Stephen Nimer, MD

Director, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Oscar de la Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
Executive Dean for Research, Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Nimer has been studying the transcriptional regulation of normal and malignant hematopoiesis for decades, with the aim of understanding how the normal processes of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation are regulated and how these processes are aberrant in the myeloid malignancies. Overall, his lab has focused on defining genes that contribute to the development and progression of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and on identifying novel ways to target hematologic cancers and make them more responsive to treatment.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Nimer has cared for patients with MDS, AML, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma for over three decades. This melding of clinical studies and care, with both basic laboratory and translational studies, reflects the fundamental focus of his career.

Since coming to the University of Miami-Miller School of Medicine in 2012 and assuming the Directorship of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, the center received the prestigious National Cancer Institute designation in July 2019. Sylvester is the only cancer center in South Florida to achieve this designation and the second in the state of Florida. Dr. Nimer is currently supported by two NCI R01 grants and a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) multi-project Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) award. In November 2019, Dr. Nimer was named the inaugural Oscar de la Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. In November 2021, Dr. Nimer assumed the role of Executive Dean for Research for the Miller School of Medicine, and in May 2022, he assumed a secondary appointment as Professor of Chemical, Environmental & Materials Engineering.

Prior to his arrival at the University of Miami-Miller School of Medicine, Dr. Nimer was at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for nearly 20 years, where he held the Alfred P. Sloan Chair and served as Head of the Division of Hematologic Oncology, Vice Chairman for Faculty Development, and Chief of the Hematology Service. He was also a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Nimer has been elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigators and the Association of American Physicians. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and serves on the editorial board of several medical journals. In April 2021, Dr. Nimer was inducted into the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida. Dr. Nimer is also the Chairman of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome Foundation, and the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.

Frank Penedo, PhD

Professor of Psychology and Medicine
Associate Director, Cancer Survivorship & Translational Behavioral Sciences, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Director, Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care

Dr. Frank Penedo is an internationally recognized expert in cancer survivorship and psychosocial oncology. He is the Associate Director of the Cancer Survivorship & Translational Behavioral Sciences and the Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research focuses on the underlying psychosocial, sociocultural, and biobehavioral mechanisms of chronic diseases processes and health outcomes.

Vandana Sookdeo, MD, EMBA

Director of Administrative Operations, Cancer Survivorship & Translational Behavioral Sciences
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Sookdeo is the current Director of Administrative Operations for Cancer Survivorship and Translational Behavioral Sciences at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and leads the efforts of the My Wellness Check Program. She is a double-alumna of the University of Miami, having completed her medical and surgical training at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, and her Executive MBA in Healthcare Management and Policy at UM. Dr. Sookdeo’s interests include clinical implementation, quality improvement, and impact of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and psychosocial needs on quality of life in ambulatory oncology.

Akina Natori, MD MSPH

Research Assistant Professor, Medical Oncology, Miller School of Medicine
Cancer Survivorship Analytics, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Originally from Japan, Dr. Natori earned her medical degree from Nagoya University and completed her residency and oncology fellowship at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Japan, followed by a clinical and research fellowship at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada. She joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as a research assistant professor in 2019. Her research focuses on patient-reported outcomes in cancer survivorship, chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments, and other side effects of cancer therapy.

Michael Antoni, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Miami CTSI Pilot & Clinical Translational Studies
Survivorship Theme Leader, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Michael Antoni, Sylvester Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Cooper Fellow, has for the past 35 years served on the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami and is a member of the Cancer Control Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Over this period he has received continuous extramural support from National Institutes of Health and has published over 500 journal articles, books, book chapters, intervention manuals, and abstracts on studies of stress factors, and stress management effects on psychological adaptation, biobehavioral processes, and health outcomes in chronic diseases.

He has led or co-led multiple randomized trials of stress management interventions for breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome. He served as the director of the NCI-funded P50 Center for Psycho-Oncology Research, and as director or co-director of federal training grants focused on HIV and breast cancer. He received the Early Career Research Awards from the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the American Psychological Association, a Distinguished Scientist Award from the International Society of Behavioral Medicine, and is a Fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine, from whom he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for cancer research in 2021. For the past 20 years he has served as Associate Editor for International Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Psychology and Health.

Sara St. George, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, Director
MS Program in Prevention Science & Community Health, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami

Dr. St. George received her PhD in clinical-community psychology from the University of South Carolina and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is currently Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she directs the Health eLifestyles Lab and MS in Prevention Science and Community Health degree program. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating family-based digital lifestyle interventions for Hispanics which integrate multiple generations (e.g., grandparents, parents, children) to prevent obesity, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Paulo Pinheiro, PhD

Research Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami

Dr. Paulo S. Pinheiro is a Research Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, with over 20 years of experience in population-based cancer epidemiology. He trained as a resident physician in Portugal where he specialized in Public Health, then completed his MS and Ph.D. in Epidemiology in the Netherlands and Miami, FL, respectively, and completed two fellowships at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France. His research interests primarily focus on cancer outcomes in Hispanic/Latino populations, and more recently, on Black/African-descent and Asian/Pacific Islander populations with an emphasis on revealing disparities in incidence, survival, and mortality masked by aggregating racial/ethnic groups.

In 2009, he pioneered the monitoring of cancer incidence in Hispanic subgroups (Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans) in the U.S. based on individual-level data from Florida. Additionally, he has worked to improve cancer surveillance methodology and strives to achieve the most accurate characterization of cancer in Latinos, thereby presenting a far more complex picture of the so-called “Hispanic Paradox”.

Dr. Pinheiro has over 75 peer-reviewed publications, 20 of them as the first author, with more than 5000 citations to date. He has presented over 20 presentations in conferences in four different continents. Lastly, he has participated in NIH grant review panels for the Cancer Section and contributed to national reports and monograph initiatives from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a Consultant for Race-Ethnicity Methodology with the NCI SEER Program.

Matthew Schlumbrecht, MD

Professor of Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Vice Chair of Global and Community Health
Medical Co-Director, Survivorship Clinical Research Programs,
Cancer Survivorship & Translational Behavioral Sciences
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Schlumbrecht is a Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, Florida. He serves as the Director for the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program; Medical Co-Director for Research Operations, Cancer Survivorship Program; and the Co-Director of Cancer Control and Prevention for Gynecologic Oncology. He also serves as the Vice Chair of Global and Community Health in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences.

A graduate of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Dr. Schlumbrecht completed an OB/GYN residency at The University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a Gynecologic Oncology fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Texas. His clinical care of patients is complemented by his ongoing research in education, global health, and health care disparities, with a specific interest in cancer prevention, early detection, and education in underserved populations. He is the international mentor for gynecologic oncology fellows in Nigeria and Bahamas, and works closely with global partners to facilitate comprehensive research in endometrial and hereditary cancers.

He is the recipient of the 2021 Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Zubrod Award for Outstanding Teacher. He has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer, and Gynecologic Oncology.

Marc Puccinelli, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Health Promotion and Care Lab
Department of Psychology, University of Miami

Dr. Puccinelli is a clinical assistant professor in Department of Psychology Health Promotion and Care lab at the University of Miami. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Miami in 2017, and completed internship training in clinical health psychology at the Miami VA medical center. His clinical and research experience has primarily focused on substance use, mental health treatment, HIV prevention, and coping with chronic illness, including HIV and cancer. His research interests include development, testing, and disseminating interventions to address health disparities in sexual and gender minority and Latinx communities.

Carmen Calfa, MD

Breast Medical Oncologist, Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute
Medical Co-Director, Survivorship Clinical Programs
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Calfa is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Associate Director of Community Outreach and Medical Director of Clinical Operations for the Survivorship Cancer Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has been recognized for her clinical care and research and has received the prestigious Zubrod 2020 Outstanding Clinical Researcher of the Year Award. Recognized for the work in the community, she is also the recipient of 2020 Miami Dolphins Everyday Hero Award.

Dr. Calfa works as part of a multidisciplinary team of breast cancer experts and researchers that focuses on breast caner prevention, treatment and survivorship.

Jessica MacIntyre, DNP

Executive Director, Clinical Operations
Nurse Practitioner
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Jessica MacIntyre is the Executive Director of Clinical Operations and an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner at the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. MacIntyre oversees the clinical operations of the cancer survivorship program and the advanced practice providers involved in the clinical care of cancer survivors. Additionally, she has publications in the areas of gastrointestinal malignances, advanced practice, and is an avid speaker on topics revolving around patient navigation and supportive care.

Diana Molinares, MD

Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Director, Oncology Rehabilitation Medicine
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Molinares is a Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine specialist and expert on improving function, independence, and quality of life of survivors throughout the cancer continuum. She completed her residency in physiatry at the University of Miami and completed her Cancer Rehabilitation fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Molinares is currently the director of Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine and program director of the upcoming Cancer Rehabilitation Fellowship for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Molinares has focused her research on studying the impact of rehabilitation interventions on cancer survivors and has presented her results at different national and international conferences, making her one of the experts in this field. Dr. Molinares has particular expertise in diagnosing and managing shoulder dysfunction in breast cancer survivors, rehabilitation of patients with leptomeningeal disease and spinal cord injuries, neck dysfunction in head and neck cancer survivors, and the effects of prehabilitation in patients undergoing high-risk oncological treatment. Additionally, Dr. Molinares have published on the impact of disparities in rehabilitation services in the Hispanic population.

Patricia Moreno, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Lead, Evidence-Based Survivorship Supportive Care
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Moreno is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is also Lead of Evidence-Based Survivorship Supportive Care at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. The overarching aim of Dr. Moreno’s research is to understand the significant challenges faced by individuals coping with cancer and improve outcomes across the cancer continuum through patient-centered healthcare and tailored, empirically-supported interventions. She is particularly interested in identifying factors that can be targeted to improve quality of life and reduce cancer prevention and control disparities among Hispanics/Latinos and other diverse individuals in the United States.

Dr. Moreno has received grants from the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the John Templeton Foundation. In addition, Dr. Moreno has more than eight years of experience providing evidence-based care to English- and Spanish-speaking cancer survivors and their family members across three NCI-designated cancer centers: UCLA, Duke University, and Northwestern University.

Tracy Crane, PhD

Associate Professor, Medical Oncology
Co-Lead, Cancer Control Research Program
Director, Digital Health and Lifestyle Medicine
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Crane leads a multi-disciplinary research team to carry out the delivery of digital health lifestyle interventions. In order to successfully conduct, manage and deliver these large-scale trials, her research team utilizes a smart software platform that incorporates voice, text and video, with integrated wearable data, and interfaces with clinical care. Dr. Crane’s most recent projects integrate deep learning and natural language processing in an effort to identify precision behavioral interventions to better predict what intervention to use, for whom and when, moving beyond the “one size fits all" approach.

Ingrid Barrera, PsyD

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Clinical Operations -Cancer Supportive Services
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Ingrid Barrera is the Director, of Clinical Operations for the Department of Cancer Support Services at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Barrera has been at the University of Miami serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for over 10 years. She obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. She has vast experience in psycho-oncology and has been an active researcher in the areas of adolescent and young adults, eating disorders, and suicide prevention.

Joycelyn Lee, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Joycelyn Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and clinical psychologist at Sylvester Cancer Support Services. She specializes in helping patients manage symptoms of psychosocial distress to better engage in value-focused living during and after cancer treatment. Her interests include increasing dissemination of evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatments, adolescents and young adults with cancer, and reducing health disparities. She was the recipient of the 2018 Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Cancer Support Services Outstanding Patient Care Award.

A University of Miami undergraduate alumnus, she earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama. Dr. Lee completed her internship at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, which included a rotation at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center Stem Cell Transplant Unit. Dr. Lee also has an MBA from Florida International University. Prior to joining the Department of Psychiatry, she was a research scientist at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Natasha Solle, PhD, RN

Research Assistant Professor
Assistant Director, Behavioral and Community-Based Research Shared Resource (BCSR)
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Natasha Schaefer Solle is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC). She serves as the co-Deputy Director of the Firefighter Cancer Initiative (FCI), a multi-faceted project funded by the state of Florida to study firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens, examine their cancer risk, and develop methods of education about prevention and early detection, leading the firefighter cancer prevention, education and survivorship program.

Dr. Schaefer Solle’s research interests focus on occupational cancer risks and improving cancer screening in underserved communities. She has extensive experience in qualitative research methodology and community-based participatory research (CBPR). Most of her work has involved engaging minority populations in Florida to help circumvent barriers to care and increase cancer screening practices (i.e. colorectal and cervical). The focus of her research is very well aligned with her leadership role at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center as the Assistant Director of the Behavioral and Community-based Research Shared Resource (BCSR), where she is responsible for overseeing research services used to facilitate biobehavioral and population research, reflective of catchment area need for Cancer Center investigators.

Adrienne Vazquez Guerra, APRN

Nurse Practitioner
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Adrienne Vazquez Guerra is a nurse practitioner within the Cancer Survivorship program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She oversees the training, competency and support for staff within the program as well as survivorship workshops, communication and events.