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Who We Are

Our team of scientists, healthcare providers, and community health educators are dedicated to reducing cancer disparities. Our work is guided by a Cancer Community Advisory Council (CCAC), comprised of community stakeholders. Together, we work to develop and implement community-engaged research and outreach.

Questions? Contact our team at WilmotCOE@urmc.rochester.edu

Our Team

COE Leadership

PaulaPaula Cupertino, PhD
Associate Director, Community Outreach & Engagement

Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences and Wilmot Cancer Center

 

FranciscoFrancisco Cartujano, MD
Assistant Director, Community Outreach & Engagement

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences

Tobacco control, minority health disparities

CharlesCharles S. Kamen, PhD, MPH
Assistant Director, Community Outreach & Engagement

Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Cancer Control

Cancer disparities, LGBTQ+ communities health disparities

 

COE Team

CaiXeuya Cai, PhD
Research Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology

Statistics, community health promotion

ChavezArlette Chavez Iniguez, MD
Staff Scientist

Tobacco cessation, vaping prevention, minority health disparities

MarleneMarlene Elliott
Designated Interpreter to Wyatte C. Hall, PhD

American Sign Language, deaf culture, and interpreting

HawesKristina Hawes
Community Recruitment Coordinator

Community outreach

HuaYechu Hua, PhD(c)
PhD Candidate, Health Services Research and Policy

Data informatics and visualization

 

 

Trainees

AranaEvelyn Arana, DrPH
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences      

Cancer survivorship, rural, older adult health disparities

GilmoreNikesha Gilmore, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Cancer Control

Prostate cancer, fatigue

AbdiAbdi T. Gudina, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Cancer Control

Health disparities, lung cancer screening

 

 

HallWyatte C. Hall, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Public Health Sciences, and Neurology

Health disparities, language deprivation, deaf communities

Emily Hayes headshotEmily Hayes, M.P.A.
Program Manager, Community Outreach & Engagement

Internal project management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zhanna Kulshanova headshotZhanna Kulshanova
Outreach Coordinator, Community Outreach & Engagement

Community outreach and engagement

 

SarahSarah Merritt
Senior Regional Outreach Manager

 

 

Laura MolinaLaura Molina
Human Subject Research Coordinator | Community Outreach 

Tobacco cessation

MicheleMichele Tufano
Cancer Services Program Director, Community Health Educator, Center for Community Health and Prevention

Cancer screenings, uninsured and underinsured community

RezaReza Yousefi Nooraie, PhD, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences             

Social network analysis, dissemination and implementation science

 

 

 

HsuRuthmarie Hernandez Torres, PhD
CTSI TL1 Population Health Research Postdoc

Smoking cessation, risk factors and mobile engagement in Hispanic/Latino smokers

 

RamosJosé G. Pérez Ramos, MPH, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Public Health Sciences,

Environmental health, global health

Katherine ReithKatherine Reith, M.D., M.A.
Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology (SMD)

Health disparities, global health/surgery, cultural and medical anthropology, marginalized populations and the theoretical framework of political economy applied to surgical care and otolaryngologic issues, such as head and neck cancer