Anthony Vinciquerra, MD, DFAPA

Anthony J. Vinciquerra, MD, DFAPA graduated from Le Moyne College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree, receiving the H. Paul Nelligan Medal in Pure Science. Immediately following, he entered Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and during his second year in medical school, received the Army Health Professions Scholarship and became a Reservist at the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps.

In his third year, he was president of the Medical Student Psychiatry Club during which time he met and was strongly influenced by a visiting professor – Dr. George Engel from the University of Rochester. (Dr Engel, an internist and psychiatrist, is considered the “father” of the bio-psychosocial paradigm of patient care.)

Dr Engel continued to mentor Dr Vinciquerra, encouraging his interest in psychiatric medicine. He introduced him to the Rochester Academy of Medicine. This began a life-long relationship with both the Academy, and the philosophy of caring for the entire patient. Upon graduation from Upstate in 1976, Dr. Vinciquerra was promoted to Captain, Medical Corps. He began his Active Duty Army Internship and Residency Training in Psychiatry and Neurology at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Ft Gordon, Georgia.

Dr Vinciquerra was Chief Resident from 1979-1980. At the conclusion of his residency training, he was assigned to Ft Stewart, Georgia, and was promoted to Major, Medical Corps. During that time, he also served as Combat Psychiatrist for the 24th Infantry Division Rapid Deployment Force in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1982, he became board certified and attained Diplomate Status from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Following this, he was assigned as Chief of Psychiatry and Mental Health at Ft Stewart Army Community Hospital. His position included being Chief of Consultation-Liaison and Chief of the Alcohol & Drug Assistance/Rehabilitation Program.

In 1983, Dr Vinciquerra returned to Syracuse as a Civilian, but remained in Army Reserves. For the next several years in Central New York, he held many overlapping positions, often simultaneously. He returned to Upstate as a Professor while being an Attending physician in various sub-specialties of psychiatry. He contributed to the authorship of the National HIV/AIDS Residency Training Curriculum, and taught at Upstate. Hospital affiliations included: Hutchings Psychiatric Center, St Joseph’s Hospital, Auburn Memorial Emergency Department, Veteran’s Administration Hospital, Upstate Medical Center, and private practice.

Dr Vinciquerra was one of the pioneer physicians for HIV/AIDS starting in 1980 and then for the next 4 decades. Throughout this time, he was also a psychiatric consultant to: AIDS Community Resources; Auburn Memorial Hospital; Alcohol Services of Central New York; the NYS Office of Mental Health; Benjamin Rush Psychiatric Center; Empire State Medical, Scientific and Educational Foundation; the NYS Office of Developmental Disabilities; the Vietnam Veteran’s Center; and the Institute for Applied Psychiatry.

Dr V was a national speaker for several groups, including the SUNY MICA Project of NYS, the NYS Office of Mental Health, Pfizer-Roerig/Agouran, and the Institute for Applied Psychiatry.

Dr Vinciquerra received numerous AMA Physician Recognition Awards, and was thrice recognized for the “America’s Top Psychiatrists Award” by the Consumer Research Council of America, Washington, DC. In addition, he was awarded the title of Distinguished Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association for his on-going academic, clinical and volunteer work in HIV Psychiatry.

Additional training experiences along the way included Psycho-Oncology and AIDS seminars at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City where he studied with Dr Jimmie Holland, founder of the field of Psycho-Oncology, and Dr MaryJane Massey. Dr Holland was also a significant influence and reinforced his humanistic approach patient care.

In 1990, Dr Vinciquerra was re-activated to Active Duty for Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. His assignments included Command Consultation, Kirk US Army Hospital, Aberdeen, Maryland, where he also served as Acting Chief of Psychiatry, and later, at Ft Benning, Georgia, in the capacity of Chief Psychiatrist, Combat Casualty Evaluation Team.

Dr Vinciquerra requested military assignments at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC in order to work on the AIDS Research Unit. In 1994, he was appointed Chair, Advisory Committee of the APA National AIDS Education Project, later followed by appointment to the APA Commission on AIDS, National Steering Committee in HIV Psychiatry. As previously mentioned, he helped co-author the National HIV/AIDS Residency Training Curriculum used in psychiatric training programs across the US.

At the conclusion of his military career, Dr Vinciquerra received: the Army Service Ribbon; the National Defense Ribbon, Viet Nam era; the Army Commendation Medal; the Army Achievement Medal, Desert Storm; the National Defense Ribbon with Bronze Star, Gulf War; the US Army Reserve Achievement Medal; and an Honorable Discharge Certificate.

For decades, Dr Vinciquerra has actively sought to care for persons living with HIV, and donated much of his personal time and energies to becoming a strong advocate, and later activist for human rights. He volunteered extensively to work with patient populations that were socially disenfranchised, impoverished, mentally ill, or marginalized.

In 2008, while continuing his teaching at other facilities, Dr Vinciquerra joined the faculty of Le Moyne College Department of Physician Assistant Studies as a Professor of Practice, holding various positions including Academic Coordinator, Professor of Psychiatry, and Director of the Medical Humanities course. He was a CURAR Research Fellow in 2013, and in ensuing years at Le Moyne, was selected for the Inaugural Julia and Thomas Lanigan Distinguished Chair in Medicine and Ethics, and later, the Inaugural Chair in Interprofessional Education, Purcell School for Professional Studies.

In 2017, Dr Vinciquerra was appointed Life Fellow of the Rochester Academy of Medicine, and later, appointed to the Board of Trustees. He was invited to be Guest Faculty, at McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Division of Interprofessional Education, in Montréal, Canada. He has continued his work in HIV psychiatry, AIDS risk-reduction education, medical humanities, and interprofessional education.

He has also been a guest Peer Reviewer for the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute, and for the Johns Hopkins Division of Infectious Disease, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr Vinciquerra held numerous positions for various HRSA grants at Le Moyne, and has written, authored, co-authored, presented, or was faculty advisor on dozens of articles, papers, conferences and Grand Rounds.

In 2021, Dr Vinciquerra wrote and piloted the “Art in Medicine” project, a component of the Communication and Interviewing Skills Lab of Med Hum. Working in collaboration with the Everson Museum and Upstate Medical Center’s Department of Bioethics and Humanities, Dr Vinciquerra taught small groups of healthcare students. The goals of Art in Medicine include: increasing observational acuity, improving descriptive language skills, better articulating ambiguities, and recognizing / managing personal biases and judgments.

Currently, Dr Vinciquerra is Emeritus Director of the Medical Humanities course, Professor of Communication and Interviewing Skills, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Lecture Series and PA Licensing Board Exam Reviewer. He is the inaugural professor of Art in Medicine at the Everson Museum, which is continuing as part of a broader interprofessional education program. At the Rochester Academy of Medicine, he has developed an outreach Health Fair program wherein 6 individuals from various disciplines of medicine get an opportunity to meet with high school students and parents, to encourage consideration of entering the field of medicine in any of a number of capacities. This fair is repeated at the college level as well.

Dr Vinciquerra’s avocation includes glass mosaic sculpture and wall hangings. One of his works was featured on the cover of the Upstate Medical Alumni Journal in the Fall of 2024, sharing the lead article about “Putting the Arts in Medicine” with his colleague, Dr Ruth Hart.

EDUCATION:

• BS, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY, 1972
• MD, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, 1976
• Chief Resident, Eisenhower Army Medical Center Psychiatry & Neurology Residency Training Program, 1979-1980
• Completion of Psychiatry & Neurology Residency Training Program, Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 1980
• American Board Certification, and appointment, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, Washington, DC, 1982
• Psycho-Oncology/AIDS additional qualifications in HIV Psychiatry, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NYC, 1989

PUBLICATION & PRESENTATIONS:

• 1980
  “Tricyclic Antidepressant Selection Based upon Urinary MHPG Levels”, presented at: Eisenhower Army Medical Center, August, Georgia as a senior resident research project.
• 1984
  “A Review of Psychotropic Medications”, presented to Hutchings Psychiatric Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1988
  “AIDS Mental Health Issues and the Practice of Psychiatry”, presented to Psychiatry Residents at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
• 1991
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS and Psychiatry”, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
• 1992
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS Update in Psychiatry: 1992”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1994
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS Update in Psychiatry: 1994”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1995
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “Patients Living with AIDS”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1996
  Co-authored: “The HIV/AIDS Residency Training Curriculum”, presented to the AIDS Commission at the 1996 APA Annual Convention, New York City and subsequently distributed to all Psychiatric Residency Training Programs in the United States.
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS: Difficult Terminal Issues”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1997
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “Pain Evaluation & Management in HIV/AIDS”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 1998
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “A Psychiatrist’s Guide to HIV Medicine”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 2000
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS 2000: Science for Psychiatrists”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
• 2001
  “Coping with Mood Disorders in AIDS and other Chronic Medical Illnesses”, Distinguished Guest Faculty Member presentation, Montefiore Hospital of Albert Einstein Medical Center, Bronx, NY
• 2002
  Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “AIDS at 21: Personal Reflections on the History of an Epidemic”, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, NY
  2003-present (updated annual presentations)
  “LGBTQ and the Practice of Medicine”, presented/updated to the Undergraduate Medical School classes annually.
  “Fast Facts: A Pocket Companion for Psychiatrists Treating People with HIV/AIDS”, presented to the American Psychiatric Association, Committee on HIV Psychiatry, Arlington, Virginia. (A pocket guide to essential and critical information on Mood Disorders, Thought Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, CNS Neurocognitive Disorders and Substance Use Disorders in people with HIV/AIDS.)
  “Neuropsychiatric Aspects of HIV/AIDS”, presented/updated to the Undergraduate Medical School classes annually.
  “Neuropsychiatric Aspects of HIV/AIDS”, presented/updated to the Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Upstate Medical University.
• 2005
  “Fast Facts Update”, (as above) presented to the American Psychiatric Association, Committee on HIV Psychiatry, and Office of HIV Psychiatry, Arlington, Virginia for availability and distribution at the Annual American Psychiatric Association Convention, Toronto, Canada. (Copies available upon request from the American Psychiatric Association.)
• 2007
  Authored for the Le Moyne College Cultural Competence Initiative: Case Study in Psychiatry – “Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse”, May, 2007
• 2009
  “American Association of Physician Assistants & The American Psychiatric Association Handbook on HIV Healthcare”, Part I
• 2010
  “American Association of Physician Assistants & The American Psychiatric Association Handbook on HIV Healthcare”, Part II
• 2011-2012
  “The Psychiatrist’s Pocket Guide to HIV Healthcare”, APA, pending on-line availability through the American Psychiatric Association
• 2015
  Johns Hopkins Division of Infectious Diseases, HIV Guidelines Program, Peer Reviewer for the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute: Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders in Patients with HIV/AIDS guidelines
• 2017-2019
  12 Case Studies for First- & Second-Year PA Students pertaining to the Primary health Care Disparities Grant
• 2020-
  In progress: Opioid Primary Care Training & Enhancement Grant to prepare a multi-disciplinary 10-hour learning module.