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.

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.

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.

Austin Le, DDS, Assistant Research Scientist

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.