UNM HEALTH SYSTEM - Key Persons
Trained in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, and UC-Berkeley, Dr. Tomkinson is an international expert in the DNA repair mechanisms that prevent cancer by maintaining genome stability and in understanding how these pathways are perturbed in cancer cells. His work is leading to the development of new therapies which target these alterations in cancer cells. At UNM, he leads teams of laboratory scientists focused on fundamental cancer research.
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- Associate Chief Medical Officer, Patient Throughput and Clinical Affairs
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- Clinician Ed - Associate, Professor, Emergency Medicine
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- Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, UNM Cancer Center
- Director of the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center
Trained as a cultural anthropologist at The University of New Mexico, Dr. Sussman also serves as director of the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center and as co-Principal Investigator of the ongoing GMaP Region 3 grant that addresses cancer disparities through training, education and research in the eight states that comprise the region. Dr. Sussman has designed and led numerous qualitative and mixed method research studies. His research focuses on primary health and cancer care delivery research and patient-provider counseling dynamics among health disparity populations in New Mexico.
Trained at UCLA and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg Germany and an AAAS Fellow, Dr. Wandinger-Ness's research is focused on GTPases, the cellular switches that control cell behavior-particularly cell adhesion and migration, two important characteristics of cancer cells. She leads a team of scientists and physicians who recently discovered a novel compound that inhibits GTPases in ovarian cancers and these agents are now being tested in ovarian cancer clinical trials. Dr. Wandinger-Ness is also a noted educator and mentor who guides the development of young physicians and scientists training in cancer research and she has received many teaching awards.
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- Associate Chief Medical Officer, UNM Children 's Hospital
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Clinical Facilities Development
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- UNM Hospital Chief Financial Officer
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Adult IP Medical and Surgical Progressive Care Services
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Administrator of Ambulatory & Ancillary Services
Candra Phillips is the Administrator of Ambulatory and Ancillary Services for UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC). She has 24 years of experience in healthcare operations and accounting, and she has lived in New Mexico since 2005.
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Candra earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northeastern State University. Subsequently, she received a Master of Accounting from the University of New Mexico.
Candra began her career in multi-specialty outpatient clinics and later worked for St. Francis Healthcare System and the Plumas County Hospital in Quincy, California.
After joining UNM SRMC in 2012 to establish the Outpatient Clinics, Candra has continued to provide leadership for several additional departments including Radiology, Laboratory Services, IT and Volunteer/Guest Services. In her downtime, Candra enjoys writing, gardening and spending time with her children Ariana and Dominic.
Trained at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Muller is a physician-scientist who conducts research primarily focusing on ovarian cancer. She collaborates with basic scientists at UNM to find a novel component of a repurposed drug, R-ketorolac, that impedes cancerous cell growth and the spread of ovarian cancer. She and her colleagues developed the clinical trials that have recently reported on this novel component. Dr. Muller also serves as the principal investigator of the NCI Minority Underserved NCORP grant that helps to support the UNM Cancer Center research clinical trials network.
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Health Info Management Medical Records / Support Services
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Care Management Services
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- Certified Public Accountant
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
- CFO of UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center
Darlene Fernandez is a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of financial experience. Darlene serves as the CFO of UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC), a not-for-profit healthcare Medical Center in Sandoval County. She began her career with UNM Health System in 2003.
With an accounting degree from the University of New Mexico, she has led various teams ranging from accounting, budget, patient financial services, revenue cycle, patient access, case management and materials management to food and nutrition services.
In her current role as a Chief Financial Officer, she serves as an advisor to the CEO of UNM SRMC.
Prior to joining UNM, Darlene served as an Assistant Controller for Presbyterian Healthcare Services. She started her career at Sun Healthcare and has worked for United Healthcare. Darlene has a wide range of healthcare finance experience.
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- UNM Hospital Chief Information Officer
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- Dean
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Voting
- Chairman )
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Hospital Campus Development
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- Chairman of the Board
- Executive Vice President
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
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- Chief Medical Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
Dr. Matthew Wilks obtained his BA degree with honors in biology from Oberlin College. He moved to Northern California to pursue graduate studies at Stanford University in theoretical and field marine biology. He then decided to pursue medical school at the University of Arizona, where he obtained his MD from the College of Medicine. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Wilks returned to Arizona and worked at Chandler Regional Hospital near Phoenix as an attending physician, director of the emergency department and medical director for Southwest Ambulance and Chandler Police Department's SWAT team. He also worked at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix and Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Ariz.
Prior to joining SRMC full time, Wilks worked at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, N.Y., where he was an attending physician and vice chair of the ED. In 2012, he joined SRMC as a part-time provider in the ED and a year later became its medical director. He has served as the vice chief of staff, chief of staff and immediate past chief of staff. He has also been serving as the medical director of the Quality and Patient Safety Department and several other hospital and medical staff committees.
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- UNM Hospital Chief Medical Information Officer
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- Member of the Voting
- PAG Chair - Elect )
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Facility Services
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- Executive Director
- Senior Executive Director Operations Professional Services, Administration
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Ambulatory Special Services / Cardiology Clinic
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- Ex - Officio Members ( Non - Voting )
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- CEO
- Interim President
- Member of the Voting
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- UNM Hospital UNM Hospital Chief Medical Officer - Liaison
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- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
- President
Jamie Silva-Steele has over 35 years of progressive experience in an academic healthcare environment. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of New Mexico, she began her career as a pediatric nurse and worked in the general and sub-acute nursing units at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH).
As her career progressed, she obtained her Master's in Business from the University of Phoenix, and moved into leadership roles within the organization, taking on director positions and serving as an Administrator for Ambulatory Services at UNMH.
In 2013, Ms. Silva-Steele joined UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC) as its interim Chief Operating Officer and has been serving as its President and CEO since 2014.
She was a National Association of Public Hospitals (NAPH) fellow from 2011-2012 (now known as America's Essential Hospitals). She participated in the Disparities Leadership Program through the Disparities Solution Center of Massachusetts General Hospital from 2009-2010 and was a recipient of The Disparities Leadership Program Award for "Recognition of Excellence in Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care." In addition, in 2014 she received the Governor's New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award for her work in addressing disparities in health care while serving at UNM Hospital. Ms. Silva-Steele is board certified as a Fellow of the American College of Health Executives (FACHE).
Ms. Silva-Steele has served on the Hospital Services Corporation (HSC) Board of Directors since 2014, the New Mexico Hospital Association (NMHA) Board of Directors since 2015 and the New Mexico Healthcare Executives (NMHE) Board of Directors since 2016.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Quality Outcomes
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Inpatient Providers / Inpatient Advanced Practice Providers
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Business Operations Referral Authorization Management
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- Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Nursing / Administration
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chief Executive Officer, UNM
- UNM Hospital Chief Executive Officer
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- Executive Director
- Senior Executive Director, Clinical Operations
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Risk Management
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Pharmacy
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- Associate Chief Nursing Officer, UNM Children 's Hospital
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- Member of the Voting
- Ex - Officio Members ( Non - Voting )
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, UNM Psychiatric Center, Administration
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- Executive Director
- Radiology
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Children 's Inpatient Services
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Nursing Education, Patient Education
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- UNM Hospital Chief Operating Officer
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- Member of the Board
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Member of the Voting
- Vice President
- Executive Physician - in - Chief / UNM Health Sciences Center
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director Patient Financial Services Patient Financial Services
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Women 's Services
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- Chief Nursing Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Executive
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Member of the New Mexico Organization of Nurse Leaders
Pam Demarest joined the Executive Leadership Team at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical (SRMC) Center in March of 2014 as the Chief Nursing Officer. She was named the Chief Operating Officer in addition to her CNO role in December of 2018. Prior to working at UNM SRMC, Pam had progressive experience in community and academic hospitals since 1974.
Pam has worked for UNM Hospitals for the majority of her career, starting out as a burn and trauma nurse in the 1980s, and moving on to a variety of leadership roles within the organization throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Positions included Transplant Services Director, Value Analysis Program Director, Interim Executive Director of Emergency Services, Executive Director of Adult Medical Surgical Services, Interim Executive Director Medical Surgical Services and her most recent role as the Executive Director of Critical Care and Progressive Care Services. She received her Master's in Business/ Healthcare Administration in 2000 and her Master's in Nursing in 2007.
Pam is a member of the New Mexico Organization of Nurse Leaders and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. She has served on the boards for the New Mexico Hospital Association, Sandoval County Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Sandoval County Health Council.
Outside of work, Pam loves to visit her out-of-state family, enjoys traveling to new places and appreciates spending time with her friends. She is also known for her creative side, with hobbies that include scrapbooking and making home-made greeting cards.
Job Titles:
- UNM Hospital Chief Nursing Officer
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- Executive Director
- Senior Executive Director Revenue Cycle Finance - Revenue Initiatives
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Emergency Services / Emergency Management
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- Associate Chief Medical Officer for Care Management and Transfer Center
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- Member of the Voting
- PAG Chair )
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- Executive Director
- Government Affairs BHO - Revenue Cycle Ops
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- UNM Hospital Chief Quality and Safety Officer
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- UNM Hospital Chief Human Resources Officer
A gynecologic oncologist and cancer research scientist, Dr. Adams' lab focuses on tumor immunology and the development of novel treatment strategies for ovarian cancer. Her lab recently demonstrated that PARP inhibition synergizes with CTLA4 immune checkpoint blockade in BRCA1 deficient ovarian cancer models. This work resulted in an investigator-initiated clinical trial in 2016, which has since been expanded nationally through the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) and NRG. The translation of this work to clinical testing has spurred ongoing mechanistic studies in the lab focused on understanding tumor-tumor microenvironment interactions that modulate the efficacy of tumor-directed agents.
Trained at UCLA and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Ness is a world-renowned expert on Myb proteins, a class of regulatory proteins that contribute to cancer onset and progression. He is also an expert in cancer genomics and is leading the development of next generation human genome sequencing and bioinformatics at UNM Cancer Center, which is now being applied to our cancer patients. He directs the UNM Cancer Center's Shared Resources, providing access to high technology equipment for cancer research.
Job Titles:
- UNM Hospital Chief Medical Officer
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- Associate CMO - Ambulatory Specialties
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- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Adult Critical Care Services
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- Associate CMO - Primary Care
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- Director and CEO / UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Director and CEO, the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
- International Expert in DNA
Trained at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Sanchez is an international expert in DNA damage response pathways. Her work focuses on exploring oncology targets and drug development for clinical trials. She has held several leadership roles, with increasing responsibility, at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and the Dartmouth Cancer Center. She serves on the steering committee of the Early Phase Trial Clinical Oncology Group (EPTCOG), which ensures that opportunities for translational research are explored and supported by pilot funding and that effective clinical collaborations for translational research are nurtured.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Rehabilitation Services