HRPP IRB Members and Staff

Paul Cascella, Ph.D.
Chair of a UI-IRB Committee and Primary Reviewer at Hunter College
paul.cascella@hunter.cuny.edu
Dr. Cascella is a professor and director of Hunter's Communication Sciences Program (Speech-Language Pathology) and he holds joint appointments in the doctoral programs at the CUNY Graduate Center in Audiology (Au.D.) and Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences (Ph.D.). Dr. Cascella teaches courses in research methods, developmental disabilities, augmentative and alternative communication, and stuttering.  Dr. Cascella holds a doctoral degree from the University of Connecticut through the A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Special Education from The University of Connecticut.  His current research focuses on communication strategies for individuals who are pre-intentional and pre-symbolic communicators. He currently serves as an Associate editor of Communication Disorders Quarterly, and as an editorial consultant for Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and Journal of Physical and Developmental Disabilities.

Michael Wood, Ph.D.
Member of UI-IRB
mwood@hunter.cuny.edu
Dr. Wood  is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology where he teaches courses on consumer behavior, research design and methodology, and marketing for nonprofit organizations.  He has doctorate in Sociology from The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior, social change, culture and consumption. Current research projects focus on social and psychological influences on impulse buying, debt and saving.

Kenny Kwong, Ph.D.
Member of UI-IRB and Primary Reviewer at Hunter College
kkwong@hunter.cuny.edu
Dr. Kwong is an Assistant Professor at Silberman School of Social Work where he teaches courses on research, social work practice in health settings, and community health practice. Dr. Kwong has extensive experience in health and mental health practice, program planning and implementation in the areas of behavioral health, substance abuse, tobacco use, cancer, cardiovascular health, health literacy, children's social emotional health, and practice-based research and program evaluation in primary care. His current research interests are in the areas of culture, immigration, substance abuse, and mental health practices in the Asian American community.

Sarit Golub, Ph.D. (currently on sabbatical)
Member of UI-IRB and Primary Reviewer at Hunter College
sgolub@hunter.cuny.edu
Dr. Golub is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Doctoral faculty in Social/Personality and Neuropsychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. She received her MPH from Columbia University and her PhD in Social Psychology from Harvard. Dr. Golub is Co-Director of the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), a federally-funded research center whose mission is to identify and promote strategies that prevent the spread of HIV and improve the lives of people living with HIV. She has a strong interest in the ways that findings from other disciplines (including neuropsychology, behavioral economics and decision sciences) can be used to inform new approaches to HIV prevention and care. Dr. Golub currently collaborates with community-based organizations throughout NYC to ensure the translation of study findings into prevention and care for vulnerable populations.

Jeffrey Parsons, Ph.D.
Alternate Member of UI-IRB
jeffrey.parsons@hunter.cuny.edu
Dr. Parsons is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST).  He is also on the doctoral faculty of the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter. Dr. Parsons' general research interests are health behaviors (e.g., HIV prevention, HIV medication adherence, sexual behavior, substance use/abuse); GLBTQ issues; interventions designed to change sexual/drug using behaviors among various populations; club drug use (ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine); and sexual compulsivity.  All CHEST projects are based on theories of health behavior change and are designed to reduce the spread of HIV and/or to improve the lives of persons with HIV.

Sarah Leon, B.A.
HRPP Coordinator
bleon@hunter.cuny.edu
Ms. Leon joined the IRB staff in March 2006 as a Research Assistant and assumed the role in April 2011. As the HRPP Coordinator, she manages the day-to-day activities of the HRPP office and protocols submitted to Hunter College. She acts as the liaison between the HRPP Office, College Officials, the Research Foundation, the CUNY Office of Research Conduct and researchers.  She implements operational polices and procedures, conducts exempt reviews, and monitors the progress of review by IRB members. She facilitates the IRB process by interacting with researchers to offer guidance and pre-review of IRB protocols.

Wankairys Decena, B.A.
Administrative Assistant
wdecena@hunter.cuny.edu
Ms. Decena joined the IRB staff as a student assistant in March 2008, and assumed her current role in July 2011 upon completion of her degree at Hunter College. She prepares approval materials, assists with filing, and with essential record-keeping required by the HRPP office.  She is also responsible for the preparation and duplication of documents and for protocols reviewed by the expedited and exempt process.  Ms. Decena also handles calls and questions and performs other IRB administrative functions.