Christopher Barbieri, M.D., Ph.D

Christopher Irobunda, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and an Interventional Cardiologist. He also serves as Vice Chair of Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine, with a focus on faculty advancement, health equity, and community engagement.Dr. Irobunda earned his MD/PhD through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. His doctoral research in Molecular Pharmacology focused on the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/beta-adrenergic signal transduction system. He went on to complete his internship and residency in internal medicine at New York University Medical Center, followed by fellowship training in General and Interventional Cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.A full-time faculty member at Columbia since 2003, Dr. Irobunda now dedicates his career to patient care, mentorship, and the education of future physicians. Dr. Irobunda is ardently dedicated to uncompromised patient care and teaching. His primary focus is individualized patient care and patient advocacy. Given his training as a medical scientist, it is hardly surprising that he is a keen diagnostician. He has a penchant for complex cardiac issues and other medical problems that can sometimes mask or aggravate the cardiac disease. His aptitude for unraveling these medical conundrums has led to medical diagnoses for patients who have come to him for second and even third opinions. However, above all else, his true genius is his ability to relate to his patients with intelligence, curiosity, patience, compassion, and humor. His ability to waylay even the most apprehensive of patients with his aura of reassurance and understanding has garnered him a continually growing medical practice. Again and again, individuals will refer family members and friends because of the empathy and level of care constantly provided. Indeed, his unceasing diligence has led him to become a physician member of Columbia University Medical Centers Patient Facilitated Services, an organization directed at patient satisfaction and outreach. Dr. Irobunda has also been the primary cardiologist for patients undergoing liver transplant evaluations at New York Presbyterian since 2004. When not in his private practice, he takes great pleasure in helping train the new influx of physicians in the only ethical way to practice medicine—patient-centered care. Dr. Irobunda has been a Supervisor and Attending Faculty for the Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine for First Year Medical Students at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons since 2011, a program that endeavors to instill exceptional patient-doctor communication and trust. He encourages future medical practitioners to listen to the patient and learn to interpret and analyze the information being imported; to realize that the seemingly insignificant details sometimes lead to the culprit of an individual's illness. He has been a lecturer with International Postgraduate Organization for Knowledgetransfer, Research, and Teaching Excellent Students (IPOKRaTES) in Europe. IPOKRaTES offers opportunities for physicians from a plethora of countries to observe and gain instruction regarding differing methods in patient care practices. Since the summer of 2012, Dr. Irobunda has become involved in New York Presbyterian Hospital's Lange Youth Program, which seeks to prepare and enumerate the rigors of medical school for high school students. Dr. Irobunda is active in numerous community outreach organizations-Abyssian Baptist Church (NY), JP Morgan Chase Employee Education Program, Riverside Church Seniors, and Sister to Sister: The Women's Heart Health Foundation, to name a few. He seeks to educate the public on cardiovascular issues and ways to make everyday lifestyle modifications to help reduce these risks. In addition to being an interventional cardiologist who can perform angioplasties and stent placements, he emphasizes the prevention and treatment of heart disease through diet, exercise, and medical therapy.