Faculty leadership
Judy Rees, BM, BCh, PhD, MPH
Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement
judith.r.rees@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Rees is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology for the Geisel School of Medicine and the Director of the New Hampshire Cancer Registry. Her research interests include the analysis and interpretation of local and population-based registry data and the development of data infrastructures that can be used by researchers. In her role as Dartmouth Cancer Center's Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE), Dr. Rees leads the COE team to ensure the cancer-related needs of our New Hampshire and Vermont catchment area are identified and addressed through research, outreach, and engagement.
Christine Gunn, PhD
Health Equity Liaison
christine.m.gunn@dartmouth.edu
Christine Gunn serves as the Health Equity Liaison to the Dartmouth Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement Program. She has a background in health services research on delivering patient-centered interventions to historically marginalized patient populations. In her role, she will consult with researchers, patients, and regional organizations to identify and address cancer-related disparities in the catchment area.
Henry Feng, MD, MPH
Primary Care Liaison
jiazuo.h.feng@hitchcock.org
Dr. Feng is a staff physician within the Dartmouth Health system and the Department Chair for the Primary Care Department at Dartmouth Health – Concord outpatient clinics. His current research is focused on improving the quality and efficiency of outpatient healthcare delivery through the use of healthcare data. Dr. Feng is our Primary Care Liaison, transitioning from Dr. Olson (described below). In this role, Dr. Feng is working to build partnerships with primary care partners to address disparities in cancer prevention and control within Vermont and New Hampshire and to stimulate primary care-relevant cancer research.
Ardis Olson, MD
Primary Care Liaison
ardis.l.olson@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Olson is a Professor of Pediatrics and of Community and Family Medicine and has been involved in preventive health research activities in Vermont and New Hampshire for over 20 years. She has experience conducting research with community-based primary care practices as well as conducting studies in rural parts of the Dartmouth Cancer Center catchment area. Dr. Olson chairs our Primary Care Advisory Panel as they identify opportunities to engage primary care providers in our cancer research and outreach activities.
Trainees and Students
Kayla Iuliano, DrPH, MHS
Postdoctoral Fellow
kayla.iuliano@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Iuliano is an NIH T32 Research Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Geisel School of Medicine. Her research interests include persistent environmental endocrine disruptors and their impact on female fertility and infant birth outcomes, as well as their relationship to cancer risk. Dr. Iuliano is also interested in effective communication for exposure prevention. Dr. Iuliano is leveraging her interests, as well as her experience with public health communications and underserved communities, to support outreach projects in New Hampshire and Vermont—including a project that aims to reduce community members’ exposure to radon in their homes.
Community Team
Lisa Purvis, EdD, MPH, MBA
Director, Office of Community Outreach and Engagement
lisa.a.purvis@dartmouth.edu
Lisa Purvis manages the day-to-day operations of Dartmouth Cancer Center's community-focused initiatives that focus on developing opportunities for engagement with community organizations and community members in our research and outreach work. Dr. Purvis leads the planning and implementation of education and outreach projects to address the cancer burden in our catchment area and to improve the health of residents of NH and VT. Dr. Purvis has a background in community-based practices, education, public health, and research management.
Carly Sykes, MPH
Program Specialist
carly.r.sykes@dartmouth.edu
In her role as Program Specialist, Ms. Sykes contributes to the Cancer Center’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging efforts, as well as initiatives directed at reducing cancer burden in New Hampshire and Vermont and increasing community interest in clinical trials. Ms. Sykes also supports Community Engagement Studios to get community input on research projects and programming, and she also works with survivors and care partners through our Community Research Ambassadors Together Ending Cancer (CREATE) program. Carly has a background in public health research and received a master’s in public health from The Dartmouth Institute program.
Stephanie Papas, MPH, MCHES, CPH
Program Specialist
stephanie.papas@dartmouth.edu
Stephanie Papas works closely with internal and external stakeholders to improve the health of our communities. Stephanie leads projects focused on reducing tobacco use among patients of the Dartmouth Cancer Center (Cancer Center Cessation Initiative or C3i) and increasing residents’ knowledge of the health impacts of Radon exposure and usage of at-home Radon test kits (Healthy Homes Initiative). Stephanie is also part of a team that organizes and facilitates Community Engagement Studios which foster community feedback on clinical research projects and public health campaigns.
Kathy Stroffolino
Research and Administrative Assistant
kathy.m.stroffolino@dartmouth.edu
Kathy Stroffolino is our Research and Administrative Assistant for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement. Kathy is responsible for administrative support, communication within the team and with external partners, and day-to-day operations within projects. Kathy is passionate about the health care for the community and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy in moving projects along. In her free time, Kathy likes to hike, garden and spend time with her family and granddaughter.
Administrative and Operations support team
Jenna Schiffelbein, MPH, CHES
Administrative and Operations Director
jenna.e.schiffelbein@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Schiffelbein has been part of the Dartmouth Cancer Center Office of Community Outreach and Engagement since 2015. In her role as the Administrative and Operations Director, she supports the Office’s infrastructure, which includes facilitating our Community Advisory Board, leading our evaluation efforts, and pursuing grant funding. In addition, Ms. Schiffelbein supports Dartmouth Cancer Center investigators to pursue catchment-focused, community-engaged research.
Heather Carlos, MS
Geospatial & Catchment Area Data Specialist
heather.a.carlos@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Carlos's role utilizes resources at Dartmouth Health system, state tumor registries, and Census data to conduct geographic analyses that represent the Dartmouth Cancer Center catchment area. These analyses help in identifying geographic areas that are experiencing cancer disparities.
Kristin Knutzen, MPH
Data Manager
kristin.e.knutzen@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Knutzen leads data management for projects focused on cancer prevention and control, particularly in rural communities experiencing disparities in cancer. Specific projects aim to improve our community’s knowledge and attitudes toward clinical trials, colorectal cancer screening and prevention, and radon exposure
Julie Weiss, MS
Statistical Analyst
julia.e.weiss@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Weiss analyzes data for the COE team, including data to describe the cancer burden in our catchment area.
Scientific advisory board
The Scientific Advisory Board provides guidance for the COE team from a clinical and research perspective. The board meets regularly to discuss how scientific research and community needs can be brought together in a meaningful way. Our scientific advisors include:
Konstantin Dragnev, MD
Associate Director for Clinical Research
konstantin.h.dragnev@dartmouth.edu
Scott Gerber, PhD
Associate Director for Basic Sciences
scott.a.gerber@dartmouth.edu
Anna Tosteson, ScD
Associate Director for Population Sciences
anna.n.a.tosteson@dartmouth.edu