Cohort 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
Email: jcantor@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Email: pd469@sph.rutgers.edu
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
Email: william.hu@rutgers.edu
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
Email: dawne.mouzon@rutgers.edu
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
Email: myedidia@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Email: mkoller@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Associate Director of Survey Research
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Email: sbergren@ifh.rutgers.edu
Maria Eva Dorigo
Community Navigator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Email: mdorigo@ifh.rutgers.edu
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.
Dinesh Mendhe, MS
Programmer Analyst I
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Email: dmendhe@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Email: nswenarton@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Kira Bartnick
Research Coordinator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: kbartnick@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Email: llanza@ifh.rutgers.edu
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.
Aila Altunbilek
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: Ala139@sph.rutgers.edu
Aila Altunbilek received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health at Rutgers and is continuing her education there, working towards her Master of Public Health, concentrating in Global Health. She is currently working with the New Jersey Population Health Cohort Survey team on survey recruitment and administration.
Melanie Doren
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: mid29@sph.rutgers.edu
Sharon Lee
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: ssl102@sph.rutgers.edu
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.
Dawn McGinnis
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: dmcginnis@ifh.rutgers.edu
Pooja Patel
Research Assistant, Gujarati Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: ppatel@ifh.rutgers.edu
Carmen Rodriguez
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: crodriguez@ifh.rutgers.edu
Johnathaniel See
Research Assistant, Tagalog Translator
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: jsee@ifh.rutgers.edu
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
Research Assistant
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Email: msantiago@ifh.rutgers.edu