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Leadership and Staff
Joel Cantor, ScD, Principal Investigator
Director, Rutgers Center for State Health Policy
Distinguished Professor, Edward J. Bloustein School of Public Planning and Policy
Dr. Cantor is published widely in the health services and policy literature on innovations in health service delivery for high-need populations and the regulation of health insurance markets. He serves frequently as an advisor on health policy matters to New Jersey state government and was the 2006 recipient of the Rutgers University President’s Award for Research in Service to New Jersey.
Paul Duberstein, PhD, Co-Investigator
Chair & Professor
Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy Rutgers School of Public Health
Dr. Duberstein is a psychologist, gerontologist, and social justice advocate with expertise in geriatric mental health. His current research aims to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers; he is particularly interested in mitigating disparities related to race, educational attainment, and poverty.
William Hu, MD, PhD, FAAN, Co-Investigator
Associate Professor and Chief of Cognitive Neurology
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Dr. Hu is a board-certified neurologist with special certification in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry. He is also a physician-scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of dementia research.
Dawne Mouzon, PhD, MPH, Co-Investigator
Associate Professor
Rutgers Department of Sociology
Dr. Mouzon engages in research that seeks to identify and explain risk and protective factors for the physical and mental health of populations of African descent. Her current research program focuses on identifying adaptive coping resources and strategies African Americans use in the face of chronic stress and racial discrimination, with a focus on gender differences in these processes.
Michael Yedidia, PhD, Co-Investigator
Professor
Rutgers Center for State Health Policy
Trained in sociology and public health, Dr. Yedidia’s research focuses on the prevention of childhood obesity, population health disparities, health professions education, care models for serving vulnerable populations, patient perspectives on health and illness, and quality improvement.
Margaret Koller, MS
Executive Director
Rutgers Center for State Health Policy
Margaret oversees the day-to-day operation of the Center as well as the development and management of the Center for State Health Policy’s research portfolio. She is a health policy expert and Co-Principal Investigator on the Center’s Robert Wood Johnson Foundation core grant.
Stephanie Bergren, BA
Project Director
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Stephanie oversees the scientific implementation and operation of the NJ Health Study. She has previously worked as the project manager on multiple NIH research projects and centers, including the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE Study), in coordinating data collection, analysis, and dissemination of research findings.
Julia Schimmel is the Senior Program Coordinator for the NJHealth Study; coordinating data linkage and compensation administration. Before joining IFH, Julia obtained her B.A at the University of Arizona in Political Science and her MSc in Human Rights and Politics at the London School of Economics.
Francine P. Cartwright, BS
Research Project Manager
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Francine oversees the day-to-day operations of the NJHealth Study team's research activities. She leads a talented team in recruiting participants and collecting data using multimodal methods, ensuring that all protocols are followed, and data integrity is maintained. With expertise in managing NIH-funded longitudinal research projects, Francine has successfully led the ORANJ BOWL (Ongoing Research in Aging in New Jersey - Bettering Opportunities for Wellness in Life) Research Panel and the OPTIONS (Opinions and Preferences for Treatment in Older Nephrology Patients and Spouses) Study, coordinating data collection, analysis, and dissemination of research findings.
Dinesh Mendhe, MS
Programmer Analyst I
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Dinesh leads the software development efforts for IFH’s research grants, including the New Jersey Population Health Cohort Study, and for IFH general purpose web presence. Dinesh has built statistical and scientific web applications, mobile apps, big data algorithms, custom Android OS, complex runtimes, data structures, AI/ML tools, and research databases.
Nicole Swenarton
Director of Communications
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Nicole is responsible for developing and executing the communication, marketing and media strategies to grow and promote IFH’s brand. She also collaborates with IFH’s research teams to promote research studies in the community and across the region.
Research Team
Maria Eva Dorigo
Community Coordinator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Maria works to achieve institute goals of connecting diverse communities to research. She spearheads the New Jersey Population Health Cohort Study’s community engagement effort, involving engaging communities, raising awareness for health research, and partnering with community organizations to promote the study.
Kira Bartnick
Research Coordinator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Kira Bartnick is a Research Coordinator at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research. She is the primary coordinator for the clinical and biomarker components of the NJ Population Health Cohort Study, as well as being actively involved in study recruitment, administration, and ensuring data integrity. Prior to joining the Institute for Health, Kira was a Research Fellow at the University of Richmond, where her work utilized electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the impact of sleep on attention. Kira received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Neuroscience from the University of Richmond.
Lisa Lanza
Research Coordinator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Dr. Lisa Lanza is a Registered Dietitian and has worked in the nutrition and public health field for 13 years. Her research has been mostly focused on infant and perinatal health. She is currently responsible for study operations and grant administration in studies related to older adult health.
Melanie Doren
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Melanie graduated with a degree in Cell Biology and Neuroscience (BA) from Rutgers University. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health. She is currently working with the New Jersey Population Health Cohort Survey team on survey recruitment and administration.
Jaunis Estervil
Research Assistant, Spanish and Haitian Creole translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Jaunis graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra School of Medicine and is actively licensed to practice in Haiti as a general practitioner. He is currently a Master of Science candidate in Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. He is working on the New Jersey Population Cohort Study as a recruiter, survey administrator and cognitive test assessment administrator as well as Spanish and Haitian Creole speaker and translator.
Sharon Lee
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Sharon has recently graduated from the master’s program at Rutgers School of Public Health. Her concentration was in social and behavioral health sciences. She is currently working with the New Jersey Population Health Cohort Survey team on survey recruitment and administration.
Woowon Lee
Research Assistant, Korean Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Woowon Lee is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. She holds a Master of Social Work from Rutgers School of Social Work, and she is currently part of a New Jersey Population Cohort Study team as a survey administrator and the Korean speaker and translator for the Korean community.
Melissa Marquez
Research Assistant, Spanish Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Melissa is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. Prior to joining IFH, she received a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Boston University. She is currently working on the New Jersey Population Cohort Study as a study recruiter and survey administrator as well as a Spanish speaker and translator.
Pooja Patel
Research Assistant, Gujarati Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Pooja Patel is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. She graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and she is now working for the New Jersey Population Cohort Study as a recruiter, survey administrator, and the main Gujarati speaker and translator for the survey's different components.
Carmen Rodriguez
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Carmen Rodríguez is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. Carmen is currently administering study surveys to Spanish speakers in New Jersey. She graduated from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor's in communications and from Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico with a MA in Hispanic Studies and a PhD in Caribbean Literature from Advanced Studies Center of Puerto Rico and Caribbean. Rodríguez has 15 years' experience as a reporter for newspapers on the Island.
Johnathaniel See
Research Assistant, Tagalog Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Johnathaniel See is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. He is currently working on the New Jersey Population Cohort Study as a recruiter and survey administrator as well as the primary Tagalog speaker and translator for the survey components. Prior to joining IFH, he recently received a B.S. in Public Health and a B.A. in Psychology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Matthew Santiago is a research assistant at the Rutgers Institute for Health. He graduated from Rutgers Newark with a bachelor's in psychology. He is currently working on the NJ Population Health Cohort Study as a recruiter and survey administrator.
Danny Tarng, PhD
Research Assistant
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Danny Tarng is a research project assistant. He is focused on recruitment, community engagement, and data collection in South Jersey. He holds a PhD in Public Affairs from Rutgers-Camden. His current research interests lie at the intersection of urban health, community development, and food insecurity.
Marc Miller is originally from California and moved to the east coast in 2021. A graduate of the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy, his MPH program focused on Community Health. Marc’s interests include human development, family studies, program evaluation and communicable disease prevention . Marc enjoys the outdoors and spending time with family. He is an avid hockey fan and has followed the New York Rangers for many years.