Dr. Jennifer Hay and Dr. Amy McQueen present their abstract at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting
Dr. Amy McQueen, Dr. Jennifer Hay, and colleagues presented the poster, “Exploring reactions to risk messages about alcohol consumption as a cancer risk factor,” at the Society of Behavioral Medicine meeting in San Francisco in March, 2025.
Dr. Giulia Ongaro presents at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Dr. Giulia Ongaro, presented her research on the topic of “Longitudinal impact of genetic testing on psychological outcome in prostate cancer patients under active surveillance” at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting held in San Francisco, CA.
Liberty Woodside presents at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting
Liberty Woodside, current Clinical Research Coordinator at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and colleagues presented a poster “Physiological responses to skin cancer risk feedback and educational information among undergraduate students in an area with high melanoma burden” at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting.
Dr. Jennifer Bowers and Dr. Jennifer Hay’s Abstract at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting
Dr. Jennifer Bowers (former Predoctoral Research Scholar in our Laboratory and current NCI Cancer Prevention Post-Doctoral Fellow) and Dr. Jennifer Hay presented research in the topic of “Initial psychometrics for a multidimensional scale assessing unintentional tanning experiences” at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting.
Dr. Jada Hamilton is elected Fellow at Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, a distinction that recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of the science and practice of behavioral medicine, at this year’s Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting held in San Francisco, CA.
Society of Behavioral Medicine 46th Annual Meeting Lab Lunch
To celebrate achievements and connect in person, GRHDM Lab members who attended Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting gathered at The Matador restaurant in San Francisco, CA.
Dr. Cali Salafia, Predoctoral Research Fellow, presented her abstract on the topic of “Factors associated with cancer patients’ self-efficacy for communicating secondary germline findings from tumor genomic profiling to close others” at the ASPO conference in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Giulia Ongaropresents at the American Society of Preventive Oncology 2025 Meeting
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Dr. Giulia Ongaro, presented research on the topic of “Psychological predictors of decisional conflict for risk-reducing mastectomy after polygenic risk score results in BRCA1/2 carriers” at the ASPO conference in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Stephanie Christian-Afflu presents at the American Society of Preventive Oncology 2025 Meeting
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Stephanie Christian-Afflu, presented research on the topic of “Evaluation of social network colorectal cancer (CRC) fecal immunochemical test (FIT) intervention to address CRC disparities in Black communities in New York City” at the ASPO conference in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Cali Salafia defends her dissertation
Dr. Cali Salafia, Predoctoral Research Fellow, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on April 15, 2025, at the University of Connecticut on the topic of “Influence of health information source, saliency, and sociodemographic moderators in surgical decision-making and regret among early-stage breast cancer survivors”. Both of her T32 predoctoral fellowship mentors, Dr. Jada Hamilton and Dr. Jennifer Hay, were in attendance virtually to see her pass.
Dr. Jennifer Hay presents at the National Cancer Policy Forum
Dr. Jennifer Hay gave an invited presentation on alcohol and cancer risk awareness at the National Cancer Policy Forum at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for the Workshop on Addressing the Impact of Tobacco and Alcohol Use on Cancer-Related Health Outcomes in March 2025 held in Washington, DC.
Julia Gruberg presents at the Basser Center for BRCA 13th Annual Scientific Symposium
Magan Trottier, Julia Gruberg, Victoria Groner, Dr. Jada Hamilton, and Dr. Giulia Ongaro (left to right) at the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania, where Julia Gruberg resented on the topic of “Preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial of provider-mediated cascade genetic testing” in April.
Alcohol and cancer risk in the news
Over the past months, Dr. Jennifer Hay has appeared in the press discussing the cancer risks associated with drinking alcohol, and her research aimed at informing the United States public about these health harms. In February 2024, she was interviewed for a story on the developing health harms of alcohol in the New York Times. After the publication of the United States Surgeon General’s Advisory advocating for alcohol warning labels highlighting cancer risks, she was also interviewed and quoted in January 2025 in Time Magazine, Crain’s Business, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, among other news outlets.
Dr. Giulia Ongaro presents her work as an Oral Rapid-Fire Presentation and poster at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium
Dr. Giulia Ongaro and Dr. Jada Hamilton at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium in Montreal, Quebec in May, where Dr. Ongaro’s abstract on “Psychosocial predictors of decisional conflict for risk-reducing mastectomy after polygenic risk score results in BRCA1/2 carriers” was selected for both an oral rapid-fire presentation and a poster presentation.
Dr. Giulia Ongaro presents at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium
Dr. Jada Hamilton and Dr. Giulia Ongaro at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium in Montreal, Quebec in May, where Dr. Ongaro presented her research on “A multi-level analysis of barriers and promoting factors to cascade screening uptake among male relatives of BRCA1/2 carriers: A qualitative study”.
Dr. Jada Hamilton presents at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium
Dr. Jada Hamilton at the International BRCA 2025 Symposium in Montreal, Quebec in May, where she presented her research on “Short-term cognitive outcomes of population-based BRCA1/2 genetic screening: Results from the BRCA Founder OutReach (BFOR) Study”.
2024
Dr. Hamilton presents at MSK CME 2024 course on Hereditary Cancer Genetics: Incorporation into Clinical Care
Julia Gruberg, Catherine Fanjoy, Dr. Jada Hamilton, and Dr. Giulia Ongaro (left to right) at MSK’s Hereditary Cancer Genetics: Incorporation into Clinical Care CME course at which Dr. Hamilton presented on the topic of “Psychosocial Considerations in the Adoption of Genomic Testing Innovations” in September.
Dr. Jada Hamilton presents at Weill Cornell’s 2024 Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics
Guest speaker, Dr. Jada Hamilton, spoke on the topic of “Psychosocial aspects of mainstreaming hereditary cancer genetic testing” at the Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics hosted by Cornell University in October, held in New York.
Anthony Chicaiza presents at Weill Cornell’s 2024 Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics
Research Project Associate, Anthony Chicaiza, presented their abstract on the topic of “Development of a genetic testing comic book prevention in a population of Latina women in the DMV” at the Intercampus Research Symposium hosted by Cornell University in October.
Dr. Cali Salafia presents atWeill Cornell’s 2024 Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics
Dr. Cali Salafia (left) presented research conducted with Dr. Jada Hamilton (right) and Dr. Jennifer Hay on the topic of “Anxiety and genetic testing concerns are associated with risk-reducing surgery decisional conflict in BRCA1/2 carriers” at the Intercampus Research Symposium in October held in New York.
Dr. Giulia Ongaropresents atWeill Cornell’s 2024 Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Dr. Giulia Ongaro (left), presented researched conducted with Dr. Jada Hamilton (right) and Dr. Jennifer Hay on the topic of “Exploring cascade screening Uptake among male relatives of BRCA1/2 carriers: A qualitative study” at the Intercampus Research Symposium in October held in New York.
Dr. Jada Hamilton presents her abstract at Weill Cornell’s 2024 Intercampus Research Symposium on Hereditary Cancer and Genetics
Dr. Jada Hamilton presented her abstract on the topic of “Adapting genetic education and communication materials for cancer patients diverse in race/ethnicity, language, and education” at Cornell University’s Intercampus Research Symposium in October.
Dr. Stephanie Christian-Afflu presents at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Fellows’ Biannual Symposium
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Stephanie Christian-Afflu, gave a presentation at the DPBS Fellows’ Biannual Symposium on the topic of “FITx3 RCT: A pilot randomized controlled trial leveraging social networks to encourage three peers to complete fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for colorectal cancer” in December.
Dr. Giulia Ongaro presentsat the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Fellows’ Biannual Symposium
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Dr Giulia Ongaro, gave a presentation at the DPBS Fellows’ Biannual Symposium on the topic of “Psychosocial Impact of Genetic Testing in Prostate Cancer Patients Under Active Surveillance” in December.
Cali Salafia presents research at the 2024 Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) annual meeting
Predoctoral fellow Cali Salafia presented research conducted with Dr. Jada Hamilton on the topic of “Anxiety and genetic testing concerns are associated with risk-reducing surgery decisional conflict in BRCA1/2 carriers“ at the SBM meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in March
Dr. Jada Hamilton presents research at the 2024 Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) annual meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton presented research conducted with Research Project Associate Anthony Chicaiza and Clinical Research Coordinator Sabrina Oliveros on the topic of “Adapting genetic education and communication materials for cancer patients diverse in race/ethnicity, language and education“ at the SBM meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in March.”
Cali Salafia receives Conference Student Travel Award
Predoctoral fellow Cali Salafia was the recipient of a Conference Student Travel Award to the SBM annual meeting. She received her award from the Cancer Special Interest Group during their breakfast session
2023
Cali Salafia presents research at the 2023 Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) annual meeting
Predoctoral fellow Cali Salafia presented research conducted with Dr. Jennifer Hay on the topic of “Prospective changes in primary care patients’ family communication after skin cancer genetic test offer”at the SBM meeting held in Phoenix, Arizona in April.
International Meeting on Psychosocial Aspects of Hereditary Cancer
Dr. Jada Hamilton was the Bi-Annual Meeting Co-Chair for the 17th International Meeting on Psychosocial Aspects of Hereditary Cancer (IMPAHC) held at the National Cancer Institute in May. Predoctoral fellow Cali Salafia and Research Project Associate Anthony Chicaiza also attended the meeting. Cali Salafia’s abstract entitled “Impact of ambiguity aversion on genetic testing concerns following “mainstreaming” hereditary cancer multigene panel testing”won a Student Travel Award and the Best Poster Award.
Dr. Malwina Lewicka graduates from the Research Fellowship in Psycho-Oncology
Dr. Malwina Lewicka presented on the topic of “The unsung catalysts of progress in research and innovation” at the June Bi-Annual Fellow’s Mid-Year Symposium. Her graduation from the fellowship was recognized by her mentors Drs. Jennifer Hay, Jada Hamilton, and Wendy Lichtenthal.
Dr. Jada Hamilton presents at the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research (ABMR) Summer Meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton and her doctoral mentor, Dr. Marci Lobel (Stony Brook University), presented on the topic of “Mentoring the Mentors” at the 2023 ABMR meeting in Banff, Alberta, Canada. They also had the chance to spend time with Dr. Cheryl Woods Giscombé (UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing), another former doctoral student of Dr. Lobel.
Genomics, Risk, and Health Decision-Making Lab holiday celebration
To celebrate the winter holidays and conclusion of 2023, the GRHDM Lab members gathered for an in-person meeting and cookie swap. Everyone baked or bought their favorite seasonal treats to share.
Dr. Malwina Lewicka presented Science to Impact: Cultivating Innovation through Academic Entrepreneurship at 2023’s Bi-Annual Fellow’s Mid-Year Symposium
2022
Dr. Malwina Lewicka was selected as a Fellow to participate in Bioentrepreneurship Initiative at Cornell University 2022/2023
The program offers tools, training and connections to guide scientists through the process of innovation marketing, and science-based startup design.
Clairiola Etienne was a second-place RPD winner
Research Project Associate Clairiola Etienne was selected as the second-place winner at the MSK Research Professionals Day (RPD) for her abstract entitled ‘Linguistic and cultural adaptation of English genetic educational materials for patients of Spanish and Haitian origin.’
Dr. Hamilton presents at MSK CME 2022 course on Hereditary Cancer Genetics: Incorporation into Clinical Care
Dr. Hamilton presented on the topic of ‘Psychosocial Considerations in the Adoption of Genomic Testing Innovations’ as part of a new CME course offered by her colleagues in the MSK Clinical Genetics Service.
Dr. Kenneth Offit and Dr. Jada Hamilton were awarded an NHGRI R01 grant, “Digital Technology to Enhance Access to and Effectiveness of Cancer Genetic Counseling”
With this new project, Drs. Offit and Hamilton will assess the impact of a new cancer genetic counseling model that leverages the increasing digitization of healthcare on psychosocial, behavioral, and implementation outcomes. This will be achieved through a digitally-enhanced intervention to promote cascade testing for the at-risk relatives of probands with pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants, and the optimal follow-up care of those with a variant of uncertain significance.
NCI Cancer Prevention Fellow and Former Laboratory Member Jennifer Bowers Featured in the Washington Post
Dr. Jada Hamilton presented her work at a Symposium entitled “Family Communication of Secondary Germline Findings Indicating Inherited Cancer Risk that Arise from Tumor Genomic Profiling.”
SBM Annual Meeting
Drs. Jennifer Hay and Jamie Ostroff are elected as 2022 SBM Fellows.
SBM Annual Meeting
Malwina Tuman, Jada Hamilton, Jennifer Hay, Marci Lobel (Stony Brook University) and Cali Salafia meet for dinner at the SBM Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD.
SBM Annual Meeting
Dr. Malwina Tuman presented her work at a poster session entitled “Associations Between Social COVID-19 Exposure and Psychological Functioning in the Early COVID-19 Period.”
2021
Dr. Jada Hamilton was awarded a 5-year NCI Cancer Moonshot U01 grant, “Prospective Trial of a Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Mainstreaming Model for Hereditary Cancer Multigene Panel Testing Among Diverse Cancer Patients”
Dr. Hamilton and her team, in partnership with Queens Cancer Center and Kings County Hospital Center will be developing, testing, and evaluating a linguistically and culturally appropriate mainstreaming model for hereditary cancer multigene panel testing among cancer patients diverse in race/ethnicity, language, and education. This project (U01 CA243644-01A1) will make a major contribution by transforming genetic counseling and testing practice, and promote effective risk communication, decision making, and more equitable delivery of genomic medicine.
Dr. Jennifer Hay featured in Beyond the Clinic: Living Well with Melanoma for AIM at Melanoma
Dr. Malwina Tuman participated in her doctoral hooding ceremony.
Dr. Tuman’s hooding ceremony was held in September 2021 at Stony Brook University,
as the 2020 ceremony had been postponed due to COVID. Congratulations Dr. Tuman!
Dr. Jada Hamilton’s publication in Genetics in Medicine
Uptake and Acceptability of a Mainstreaming Model of Hereditary Cancer Multigene Panel Testing among Patients with Ovarian, Pancreatic, and Prostate Cancer
Dr. Malwina Tuman featured in the Society of Behavioral Medicine HDM Trainee Spotlight
Dr. Tuman was featured in SBM’s June 2021 Health Decision Making Special Interest Group (SIG) newsletter, highlighting her work and accomplishments.
Dr. Jennifer Hay featured in MSK’s “Why Living with Thyroid Cancer Can Be Better than Treating It”
Dr. Hay shared her expertise on active surveillance. View the article here.
Dr. Malwina Tuman’s participation in SBM 2021
panel
Dr. Tuman co-presented findings from a project entitled, “Risk Perception Research in the Era of COVID-19: A Multi-Faceted Investigation” as a part of Symposium at the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 2021 Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, Virtual Conference, held from April 12- April 16, 2021.
Dr. Sigrid Carlsson’s publication in European Urology
Problems with Numbers in Decision Aids for Prostate-specific Antigen Screening: A Critical Review
Dr. Jennifer Hay attended the annual Genes, Environments and Melanoma meeting that was held in Italy this year.
HINTS Student Abstract Award
Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Jennifer Bowers, received the Bradford W. Hesse Commendation for Outstanding HINTS Student Abstract from the National Cancer Institute at the 2019 HINTS Conference.
SBM Annual Meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton and Ibrahim Shah presented their work at a poster session.
2018
ACS Forum
Dr. Jada Hamilton attended The Future of Cancer Care: From Discovery to Delivery forum hosted by the American Cancer Society.
REDCap Presentation
Kechna Cadet presented an informative talk to MSK staff on the REDCap informed consent process.
ASPO Annual Meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton and Kechna Cadet presented their research at the ASPO annual meeting.
ASPO Annual Meeting
Stephanie Christian presented a poster at the annual ASPO meeting.
2017
SBM Annual Meeting
Dr. Jada Hamilton and Marguax Genoff Garzon presented their research at a poster session during the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s annual meeting.
2016
MSK Research Professionals Week
Joy Westerman presented a poster at MSK’s Research Professionals Week.
2015
Stony Brook University 40 Under 40
Dr. Jada Hamilton received the 40 Under 40 award from Stony Brook University.
