Associated Faculty and Staff
 | Dr. Lisa Benz Scott, PhD, FNAP, MS Dr. Lisa Benz Scott is Professor and Executive Director of the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook Medicine. She is a behavioral scientist and public health educator who has dedicated her career to address healthcare access and utilization, particularly with regard to differences among women and underserved populations in cardiac care and related health outcomes. As creator of the Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program along with a team of faculty, staff, and students in the health professions, she leads initiatives that improve community health outcomes through the delivery of evidence-based programs with inter-professional teams in public libraries. |
 | Sunny Chung, MLIS, AHIP Sunny Chung, MLIS, AHIP, is a Health Sciences Librarian at Stony Brook University, supporting the School of Nursing and Public Health. Sunny is the immediate-past chair of the Libraries’ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee and co-chairs the Communications Committee. Sunny is the inaugural vice chair of the Stony Brook University AAPI Employee Resource Group. She is a member of the Liberty Chapter of the Medical Library Association. Currently, Sunny serves as the Vice President/President-Elect of the Chinese American Librarians Association Northeast Chapter and a member of the national At-Large Board of Directors for the Chinese American Librarians Association. |
 | Dr. Mary Ellen Lasala, PhD, RN Dr. Mary Ellen LaSala is a nurse educator, clinician, and researcher with expertise in nursing education and leadership. She has held key roles, including Director of Special Projects at Stony Brook University and Inaugural Chair of Undergraduate Nursing at Hofstra University. Her work focuses on improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations through innovative education and community-based initiatives. A strong advocate for at-risk groups, she has developed programs for pregnant adolescents and promoted equitable access to care. Dr. LaSala actively supports student success and professional growth through mentorship and evidence-based educational strategies. |
 | Dr. Gabriella Pandolfelli, PhD, MPH Gabriella Pandolfelli, PhD, is affiliated faculty in the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University. She was the founding program coordinator of the Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program. She is actively involved in interprofessional education (IPE) and research projects that include a commitment to building successful community-academic partnerships, community engagement and participatory action research, and team-based IPE to improve health equity and access to resources while demonstrating community impact. She is committed to research that focuses on cardiovascular disease and hypertension prevention interventions in community-based settings that promote access to care and health equity. |
 | Lynn Timko-Swaim, MS, DFAAPA, MT(ASCP), PA-C Lynn Timko-Swaim is the Vice Chair of the Stony Brook University PA program and for 30 years has worked directly with PA and other students, the University and community groups to organize and participate in local events aimed at increasing the awareness of health and wellness issues. She is the Chair of the School’s APT Committee, Co-Chair of the School’s Alumni Development Committee an active member on the PA Foundation and New York State Society of PAs. Her research interests, publications, presentations and grant awards are focused on the areas of interprofessional education, blood pressure measurement, diversity, and health literacy. |
 | Dr. Leah Topex-Walker, PhD, LCSW-R Dr. Leah Topek-Walker has been a social worker for 20 years. She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Stony Brook School of Social Welfare Practicum Department and supervises the library social work program. This program is committed to providing micro and mezzo interventions to address equity and access to care, and to providing social work students with dynamic learning opportunities. It is the largest library internship program in the United States, reaches vulnerable communities and offers internships to over 20 social students each year. |
 | Dr. Amy Hammock, PhD, MSW Dr. Amy Hammock is an associate professor of the Stony Brook School of Social Welfare , core faculty member of the Stony Brook Program in Public Health, and qualitative researcher with expertise in intimate partner violence intervention and prevention; community-based participatory research; community practice with immigrant populations; qualitative methods, and feminist theory and practice. Dr. Hammock is the Research Director of the Healthy Libraries Lab, a interprofessional collaboration among faculty from Stony Brook Medicine and staff/administration of local libraries, providing interdisciplinary health and social services to library patrons and assessing their impact. |
 | Gerald Simons, MPAS, DFAAPA, PA-C Gerald Simons is a Clinical Assistant Professor and an award winning PA located at Stony Brook Southampton. He has a passion for community outreach, a strong supporter of libraries, and has been an advocate for public health programs in Eastern Long Island for more than 20 years. He has extensive interest in the prevention and management of tick borne disease. He is in demand clinically for his expertise in tick borne disease and has won clinical and research awards for his contributions to the field. |
 | Becca Nolder, MSW,MPH As the Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) Coordinator, Becca partners with member libraries of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System and applied health schools and programs at Stony Brook University, to deliver programs that address the social determinants of health throughout Long Island. With her background in public health, social work, and international development, her career focus has always been to implement sustainable, community-led programs. Before her current role, she was previously employed at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) as a Proposal Development Coordinator, supporting proposal management. In 2023, she obtained MSW/MPH dual degree from Washington University in St. Louis, with a concentration in international social and economic development. |
