Biography
Dr. Rivera is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. She joined the faculty at URMC in April 2022 as the C. Jane Davis & C. Robert Davis Distinguished Professor in Pulmonary Medicine and the Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division, and the Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Wilmot Cancer Institute. Her expertise includes screening, diagnosing, and staging lung cancer and managing treatment complications.
Professional Background
Dr. Rivera lived in Cuba and Colombia before emigrating to the United States, spending her early years in New York. She graduated Summa cum laude from Pace University with a BS in Biology in 1981 and then attended Stony Brook School of Medicine in Stony Brook, New York receiving her M.D. in 1985. She completed her Internal Medicine internship and residency training at North Shore University Hospital. She completed a fellowship training in Pulmonary Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Critical Care Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and North Shore University Hospital in 1992. She served as Chief Resident of the Internal Medicine Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
From July 1989 to June 1990. Following her fellowship training, she was recruited as an Assistant Attending in the Department of Medicine/Pulmonary Division at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Clinical Assistant Professor at Cornell University Medical College. In 1995, Dr. Rivera joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, was promoted to Assistant Professor of Medicine in 1998 and ascended to the rank of Professor of Medicine with Tenure in 2012. At UNC, Dr. Rivera co-founded the first Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program (MTOP) in the country, a premier program that became the model for multidisciplinary care and defined the vital role pulmonologists play in caring for patients with thoracic malignancies. In 2015 she founded and directed the Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Screening Program at UNC. While at UNC, she held numerous leadership positions, including Co-director of MTOP, Director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program, Co-Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, Director of Clinical Operations, Director of the UNC-Rex Pulmonary Practice, and Director of the Pulmonary Function and Bronchoscopy Laboratory.
National Leadership
For more than 20 years, Dr. Rivera has served and held leadership positions on National Pulmonary and Critical Care and Cancer societies, including the American Thoracic Society (ATS), The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), and the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Round Table. She is currently the President-Elect of ATS and will serve as President of the Society from May 2023 to May 2024.
Research
Dr. Rivera’s research focuses on the early detection of lung cancer, disparities in lung cancer care, toxicities caused by therapies in lung cancer, and implementing and disseminating lung cancer screening. She co-developed and serves as Co-Investigator of the North Carolina (NC) Lung Screening Registry, a statewide initiative to examine the delivery, quality, and outcomes of lung cancer screening and evaluate the extent to which disparities in lung cancer screening outcomes exist. She is funded by the NIH/NCI to study lung cancer screening implementation and how underlying co-morbidities impact lung cancer screening outcomes. She collaborates with the Southeastern Consortium for Lung Cancer Health Equity through a Stand Up 2 Cancer grant improving access to lung cancer screening and exploring genetic risk scores in lung cancer screening assessment, particularly in underserved populations.
Awards
2022
President-Elect of the American Thoracic Society
2022
American College of Chest Physicians Distinguished CHEST Educator
2022
Elected Member of the Wilmot Cancer Institute
2022
Named the C. Jane Davis and C. Robert Davis Distinguished Professor in Pulmonary Medicine
2021
Vice-President of the American Thoracic Society
2021
American College of Chest Physicians Distinguished CHEST Educator
2020
Nominated for the American Thoracic Society Elizabeth A. Rich Award
2020
American College of Chest Physicians Distinguished CHEST Educator
2020
Nominated for the UNC School of Medicine Norma Berryhill Distinguished Lecturer
2020
Elected Secretary-Treasurer of the American Thoracic Society (5-year term)
2019 - 2020
Faculty Administrator Development Program (FADP)
2019 - 2020
Guest Editor, Clinics in Chest Medicine: Lung Cancer Volume I and II, 2019-2020
2019
Latin Medical Student Association Inaugural CHARLA Lecture
2019
American College of Chest Physicians Distinguished CHEST Educator
2019
ATS Assembly on Thoracic Oncology Lifetime Achievement Award
2019
Selected Fellow of the American Thoracic Society
2019
UNC Health Care and UNC Faculty Physicians Award for Carolina Care Excellence
2018
First Annual Pulmonary and Critical Care Division Faculty Teacher of the Year Award
2017
CHEST Presidential Honor Lecture
2015 - 2022
Member and Pulmonary Medicine Representative to the Immunotherapy Adverse Events Working Group at the University of North Caroli
2015
Nominated for the American Thoracic Society Elizabeth A. Rich Award
2013
The First Annual Dorothy A. White, MD Memorial Lecture, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2013
Co-recipient of an anonymous $100,000 gift to the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center to establish the Benjamin Calvo and M. Patricia R
2013
Guest Editor, Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine: Lung Cancer Volume 34
2011 - 2012
Selected Liaison to the IASLC Society Representing Pulmonologists in Thoracic Oncology
2009 - 2019
Best Doctors in America
2006 - 2007
Nominated for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Award for the Advancement of Women
2005
University of North Carolina School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony, Keynote Speaker
2004
Nominated by the Organization of Student Representatives Chapter of UNC Medical School for the Association of American Medical C
2003 - 2006
Best Doctors in America
2003 - 2004
Teaching Scholars Program University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1998
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine Richard H. Whitehead Lecturer
1997
Selected Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians
1990
American Society of Clinical Oncology - Travel Award
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Publications
Journal Articles
9/5/2023
Landy R, Gomez I, Caverly TJ, Kawamoto K, Rivera MP, Robbins HA, Young CD, Chaturvedi AK, Cheung LC, Katki HA. "Methods for Using Race and Ethnicity in Prediction Models for Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility." JAMA network open.. 2023 Sep 5; 6(9):e2331155. Epub 2023 Sep 05.
9/2023
Rivera MP, Gudina AT, Cartujano-Barrera F, Cupertino P. "Disparities Across the Continuum of Lung Cancer Care." Clinics in chest medicine.. 2023 Sep; 44(3):531-542. Epub 2023 May 09.
8/2/2023
Rivera MP. "No One Left Behind: Access to Prevention and Treatment for All." American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.. 2023 Aug 2; Epub 2023 Aug 02.
Books & Chapters
2023
Chapter Title: Clinical evaluation and staging of lung cancer
Book Title: Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders
Author List: Burks C, Rivera MP
Edited By: Grippi MA, Elias JA, Fishman JA, Kotloff RM, Pack AI, Senior RM
Published By: McGraw-Hill Education 2023
2021
Chapter Title: Sangre en la flema
Book Title: Spanish and the Medical Interview
Author List: Rivera MP
Edited By: Ortega P, Aleman MA
Published By: Elsevier 2021
2021
Chapter Title: Treatment of Lung Cancer
Book Title: Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine
Author List: Rivera MP, Mody G, Weiner A
Edited By: Broaddus VC, Ernst J, King Jr. TE, Lazarus S, Sarmiento KS, Schnapp LM, Stapleto
Published By: Elsevier 2021
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