Show Up Initiative: Past Honorees

"My greatest motivation at work is that every day is an opportunity to help others feel appreciated. I take care of the healthiest to the sickest and each patient has different stories that you can relate to and learn from.​"
-Andrea Coney-Cooper (she/her/hers)
Supervising Medical Health Technician

"Although I have a traditional psychology research background, I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Digital Marketing here at Rutgers. Making creative materials and interventions that help patients with their mental health and psychological coping when faced with a new diagnosis or challenge is my passion."
-Anna Mitarotondo (she/her/hers)
Research Program Manager

"I was born and raised in Peru and Spanish is my first language. In the past few years while working at Rutgers Cancer Institute, I have had the opportunity to conduct research with residents of the Greater New Brunswick area who are Spanish-speaking. With this work, I have been able to disseminate important findings related to cancer care and prevention in the community in Spanish. I am happy to show up for my community.​"
-Carolina I. Lozada (she/her/hers)
Shared Resource Manager

"Each patient that I work with when scheduling a surgical procedure is scared and overwhelmed and I will do anything to try and alleviate those feelings, even if it’s just for a few moments. Hearing a patient say, 'Thank you for being so patient and helpful,' is WHY I show up! It all comes down to them feeling the slightest bit of comfort at the end of the day. I know what these patients are going through, and I know how difficult this journey is." 
-Dina Choinchio (she/her/hers)
Surgical Scheduler

"I show up for the staff with whom I work. I always want them to feel comfortable to share their views, ideas, and plans with me. I believe that dedicated and passionate personnel are one of our greatest resources and so should be given attention and support." 
-Gina Londino-Greenberg (she/her/hers)
Administration Senior Director

"I am very proud to be a Brazilian in New Jersey helping other Brazilians that are facing cancer. Being an immigrant, I can relate to our patients that have left their families and everything they knew for the 'American Dream'. I just want to make things easier to the best of my ability for our patients and their families. They do not face cancer alone because I am here to help them."
-Glaucia Goncalves dos Santos-Vaccaro (she/her/hers)
Assistant Research Coordinator

"During my graduate studies in Japan, my thesis work involved rat and mouse carcinogenesis models. Recently, I generated some brain tumor mouse models, and using these models, I am trying to explore new drugs to benefit brain tumor cancer patients.  What motivates me is that our Rutgers Cancer Institute environment has the potential for my research to be able to connect and benefit cancer patients​."
-Huimei Lu, PhD (she/her/hers)
Supervising Research Scientist

"In my first career as a cytotechnologist, I microscopically diagnosed benign conditions, as well as cancer. I later became a medical librarian.  With education, patients can be empowered to make well informed medical decisions with their care. ​I show up because patients, family members and caregivers face many challenges, finding credible health information shouldn’t be one of them.​"
-Janet Lasin (she/her/hers)
Resource Librarian

"I show up for my daughters because I am an example for them.  Working in the environment that we do, I value the gift we have every day, and see so many examples of people going through difficulty, but their strength inspires me to give the best of me and do what is in my power to do good for them."
-Jenni Bejarano Bermudez (she/her/hers)
Medical Health Technician

"I always greet the patients with a smile or do a small gesture as opening a door. I am motivated knowing that I can alleviate or take at least one problem off the patient’s shoulders."
-Jennifer Torres (she/her/hers)
Team Supervisor

"I’m most proud of my work when I can help patients, alleviate their concerns, and make a difference. I show up because of my love for working with the doctors and nurses and our patients.​"
-Judis Peralta (she/her/hers)
Surgical Scheduler

"I am passionate about making a difference in the quality of our patients’ lives. My research focuses on disparities in clinical care and use of various modalities to correct such disparities. This is most relevant in pain management, where data unfortunately continues to show a significant under treatment of pain in Black patients and other minorities. We have been researching and publishing on this topic to correct various incorrect biases in healthcare."
-M. Hamza Habib, MD (he/him/his)
Palliative Care Physician

"I love understanding and addressing issues affecting underserved groups in the academic pipeline and empowering them with resources and skillsets to reach their true potential. I show up because I enjoy the opportunity to serve and contribute to what we can do together at Rutgers Cancer Institute."
-Sunita Chaudhary, PhD (she/her/hers)
Cancer Educator

"The work culture amongst my colleagues is next to none. I show up because I enjoy every aspect of my job—ensuring my patients have the best possible clinical and surgical outcome, that my team has all the resources to succeed, and that our trainees receive the best education possible.​"
-Thomas Jang, MD, MPH, FACS (he/him/his)
Surgical Oncologist