Our team comprises of:
- Faculty
- Trainees and students
- Outreach team
- Administrative and Operations team
- COE Scientific Advisory Board
Faculty
Christine Gunn, PhD
Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
christine.m.gunn@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Gunn is an Assistant Professor for the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI) at the Geisel School of Medicine. Dr. Gunn’s research is focused on improving the delivery of health services, addressing health disparities, and ensuring health information is accessible and understandable. Her research program develops feasible, scalable solutions to address cancer-related health disparities using risk-based approaches and best practices in health literacy. For example, in collaboration with clinic- and community-based partners, Dr. Gunn has developed and tested MyMammogram, an online tool to help women decide when and how often to screen for breast cancer. In her role with COE, Dr. Gunn is using this tool and others to support members of our community in reducing their cancer risk and staying up to date with recommended cancer screenings.
Ruth Berggren, MD, MACP
Community-Engaged Scholarship Liaison
ruth.e.berggren@hitchcock.org
Dr. Berggren is a Professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine. In 2023, Dr. Berggren joined the COE team as our Community-Engaged Scholarship Liaison. With her extensive experience teaching and mentoring students in community engagement, Dr. Berggren developed and leads a Community Service Learning Practicum to support Geisel School of Medicine and Dartmouth Master of Public Health students in learning community-engaged research methods; through this practicum, graduate and medical students have the opportunity to apply for mini-grant funding to support projects that address cancer-related needs in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Megan E. Romano, PhD
Environmental Health Liaison
Megan.E.Romano@Dartmouth.edu
Dr. Megan E. Romano is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine and serves as the Environmental Health Liaison on our COE team. Dr. Romano's research is focused on examining the health effects of both natural and human-made environmental pollutants commonly found in food, water, and consumer products in the United States, including investigating cancer risks in communities living with environmental or industrial contamination. Dr. Romano has built strong partnerships with state agencies, community advocacy organizations, and academic research networks across New England. Through these collaborations, she has created online training modules geared at helping the general public understand how to reduce environmental exposures in their daily lives.
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 research interests focus on improving the quality and efficiency of how healthcare services—including cancer screenings—are delivered to patients. Dr. Feng joined the COE team in 2023 as our Primary Care Liaison, and, in this role, he is building partnerships with primary care clinicians to reduce cancer-related disparities and the burden of cancer to stimulate research partnerships between Dartmouth Cancer Center researchers and primary care clinicians.
Andrew P. Loehrer, MD, MPH
Public Policy Liaison
andrew.p.loehrer@hitchcock.org
Dr. Loehrer is a surgical oncologist who treats patients with cancer of the skin and soft tissue, breast, and gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Loehrer is also an Associate Professor of Surgery, an Associate Professor for TDI, and a health services researcher. In Dr. Loehrer’s research, he looks at how state and federal health policies impact health and healthcare. For example, Dr. Loehrer has investigated the influence of Medicaid expansion on cancer care and outcomes. Dr. Loehrer joined the COE team as our first Public Policy Liaison in 2025. In this role, Dr. Loehrer works closely with Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Health Offices of Government Relations and the American Association of Cancer Institute’s Government Relations Steering Committee. Additionally, Dr. Loehrer disseminates work of our cancer care teams and cancer researchers with policymakers to help inform policy both locally and nationally.
Trainees and students
Kayla Iuliano, DrPH, MHS
Postdoctoral Fellow
kayla.iuliano@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Iuliano is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine. Her research interests focus on environmental health, including how exposures in our environment impact cancer risk and how to effectively communicate to support community members in reducing their exposures. As part of her Fellowship, Dr. Iuliano is gaining experience with the COE team to support research and outreach projects in New Hampshire and Vermont—including a project that aims to reduce community members' exposure to radon in their homes.
Outreach team
Lisa Purvis, EdD, MPH, MBA
Director, Community Outreach and Engagement
lisa.a.purvis@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Purvis joined the COE office in 2021 and brings over two decades of experience in community-focused research, program management, and academic programming. Working closely with community-based organizations and community members throughout New Hampshire and Vermont, Dr. Purvis and community partners collaborate to implement projects to reduce the burden of cancer in our region. For example, in 2022, Dr. Purvis and community partners developed an educational webpage and media campaign to encourage Vermonters at high risk for lung cancer to get screened. In addition to leading our community-based outreach efforts, Dr. Purvis also oversees opportunities for community members to partner with our researchers through our Community Research Ambassadors Together Ending Cancer (CREATE) program.
Gillian Shapiro, LMSW, MBA
New Hampshire Cancer Partnership Manager gillian.l.shapiro@dartmouth.edu
New Hampshire Cancer Partnership Manager
gillian.l.shapiro@dartmouth.edu
In partnership with the New Hampshire Division of Health and Human Services, Gillian leads and manages the state of New Hampshire’s cancer coalition to bring together community organizations, healthcare partners, cancer survivors, care partners, and others interested in reducing the burden of cancer in New Hampshire and throughout our region. Gillian is passionate about cancer prevention, early detection and screening, and reducing the impact of cancer and is thrilled to be part of the Dartmouth Cancer Center COE team. Gillian holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers University and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Alabama.
Stephanie Papas, MPH, MCHES, CPH
Program Specialist
stephanie.papas@dartmouth.edu
As a Program Specialist, Ms. Papas works closely with internal and external partners on numerous initiatives to reduce the burden of cancer and improve the overall health of our communities. Since joining the COE team in 2022, Ms. Papas has led efforts to reduce tobacco use and increase home air radon testing. Ms. Papas also supports Community Engagement Studios, which fosters community feedback on clinical research projects and public health campaigns.
Carly Sykes, MPH
Program Specialist
carly.r.sykes@dartmouth.edu
In her role as Program Specialist, Ms. Sykes contributes to a wide variety of initiatives, including those focused on improving health for all residents along the cancer care continuum—from prevention through survivorship. Ms. Sykes also supports community members in getting involved in our research through Community Engagement Studios and our Community Research Ambassadors Together Ending Cancer (CREATE) program.
Kathy Stroffolino
Administrative Assistant / Research Coordinator
kathy.m.stroffolino@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Stroffolino, our COE team's Administrative Assistant / Research Coordinator, is responsible for administrative support, communication within the team and with external partners, and day-to-day support of projects. Ms. Stroffolino is passionate about healthcare 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 team
Jenna Schiffelbein, MPH, CHES
Administrative and Operations Director
jenna.e.schiffelbein@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Schiffelbein joined the COE team in 2016 as our first Community Health Educator and has served in several roles since that time. Now as our Administrative and Operations Director, Ms. Schiffelbein leads a variety of behind-the-scenes efforts for the COE team, including strategic planning, pursuit of grant funding, and design of evaluation plans to assess the impact of our work. In addition, Ms. Schiffelbein manages and facilitates several advisory groups that provide guidance to the cancer center, including our Community Advisory Board. Finally, Ms. Schiffelbein also works closely with cancer center researchers to help them in pursuing research focused on the needs of New Hampshire and Vermont and in partnership with the community.
Heather Carlos, MS
Catchment Area Data Specialist
heather.a.carlos@dartmouth.edu
Ms. Carlos uses her expertise in geospatial analysis and data visualization to support the COE team in her role as the Catchment Area Data Specialist. In this role, Ms. Carlos analyzes a variety of data sources—including data from Dartmouth Health, state tumor registries, and the Census—to define and describe our catchment area of New Hampshire and Vermont. These analyses help in identifying geographic areas and populations experiencing cancer disparities. Ms. Carlos also supports the Catchment Query Portal, which is a resource for Dartmouth Cancer Center faculty and staff to access near real-time data about New Hampshire and Vermont.
COE Scientific Advisory Board
The COE Scientific Advisory Board meets regularly to provide clinical and scientific guidance to the COE team. Our scientific advisors include:
Brock Christensen, PhD
Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives
brock.c.christensen@dartmouth.edu
Konstantin Dragnev, MD
Associate Director for Clinical Research
konstantin.h.dragnev@dartmouth.edu
View Dr. Dragnev's provider profile
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