifu received his medical degree from Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey and did his residency, internship, and fellowship training at SUNY Downstate. After joining the faculty of medicine, he went on to earn a master of public health degree at Downstate.
The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health was created by the late tennis great and humanist Arthur Ashe and has its main office on the SUNY Downstate campus. Downstate is an active partner in many of its programs and goals, including science enrichment for young people and research aimed at reducing health disparities in Brooklyn.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.