About

Bernadette Capili, PhD, NP-c, is the Heilbrunn Family Center for Research Nursing Director. She leads the Heilbrunn Nurse Scholars program, fostering research excellence among early-career nurse scientists. With a passion for advancing the nursing field, Dr. Capili is also a contributing editor for the American Journal of Nursing, where her column, Nursing Research Step by Step, educates nurses on clinical research methodologies.

Her research focuses on symptom management and innovative interventions, such as alternative systems of medicine supported by the National Institutes of Health. Through her collaboration as chair of the NIH NCATS Study Complexity Workgroup and her leadership as the former chair of the International Association for Clinical Research Nurses research committee, Dr. Capili continually strives to enhance research standards, workforce development, and patient outcomes, as well as dedicated to teaching and mentoring the next generation of clinical research nurses and nurse scientists.

Rita K. Devine, MPA, RN is an accomplished nursing professional and healthcare administrator with over 35 years of experience in clinical research and nursing leadership. She is the Director of Nursing and Patient Care Services at Rockefeller University Hospital in New York City, where she has been instrumental in enhancing patient care and advancing clinical research operations since joining in 2010. Rita received a Associate Degree in Nursing from St. Vincent’s School of Nursing, NYC, bachelor’s degree in health care administration from St. Francis College and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Long Island University.

As Director of Nursing, Rita oversees patient care services and clinical operations for one of the leading facilities in translational and neuroscience research. She has played a key role in ensuring the quality and safety of clinical research through specialized nursing practices.

Rita is recognized for her commitment to improving participant care in clinical studies, emphasizing a patient-centered approach that sets high standards in the field of clinical research nursing. She is actively involved with the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses, contributing to the advancement of clinical research nursing practices globally. Rita’s leadership and dedication have made her a distinguished figure in the intersection of nursing, healthcare administration, and clinical research.

Riva Gottesman, MPA, RHIA is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Hospital Information Systems. She is co-chair of the Continuous Quality Improvement ( CQI) Council. Through the CQI process, RUH continuously assesses the needs of participants, families of participants, and staff, as well as the international and academic community we serve, while striving to improve the safety and quality of the already high-quality care we provide.

She oversees the maintenance and updates of the Hospital’s SOPs to ensure that all staff have access to the most current policies and standards.

By overseeing the Hospital Information System, Ms. Gottesman focuses on quality and quantitative audits of the Oracle Health electronic health record. She oversees the requests and releases of any PHI and ensures the privacy and security of the Hospital participants’ health information. She serves as the Privacy Officer for the Hospital. 

Dr. Manoj Kandpal is the Director of Research Bioinformatics at the Rockefeller University Hospital Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). The team provides bioinformatics advice, training, and support to clinical researchers. Dr. Kandpal oversees research initiatives focused on developing next-generation sequencing technology and open-source frameworks for bioinformatics data analysis.

Dr. Kandpal’s research centers on utilizing machine learning methodologies to tackle biological issues, with expertise spanning transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and clinical research. As a co-investigator and principal bioinformatician on many multicenter projects, he has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and has made substantial contributions to the development and validation of machine learning classifiers for cancer and transplant research. At CCTS, his team is creating a digital platform for the study and analysis of transcriptomics and genomes.

Dr Rhonda Kost is Clinical Research Officer, Co-Director the Community Engaged Research Core, Vice-Chair of the Rockefeller Institutional Review Board, and Associate Professor of Clinical Investigation in The Rockefeller University Center for Clinical Translational Science. Through her research she has developed models and evidence-based measures of the research process that are used to improve the clinical research process. She led the development of the Research Participant Perception Survey (RPPS), a validated questionnaire about participants’ research experiences using measures developed with participant input. She was the Principal Investigator for Empowering the Participant Voice (EPV), a multi-site NIH/NCATS-funded project that developed and disseminated REDCap-based infrastructure to make it easier for organizations to routinely collect and analyze feedback from participants using the RPPS, and to benchmark within and across institutions using data to guide improving participants’ experiences. Dr. Kost also co-led the development of the Rockefeller Community-Engaged Research Navigation model (CEnR), an approach to foster sustainable research partnerships between basic scientists and affected communities. CEnR partnerships teams align the aims of community-engaged and mechanistic researchers to design and conduct Full Spectrum Translational Research (FSTR), with meaningful aims and outcomes for each collaborator. She has collaborated on FSTR projects to address community-acquired antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, bariatric surgery, and an HHS/Administration for Aging-funded nutrition-innovation grant with the Carter Burden Network and Clinical Directors Network to combine nutritional and behavioral approaches to lower blood pressure among community-living seniors. Dr. Kost leads Rockefeller’s recruitment core and is the site PI in collaboration with the Vanderbilt-led Recruitment Innovation Center (CHOIR). She was a committee member and co-author of the July 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee Report, Returning Individual Research Results to Participants: Guide for a New Research Paradigm.

Dr. Kost received her B.S. from Yale and her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, completed internal medicine residency training at Yale, infectious diseases subspecialty training at Case Western Reserve, and served as a Medical Staff Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, NIAID, in the Virology Section. Prior to joining Rockefeller, she designed and conducted clinical trials at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York.

James G. Krueger is Head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University in New York, NY, USA. He also serves as Physician and Co-director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the Rockefeller University Hospital, and as Chief Executive Officer of the Rockefeller University Hospital.

Dr Krueger earned his Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University (Princeton, NJ, USA) and a PhD degree in virology and cell biology from The Rockefeller University. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College (New York City), where he also completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency in dermatology. Dr Krueger is certified by the American Board of Dermatology.

His research group at The Rockefeller University was the first to conduct clinical trials with specific, targeted immune antagonists in psoriasis and this work established that elimination of pathogenic Tcells from skin lesions could reverse the full pathological phenotype of psoriasis. Since then, his group has used immune-based therapeutics to dissect inflammatory pathways in psoriasis, Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and Atopic dermatitis (AD) as well as other inflammatory skin conditions, and to conduct parallel pharmacogenomic studies that define mechanisms of targeted therapeutics in human populations. Dr Krueger has been an advocate of bidirectional translational research (bench to bedside and back) in humans to dissect pathogenic pathways that cannot be studied in animal models, particularly for skin diseases.

Robert B. MacArthur is a pharmacist and researcher associated with Rockefeller University. He has served as the Pharmacy Director at Rockefeller University Hospital since May 2015. Robert holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from St. John’s University, where he specialized in Infectious Diseases and Pharmacokinetics. He also earned a Master of Science (MS) in Biostatistics from Columbia University and is board certified in sterile compounding (BCSCP). In addition to his role at Rockefeller University, Robert has been a lecturer at Columbia University since January 2009. Robert played a major role in gaining FDA approval for sodium phenylbutyrate (Buphenyl), and sodium phenylacetate/sodium benzoate (Ammunol), both for treatment of urea cycle disorder, and eflornithine (Iwilfin) for high-risk neuroblastoma. He has expertise in early phase drug development, regulatory affairs, GMP manufacturing, and clinical trial packaging. His professional background includes experience as a Senior SAS Programmer, showcasing his skills in data analysis and statistical programming. Robert’s work involves contributions to clinical research and pharmaceutical sciences. He has co-authored numerous scientific publications, indicating his active involvement in academic research. His diverse educational background and professional experience demonstrate a multifaceted approach to pharmacy and drug development within the context of a prestigious research institution like Rockefeller University.

Maija N. Williams, MPH is the Chief Operating Officer for the Rockefeller University Hospital and Administrative Director for the Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science. She has more than 22 years of experience in healthcare management as a professional non-profit healthcare administrator. At Rockefeller Ms. Williams in conjunction with the center and hospital leadership is responsible for planning and executing the preparation of competing and non-competing grant applications, and compiling operational, financial, and clinical research data for the Center’s annual report to the institution and funding agencies. Ms. Williams reviews budgetary requirements to appropriately reflect program needs and provides oversight monitoring and analysis of university budget funding and National Institute of Health (NIH) grant funding. By having responsibility for both the Hospital budget from the University and the CTSA budget, she can ensure an integrated and efficient distribution of resources, all focused on achieving the research and educational goals of the hospital and RUCCTS. Ms. Williams is a healthcare and community service leader committed to cost effective management of resources and quality performance. She is an active member of the American College of Health Care Executives, Health Care Leaders of New York, National Association of Health Services Executives, and the American Public Health Association. Ms. Williams currently serves as Board Member at Large, Hudson Valley, for Healthcare Leaders of New York, and member of the American Public Health Association nominations committee. Ms. Williams is the recipient of the 2023 Businesswoman of the Year in Healthcare Management & Administration Young, Gifted & Black Entrepreneurial Award, 2023 recipient of Omega Psi Phi, Psi Lambda Lambda Chapter Trailblazer award, the 2021 American College of HealthCare Executives Volunteer Executive Regent award, the 2020 Excellence in Health Administration award from the American Public Health Association and in 2013 she was the recipient of the American College of Healthcare Executives Early Career Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award. Ms. Williams holds a B.A. in Sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, a master’s degree in public health from New York University, and certification in Health Care Executive Management from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Michelle Romanick is the Clinical Scholars Program Administrator at The Rockefeller University in New York City. With over 13 years of experience in this role, she plays a critical part in ensuring that scholars meet key milestones in the program, which focuses on translational science and leadership development. Her work supports the success of junior investigators in designing and conducting human subjects research under expert mentorship. She is recognized for her ability to foster strong relationships with stakeholders, both internal and external, and for her expertise in recruitment and program administration. Her contributions to The Rockefeller University include facilitating the development of its Clinical Scholars Program, which has produced numerous successful graduates who have advanced careers in academia, government, industry, and clinical practice. Michelle’s leadership and dedication have been instrumental in maintaining the program’s high standards and outcomes.

Andrea Ronning, MA, RD, is the Director of Bionutrition at The Rockefeller University Hospital in New York City. She has held this position since December 2009. In her role, Ronning is responsible for overseeing bionutrition research at the hospital, which is part of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Andrea has a master’s degree in Applied Physiology from Teachers Collage, Columbia University. She is a Registered Dietitian and is a Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist by State of New York Education Department office of the Professions.

As part of her professional responsibilities, Andrea serves on the Center for Clinical and Translational Services Advisory Committee on Clinical and Translational Science. This committee plays a crucial role in governing the Center, reviewing operations, and ensuring that resources are allocated to the most scientifically worthy projects. Her experience in both clinical and research settings contributed to her expertise in bionutrition and its applications in clinical research. She participates in workforce training for neighboring institutions who have dietetic internships by providing rotations for nutrition research and for the Heilbrun Nursing Externship. Andrea coordinates diet studies and assures regulatory compliance, as well as conducts body composition analysis, nutritional analysis and nutrition education.

Dr. Sarah J. Schlesinger is a board-certified pathologist who has worked in the field of dendritic cell research for nearly 30 years. She previously led the dendritic cell section at the Division of Retrovirology of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where she learned vaccine development. Dr. Schlesinger’s scientific expertise is in the development of new vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer, from the pre-clinical, regulatory, and clinical perspectives. She has led eight novel vaccine and adjuvant trials at The Rockefeller University Hospital. Dr. Schlesinger is the Chair of the Rockefeller University Institutional Review Board and the Rockefeller University Medical Staff Executive Committee. She currently serves as Co-Director of the academic programs in the Rockefeller University CTSA, including the Clinical Scholars program, the Certificate in Clinical Investigation program, the CTSA supported Medical Student year-off program and the Rockefeller Early Phase Physician-Scientist Program. Dr. Schlesinger has played an active role in mentoring early career scientists and serves as The Rockefeller University Faculty Advisor to the Female Association of Clinicians, Educators and Scientists (FACES), a mentoring program for female MD-PhD students. She has been involved in teaching the responsible conduct of research course and has lectured in Virology, Clinical Immunology, and Techniques in Translational Science courses. She has served on numerous Ph.D. thesis committees and is committed to the training and mentoring of additional students through the Immunity and Infectious Disease Training Program. 

Dr. Jonathan N. Tobin is a cardiovascular epidemiologist and implementation scientist. He studies health equity and builds community-academic research partnerships that conduct comparative effectiveness and dissemination/implementation research. His research has been funded by NIH, PCORI, AHRQ, SAMHSA, EPA, CDC, ACL, and HRSA. His investigations use big data, social determinants of health assessments, clinical phenotypes, health care utilization, and laboratory measures to address basic science problems and implementation science outcomes. Dr. Tobin is President/CEO of Clinical Directors Network (CDN), an AHRQ-designated Center of Excellence (P30) for practice-based research and learning in primary care. CDN works with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other primary care practices to conduct studies to improve access and quality for care for low-income communities. Dr. Tobin has created a national network of practice-based research networks (PBRNs) to accelerate and disseminate research findings to improve outcomes. He has created a national distance learning network to involve clinicians in research. He has examined the use of cardiovascular diagnostic technology, group behavioral therapies, early detection testing for common malignancies, and mental and behavioral services in primary care. Telemedicine, health IT, and health data networks are used in his research and training activities. He also serves an Adjunct Professor, Senior Epidemiologist and Co-Director for Community-Engaged Research at The Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science.