Ginell Ampey, M.P.H, C.H.E.S.
Clinical research coordinator, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
ginell.ampey1@vcuhealth.org
Ginell Ampey is a clinical research coordinator within the VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy. In this position, she works on research activities pertaining to health equity and cancer disparities in socio-economically disadvantaged populations and racial subgroups. Prior to joining VCU, she worked at the Virginia Department of Health. Ms. Ampey brings many years of public health experience, including adjunct teaching at universities and community colleges in the area.
She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from VCU and a Master’s in Public Health from the Medical College of Virginia at VCU.
Sarah Arezo
Research assistant, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
arezose@mymail.vcu.edu
Sarah Arezo is a research assistant in the Department of Health and Behavioral Policy at VCU, as well as an undergraduate receiving her Bachelor's degree in Radiation Sciences with a concentration in Radiation Therapy and a minor in Psychology. As a research assistant, Sarah works with Dr. Michael Preston on formulating literature reviews, as well as helping with publications about cancer disparities.
Ms. Arezo's research interests include colorectal cancer and alleviating healthcare disparities in underserved populations. She plans to become an active member of the Radiation Oncology team as a Radiation Therapist, as well as continuing to pursue her education after graduating from VCU to obtain her Master's degree in Public Health and her Ph.D. in Health Services Research.
Jasmine Blue, M.P.H.
Program specialist, Cancer Research and Resource Center, Lawrenceville
jasmine.blue@vcuhealth.org
Jasmine Blue is the Cancer Research and Resource Center program specialist in Lawrenceville. Her focus is to promote NCI cancer education and control initiatives with a major emphasis on reaching minority and medically underserved populations, cancer patients and their families, and health professionals in this region. By way of Baltimore, she has spent the last several years working on a variety of community projects to address health disparities through an environmental justice lens, learning the needs of the community and developing comprehensive solutions to enhance the wellbeing of community through health promotion. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Radford University and her Master of Public Health degree from Morgan State University in 2019.
Alisa E. Brewer, M.S.P.H.
Director, Community Engagement and Outreach, Center on Health Disparities School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University
alisa.brewer@vcuhealth.org
Alisa Brewer shares a joint appointment with the Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research (OHEDR) and the VCU Center on Health Disparities (CoHD) where she is director of Community Engagement and Outreach. In these roles, Ms. Brewer coordinates and provides advisory support to community-engaged activities, outreach and research. Ms. Brewer brings expertise from 15+ years in health promotion by collaborations with varied audiences including community, university, clinical, faith and school-based stakeholders. Working across the University and alongside organizations and individuals throughout the Richmond metro area, and beyond, Ms. Brewer offers insight and support to prioritizing community interests and facilitating feedback and response that promotes understanding, problem-solving, partnership and advocacy.
Ms. Brewer is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she earned a Master’s of Science in Public Health with a concentration in Health Education, Promotion and Behavior.
Amy Coffin, M.S.2.
Dean's summer research fellow, VCU School of Medicine
coffinam@vcu.edu
Amy Coffin was awarded the 2021 Dean's Summer Research Fellowship to explore the local healthcare landscapes that patients navigate when accessing genetic services for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Since beginning medical school, Amy has gravitated toward community health settings. Ultimately, Amy would like to pursue a career in primary care, and hopes that their future work will address injustices in healthcare.
Before enrolling in the VCU School of Medicine, Amy researched technical and social issues (as well as consequent solutions) at the University of California Santa Cruz Genomics Institute. This work involved engagement with genetic counselors across the globe, collaboration with patient advocacy groups and teamwork with leading experts in clinical genomics. Much of this research coalesced into an ongoing project that explores both health center involvement and patient community engagement in genomic data sharing efforts.
Amy has worked as a medical scribe and a unit secretary in hospital settings. They have also been involved in various grassroots efforts that materially support community members who struggle with socioeconomic burdens.
Yvonne Cummings
Clinical research manager, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
yvonne.cummings@vcuhealth.org
Yvonne Cummings is a clinical research manager within the VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy. In this position she works with participants and investigators to meet the overall goals of our various projects. A native of Baltimore, Jennings received her BS in human services at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. Prior to joining the VCU team, she worked as a research coordinator for Georgetown University and as a community interventionist for The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She currently assists with managing research projects, patient recruitment, interviewing, manuscript preparation, etc.
Charlotte L. Garrett, R.N.
Coordinator, Cancer Research and Resource Center, Danville
charlotte.garrett@vcuhealth.org
Charlotte Garrett received a B.S. in nursing with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University/The Medical College of Virginia in 1991 and worked in various acute and ambulatory care settings until 2010, when she became coordinator of the newly formed Cancer Research and Resource Center in Danville.
Kathy Hurt
Program coordinator, Cancer Research and Resource Center, Danville
kathy.hurt@vcuhealh.org
Kathy Hurt started working as program coordinator at the Cancer Research and Resource Center in 2014 to educate the service area about HPV-related cancers, mostly by way of organizing continuing education programs for providers.
After graduating from Kenyon College in 1991 with a degree in political science, she worked in New York City in Court TV’s marketing department before returning to south-central Virginia to work at a regional economic development partnership. She opened and operated an art gallery featuring area artists, but her family with three children pulled her home, where she worked most recently while remaining active in the community.
Autumn Lanoye, Ph.D., L.C.P.
Postdoctoral fellow, Cancer Prevention and Control, Massey Cancer Center and VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
autumn.lanoye@vcuhealth.org
Autumn Lanoye is a clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow in cancer prevention and control. Her research interests include the development of behavioral and psychological interventions to improve quality of life among cancer patients and survivors–with an emphasis on minimizing variability in treatment response in order to reduce health disparities. She earned a PhD in clinical psychology with a concentration in behavioral medicine from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed her clinical residency at West Virginia University Health Sciences Center in Charleston, WV.
Asmaa Namoos, M.D., M.P.H.
Doctoral student, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
asmaa.namoos@vcuhealth.org
Asmaa Namoos earned her Medical Doctorate degree at Alexandria University in Egypt, where she practiced medicine for two years after finishing medical school. During her time in Egypt she worked on patients' health literacy, shared in W.H.O. campaigns of poliomyelitis and supported public health work in rural areas of Egypt. Dr. Namoos also has a Master's Degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) from George Washington University, School of Public Health. Currently she is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University‘s School of Medicine. Her research interests include health disparities and disease control.
Reuben Retnam
Research assistant, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
retnamrp@mymail.vcu.edu
Reuben Retnam is a research assistant in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy at VCU and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biostatistics. A large part of his applied research has focused on health disparities, particularly in the field of oral health. As a research assistant, Retnam works to manage and facilitate the use of data in identifying and reducing disparities.
He received his Bachelor's degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 2017 as a double major in Mathematics and Biology. His Ph.D. research is centered on the development of novel robust models for longitudinal data.
Michelle Rosado
Patient outreach educator and research assistant, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research
michelle.rosado@vcuhealth.org
Michelle Rosado is a patient outreach educator and research assistant within the VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy. She received her Bachelor's degree in Community Health with a concentration in Clinical Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a Northern Virginia native who has worked in several healthcare settings in the Washington metropolitan area. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and is interested in breaking the language barrier within the Hispanic-Latino community while fostering positive health outcomes through education and outreach. Her research interests include health disparities in underserved populations and community outreach initiatives.
Katelyn Schifano, M.S., C.H.E.S.
Certified community health education specialist, Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research, VCU Massey Cancer Center
katelyn.schifano@vcuhealth.org
Katelyn Schifano is a VCU graduate and a Richmond City Resident who is a certified community health education specialist (C.H.E.S.). She has been working with VCU since 2011 on various social and behavioral health research projects. In her role, she works with community partners to bring cancer prevention focused activities such as health literacy, exercise programs, and tobacco cessation classes to various areas across the state.
Barbara Stanfield, R.N.
Community navigator / CRC screening specialist
barbara.stanfield@vcuhealth.org
Community navigators are a welcomed resource that can assist Virginia residents who need help navigating the health care system, as well as linking individuals to community resources. To address this need, Massey’s community outreach and engagement (COE) team in the Office of Health Equity and Disparities Research (OHEDR) partnered with the Virginia Department of Health and Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS) to provide the Virginia Cancer Prevention and Control Program and the Cancer Research and Resource Navigation Program to decrease the burden of colorectal cancer in an area identified as a colorectal cancer hotspot. Part of this effort includes welcoming Barbara Stanfield as the new community navigator in the Danville region. Barbara brings 46 years of nursing and case management experience to the team, as well as an extensive background in colorectal cancer awareness.
Arnethea L. Sutton, Ph.D., M.L.S. (ASCP)
Postdoctoral fellow, Cancer Prevention and Control, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
abrahamal@vcu.edu
Arnethea Sutton is a trained medical laboratory scientist. She was employed by VCU Health for more than 10 years. During that time she gained experience and developed expertise in the areas of transfusion medicine, flow cytometry and immunology. While working for the health system, Dr. Sutton gained an affinity for health disparity and community-engaged research.
She earned a Ph.D. in health related sciences from the School of Allied Health Professions at VCU, and in June or 2017, she accepted a position as a Cancer Prevention and Control postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Heath Behavior and Policy, VCU School of Medicine. Her research interests include development, evaluation and dissemination of behavioral interventions for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. She is also interested in exploring methods to increase African American representation in clinical trials and biospecimen provision.
Teya Whitehead
Coordinator, Cancer Research and Resource Center, Lawrenceville
teya.whitehead@vcuhealth.org
Teya J. Whitehead is the Cancer Research and Resource Center coordinator in Lawrenceville. Her focus is to facilitate the availability of local, state and national cancer programs and resources to the population within the Southside counties and communities. Whitehead previously worked in the center as a program coordinator and research assistant and is excited to contribute to the VCU team and diligently work in Southern Virginia to mitigate the health disparities that are a reality for so many. She received her Master of Arts from the University of Phoenix in Adult Education and Distance Learning and earned her bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Mass Communication from St. Paul’s College.
