Our Labs

The Cancer Prevention Precision Control Institute (CPPCI) is dedicated to leveraging innovative behavioral science and health communication methodologies to address cancer disparities, community outreach and engagement, and improved health outcomes across the cancer care continuum.

CPPCI Director

Lisa Carter-Bawa, PhD, APRN, ANP-C, FAAN

CPPCI Team Members – Faculty

Emmanuel Dumont, Ph.D.
Dr. Emmanuel Dumont is a well-published quantitative researcher, inventor on multiple patents, and entrepreneur with several years of experience conducting and managing research in fast-paced environments and using machine-learning approaches for large and complex datasets across biophysics, optics, and epigenomics.

Along with being a faculty member at the Center for Discovery and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health, the largest hospital network in New Jersey, where he develops new statistical methods to analyze epigenetic-genetic interactions and EHR data while focusing on cancer and health disparities. Dr. Emmanuel Dumont is also the founder and CEO of Shade, a semiconductor startup commercializing a novel UV sensor that mimics skin sensitivity. This technology is being used by both top-tier academic hospitals and publicly traded companies. In a randomized clinical trial, it has been proven to lower the rate of skin cancer by 10x in a high-risk population.

Chinwe Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, FACEP
Dr. Chinwe Ogedegbe is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ. She is also an Associate Member of the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), Associate Member of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) and Associate Member of the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC). She also serves as the Section Chief for Research in the Emergency and Trauma Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, where she oversees all research activities within the Emergency Medicine Department. The programmatic focus of her research is to develop and evaluate the impact of evidence –based strategies to improve outcomes of patients presenting to the Emergency Department.

Dr. Ogedegbe is committed to building an ED-based primary prevention program, deterring cancer & chronic diseases very early, and engaging underserved patients from resource-poor communities with appropriate services, including Community Based Organizations and Faith Based Organizations. Consequently, she is intricately involved in Community Outreach and Engagement within Hackensack Meridian Health network, covering Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Essex counties of New Jersey. Some of her work with the community includes hosting and running a Community Advisory Council, that meets quarterly, as well as training several of our community partners in our various health improvement initiatives and running one of 11 state funded Tobacco Quit centers covering 2 New Jersey counties. Dr. Ogedegbe is highly committed to training the next generation of physicians in health services research methods with a focus on emergency medicine care.

Dr. Ogedegbe also has served as primary mentor to over 15 residents, 30 medical students, and 25 Research Associates. Dr. Ogedegbe is the founding director of the HackensackUMC affiliate of the National Alliance of Research Associates Program (NARAP); one of 17 such programs in the country, a pipeline program for college and high school students. She has published over 75 manuscripts and abstracts in peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is a member of several scientific societies including the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Heather Derry-Vick, Ph.D.
Dr. Heather Derry-Vick is an Assistant Member of the Center for Discovery and Innovation.
Dr. Derry-Vick examines how psychosocial factors, such as stressful experiences or depressive symptoms, interact with health conditions including cancer. As a clinical psychologist who uses biobehavioral research approaches, she investigates how stress impacts health and healthcare experiences, as well as physiological mechanisms (such as levels of inflammation) that raise risk for cancer and co-occurring health problems. A significant focus of her lab’s current work is aimed at adapting and testing stress management strategies to help advanced cancer patients manage anxiety as they await scan results; this work is supported by a Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) award from the National Cancer Institute. By investigating and addressing links between behavioral and physical health, the Derry-Vick lab’s long-term goals are to lessen the impact of stress in the context of medical care and to maximize quality of life among people with chronic conditions.

CPPCI Team Members – Administrative Support

Zulfia Pathan
Project Associate
Zulfia comes from a diverse background including clinical work with patients, managerial experience in medical residency, and office operations. She is passionate about helping people, and volunteers with various organizations in New Jersey and New York in her free time.

Transitioning to a role that focuses on managing a clinical study came naturally to her. She brings hands-on experience understanding the patient/client role and its challenges, and her unique disposition provides practical support to the clients seeking assistance.

Francis Valenzona
Francis Valenzona joins the team with extensive experience of assisting C-suite leaders, hospital senior directors spanning all hospital service lines, and nurse managers. His education focused on health care administration. He is also experienced in events planning and catering. He serves as the administrative assistant to Dr. Lisa Carter-Bawa and caters to any other needs of the Cancer Prevention Precision Control Institute Team. You can reach him at Francis.Valenzona@hmh-cdi.org.