The Connected2Care Project team at NYU Langone’s Center for Healthful Behavior Change supports our i-Matter and ALTA studies through its deep devotion to and extensive background in helping patients and healthcare professionals better manage chronic diseases.

Dr. Schoenthaler is a behavioral scientist who studies the factors leading to racial disparities in cardiovascular health. Her research examines the reasons for patient adherence to prescribed medications and adoption of healthy behaviors, particularly factors such as depression, confidence, motivation, and the quality of patient–provider communication. Dr. Schoenthaler has extensive experience in creating and tailoring clinic- and community-based interventions to lower cardiovascular risk in settings as diverse as faith-based organizations, senior centers, and primary care practices. In the last 15 years, she has also delivered more than 100 motivational interviewing trainings to large service and community-based organizations in the New York metropolitan area and academic medical centers across the United States. Dr. Schoenthaler also serves as director of the Center for Healthful Behavior Change and associate director for research at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity.

Jocelyn Cruz, MPH
Program Manager

Jocelyn joined the Connected2Care team in October 2018; however, she has been part of the NYU Langone family since 2011. She started at the Dysautonomia Center, which led her to pursue her MPH at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. After graduating, she joined Perlmutter Cancer Center and managed research studies related to health disparities among patients with breast cancer in the Latinx population. Jocelyn has gained extensive experience in Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulation, quantitative and qualitative research methods, program planning and implementation, and survey design. She is passionate about targeting health inequities through a research platform such as Connected2Care. Jocelyn can be reached at Jocelyn.Acosta@NYULangone.org.

Priscilla D’Antico, PhD, MPH
Research Scientist

In 2016 Priscilla joined NYU Langone as a research analyst in the Department of Population Health while she pursued a PhD in epidemiology from CUNY’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. After graduating in 2021, she spent some time in pharmaceutical consulting before returning to NYU Langone in 2024 as a research scientist in the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity (IEHE), helping to manage the Connected2Care Project. Priscilla’s work has been focused on reducing chronic disease health disparities by improving health literacy, supporting community–clinical linkages, and reducing the gap in use of technology to access educational resources in underserved communities. She has extensive experience in quantitative research methods, program planning, patient recruitment, manuscript development, and mentoring junior researchers. She is passionate about supporting underserved communities in efforts to trust and communicate with their healthcare team to support their health goals. Priscilla can be reached at Priscilla.D'antico@NYULangone.org.

Practice Improvement Staff

Franze de la Calle, MS
Practice Improvement Manager

Franze has more than 10 years’ experience in coordinating the delivery and execution of behavioral interventions in clinic- and community-based settings, specifically those targeting cardiovascular risk reduction in underserved populations. As practice improvement manager for the ALTA program, she helps our coordinators partner with primary care practices to improve hypertension management by integrating the ALTA model into routine patient care. Franze is fascinated by understanding the key determinants that drive effective translation of evidence-based interventions into real-world practice. She also works as a clinical renal dietitian, providing medical nutrition therapy to patients from all communities who are receiving dialysis. In this role, she uses motivational interviewing to enhance the internal goals driving patients towards a healthier self. Franze can be reached at Franzenith.delaCalle@NYULangone.org.

Nordine D’Aguilar MPH, CPHQ
Practice Improvement Coordinator

Nordine has over seven years of experience in healthcare quality, holds a master’s in public health, and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). With a robust background in quality improvement, she currently applies these methodologies as a practice improvement coordinator. Nordine is actively involved in research projects, including ALTA and ADDRESS-BP, focusing on hypertension management through a team-based model that integrates digital technology and community engagement at both the Family Health Clinics (FHC) and Faculty Group Practices (FGP). Nordine has a deep connection with the patient population she serves. She understands the importance of improving participation in research studies and recognizes the importance of bridging this divide to advance changes to improve chronic disease health outcomes. Whether she is recruiting or assisting with research implementation in the field, Nordine consistently finds opportunities to connect with patients and the care team, making her work truly fulfilling. Nordine can be reached at Nordine.D'Aguilar@NYULangone.org.

Research Staff

Gina-Maria Arena, MA
Research Data Associate

Gina, who graduated from Adelphi University with a master’s degree in psychology, has more than seven years of experience working in research. She joined the Connected2Care team in 2022, working on the i-Matter1 study. During her time at NYU Langone, Gina has worked on participant recruitment, moderating focus groups and patient interviews, and data cleaning and management, and has provided integral support for the development of the iMatter2 study. She is passionate about behavioral health, accessible healthcare, and patient advocacy. Gina can be reached at Gina-Maria.Arena@NYULangone.org.

Ronaldo Patiño Flores, BA
Associate Research Coordinator

In 2021, Ronaldo joined the Connected2Care team at NYU Langone, working on the i-Matter1 study and the ALTA Project. With an undergraduate background in psychology and neuroscience, he has been involved in research since 2018. Initially focused on recruitment, his role has expanded to include project coordination and implementation, study material development, qualitative research methods, and data management. Ronaldo is passionate about engaging with the patient population, valuing the connections he builds and the impact of his work in improving their experiences and health. Ronaldo can be reached at Ronaldo.PatinoFlores@NYULangone.org.

Antonio Pelaez, BA
Research Data Associate

Antonio received his bachelor of arts in psychology and journalism from the NYU School of Arts and Sciences. He joined the Connected2Care team at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity (IEHE) in February of 2024. Since joining he has led the recruitment effort for the evaluation of our novel eHealth intervention, Project ALTA. He is passionate about the possibility of helping the underserved communities who have uncontrolled hypertension in New York City through health equity efforts such as this one and enthusiastic about the prospect of disseminating these methods across the health system. Antonio can be reached at Antonio.Pelaez@NYULangone.org.

Soumik Mandal, PhD
Research Scientist

Soumik is a mixed-methods user behavior researcher with over 10 years of experience studying how people interact with technology, their information-seeking behavior, the digital traces they leave behind, and how these interactions shape decision-making. With a background in computer engineering (bachelor’s and master’s), he has a strong foundation in machine learning (ML) and language technologies. His interest in the user experience with technologies led him to pursue a PhD in information science at Rutgers University, where he studied user behavior across diverse digital platforms. Since joining NYU Langone in 2021, his research has focused on emerging digital health technologies such as telemedicine, patient portals, remote monitoring and generative AI, exploring how these technologies are transforming healthcare delivery, patient–provider communication, and the future of work for healthcare professionals. Soumik supports the Connected2Care projects through grant writing, technology development, personalization of behavioral health interventions, and assessing their effectiveness. Soumik can be reached at Soumik.Mandal@NYULangone.org.

Alice Abia-Okon, BS
Research Data Associate

Alice earned a bachelor of science in psychology, specializing in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, from the University of Florida. Before joining NYU Langone, she worked as an undergraduate research assistant on a project assessing extended reality technology and educational interventions to enhance empathy training, and nontechnical skills for healthcare professionals. As a research data associate, she provides broad team support for data analysis, participant recruitment, and manuscript development for the ALTA program. Her research interests include human–technology interactions and user experience, particularly in the scope of underrepresented populations and interventions to improve provider–patient relationships. Alice can be reached at Alice.Abia-Okon@NYULangone.org.