Our staff support research and education in NYU Langone’s Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use.

Noa Appleton, MPH, Program Manager

Ms. Appleton oversees a portfolio of National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded research studies related to screening, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders in medical settings. Under the direction of Jennifer McNeely, MD, co-director of the Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use, Ms. Appleton’s work involves project management, regulatory oversight, and data collection and analysis.

Margaret Arias, Administrative Coordinator

Ms. Arias provides administrative support for the Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use, in addition to the Department of Population Health’s administration team.

Briana Bell, MPH, Research Coordinator

Ms. Bell is a research coordinator for smoking cessation studies and works primarily on a study comparing financial incentive options for smoking cessation. She also volunteers as a co-state leader for contraCOVID NYC.

Wanda Bonilla, Research Coordinator

Ms. Bonilla is a research coordinator for a study evaluating the effectiveness of extended-release buprenorphine compared to extended-release naltrexone in helping people at release from the criminal justice system who have been addicted to opioids. She has previously worked on research on treatment for people with addiction disorders and performed case management and counseling for social service organizations in New York City.

Adetayo Fawole, MD, Research Coordinator

Dr. Fawole works on a study that evaluates the effectiveness of addiction consult services in inpatient settings under Dr. McNeely. He also works on a project that aims to develop a polysubstance assessment tool for underserved subpopulations under Amanda M. Bunting, PhD.

Jasmine Fernando, Senior Research Coordinator

Ms. Fernando provides support to Dr. McNeely’s studies on hospital-based–opioid treatment. Her work includes study coordination, institutional review board (IRB) management, and data collection and analysis.

Kaitlyn Gee, Research Data Associate

Ms. Gee manages projects conducted by Omar El-Shahawy, MD, PhD, MPH, which research smoking cessation and the related health disparities experienced by underserved populations. She also oversees several studies pertaining to harm reduction with e-cigarettes.

Brittany Griffin, Research Coordinator

Ms. Griffin is a research coordinator for multiple studies in the Department of Population Health and oversees and supports the development of the Bunting Lab. Her investigations focus mainly on polysubstance use, health disparities of justice-involved populations, and substance use–related health outcomes in rural populations.

Jacob Hermann, Research Data Associate

Mr. Hermann participates in recruitment efforts outside of nightclubs and festivals for Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, whose study estimates trends of drug use within the electronic dance music party scene in New York City to inform prevention and harm reduction efforts.

Austin Le, DDS, Assistant Research Scientist

Dr. Le assists with data analysis and write-up and presentation of results for Dr. Palamar’s study.

Won Soek Lee, Research Data Associate

Mr. Lee participates in recruitment efforts outside of nightclubs and festivals for Dr. Palamar's study.

Le Li, MS, Data Analyst

Ms. Li works on a project that explores different factors in e-cigarette usage among different age groups. She is also involved in a mobile health tool for tobacco cessation.

Andi Mai, Research Data Associate

Ms. Mai works on a WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention study involving Chinese immigrant smokers directed by Nan Jiang, PhD. Ms. Mai is pursuing an MS in biostatistics from NYU School of Global Public Health.

Ryan McDonald, MA, Program Director

Mr. McDonald oversees several National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded clinical trials. He has managed research projects involving medication-assisted treatments for alcohol and drug use disorders and relapse prevention among those released from New York City jails.

Irina Melnic, MPH, Senior Research Program Manager

Ms. Melnic oversees operations and quality assurance for several smoking cessation studies, working closely with Scott E. Sherman, MD, and his team. She has extensive experience working with minority populations and patients with cancer who have limited English proficiency.

Andrew Nicholson, MSPH, Data Analyst

Mr. Nicholson manages and analyzes data for multiple smoking cessation studies and other clinical research studies conducted through the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, NYU Langone, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Within the Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use, he manages and analyzes data for a study comparing an opt-out versus opt-in approach for smoking cessation in VA primary care clinics; a study of the effectiveness of financial incentives in smoking cessation treatment; and a pilot study evaluating e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Nancy Pace, LMSW, Research Data Associate

Ms. Pace contributes to the Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Evidence Map, an initiative of Joshua D. Lee, MD, that consists of a large-scale literature review compiling articles that investigate effective interventions and policies as they relate to OUD treatment outcomes.

Andrea Pesantes, Research Data Associate

Ms. Pesantes is involved in a study concerning the effectiveness of financial incentives in smoking cessation treatment. She currently enrolls English– and Spanish–speaking participants at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.

Ivelisse Rozon, MS, LMHC, Counselor

Ms. Rozon is a licensed mental health counselor in the Section on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use with extensive experience in health psychology behavioral health research. She is currently an interventionist in various tobacco cessation research studies across NYU Langone, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, and the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System.

Nadina Santana-Correra, Research Coordinator

Ms. Santana-Correa is involved in a study assessing the effectiveness of extended-release buprenorphine compared to extended-release naltrexone in helping people at release from the criminal justice system who have been addicted to opioids. She has extensive prior experience working on large clinical trials investigating treatment interventions for people with substance use disorders.

Morgan Schermerhorn, Research Data Associate

Ms. Schermerhorn is involved in recruitment efforts outside of nightclubs and festivals for Dr. Palamar, estimating trends of drug use within the electronic dance music party scene in New York City to inform prevention and harm reduction efforts.

Allison Sugarman, MPP, Research Coordinator

Ms. Sugarman is a research coordinator for a study evaluating the effectiveness of extended-release buprenorphine compared to extended-release naltrexone in helping people at release from the criminal justice system who have been addicted to opioids. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland.

James Swift, Research Data Associate

Mr. Swift is a participant tracker for the Lee Lab and currently collaborates with Allison Sugarman on the same study. He has extensive experience working in the community to locate participants, facilitate contact with the research team, and coordinate study care.

Mahathi Vojjala, MPH, Research Coordinator

Ms. Vojjala is a coordinator for smoking cessation studies at NYU Langone and works primarily with patients with cancer and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She obtained her MPH in epidemiology from NYU School of Global Public Health and is currently an epidemiology PhD candidate at the school.

Alexis Wasserman, Research Data Associate

Ms. Wasserman helps oversee all administrative aspects of Dr. Palamar’s study. She also participates in recruitment efforts outside of nightclubs and festivals.

Olivia Wilker, MPH, Senior Research Coordinator

Ms. Wilker manages multiple projects for Dr. Sherman, which focus on improving tobacco cessation and harm reduction strategies in underserved populations, patients with chronic diseases, and veterans. She also assists with administrative needs for the Virtual Care Consortium of Research at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System.

Ololade Williams, Research Coordinator

Ms. Williams is a research coordinator for a study evaluating the effectiveness of extended-release buprenorphine compared to extended-release naltrexone in helping people at release from the criminal justice system who have been addicted to opioids. She is on the premed track at Columbia University.

Christina Wysota, MPH, Research Coordinator

Ms. Wysota works on institutional review board (IRB) submissions, survey development, and collecting, managing, and analyzing data for multiple tobacco projects. She earned her MPH from NYU in 2018.