Taking Action to Correct Health Inequities

John Damonti is the President of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and Vice President of Corporate Philanthropy and Patient Assistance at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a global bio-pharmaceutical Company.

John has more than 25 years of experience working in the areas of health policy, government affairs and social responsibility. The mission of the BMS Foundation is to seek innovative approaches to reducing health disparities by strengthening community-based healthcare worker capacity, medical care and community-based supportive services, and by mobilizing communities to fight disease.

John began his career as Manager of Community and Government Relations for Mutual of New York. He was also Director of the Primerica Foundation (now part of Citigroup) and before joining Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1991, served as Director of State Government Relations for Ciba-Geigy Corporation (now Novartis).

In addition to his professional accomplishments, he is a member of the Boards of the New York Academy of Medicine where he is also a Fellow and the George W. Bush Global Health Initiative.

John received his undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University and a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University where he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in 2007.

Steven (with a V for Victory) Kramer is a pharmacy student at St. Louis College of Pharmacy at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, MO.  He is taking American Sign Language (ASL) classes at his local community college to better communicate with the Deaf community.  

When not in class, he collaborates with various advocacy organizations to hold health fairs for the Deaf community and people with disabilities as a member of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA). SNPhA’s mission of “Serving the Underserved” aligns well with Kramer’s mission of “Educating Providers and Empowering Patients.”  Kramer believes all patients have the right to accessible health information and community resources in a way they can understand.

Patricia “Patti” Mae Doykos is director of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation whose mission is to promote health equity and improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by serious diseases and conditions. In January 2020, she also took on the role of lead for the newly launched Bristol Myers Squibb Company Health Equity Initiative. Patti has over 23 years of experience and leadership in transformative corporate philanthropy & corporate social responsibility, product brand and strategic communications, and health equity & social justice.

Patti works on strategy, evaluation, communications, policy advancement and organizational development for the Foundation overall and currently leads two health equity focused national grants programs which provide funding for the development, testing and scaling of innovative models of specialty care delivery for diverse and medically underserved populations facing cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer in the US and Brazil.  She has also developed and led U.S. and international grant making and public-private partnership programs for global HIV/AIDS, women’s health, diabetes, cancer and serious mental illness. Among her current service roles are inaugural chair of the board of the Center for Global Health Equity at Dartmouth-Geisel Medical School, board of advisors member for Dartmouth-Geisel Medical School, advisory board member of the Center for Global Health at Rutgers University, trustee of Phillips Academy Andover and member of its Anti-Racism Task Force.

Prior to joining the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation in 2002, Patti worked for five years on the business side of Bristol Myers Squibb leading International Public Affairs for the company’s HIV and infectious disease marketed products and cancer research & development pipeline program.

Patti holds a BA from Dartmouth College for majors in Government and German, MA in German Literature & Language from the University of Virginia and PhD in the same from New York University both with a concentration in Cultural Studies.

Kristen D. Krause, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers), is an adjunct faculty member at the Rutgers University School of Public Health (SPH) and the Deputy Director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS), a leading training ground for LGBTQ scholars. She has expertise in HIV/AIDS, aging, resilience, and broader LGBTQ health disparities. More specifically, her work examines resilience as it relates to biological, psychological, and social health states among older gay HIV+ men. Previously, she was the recipient of a TL1 Pre-doctoral fellowship at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at NYU Langone Health, and more recently received the Stuart D. Cook Excellence in Research Award for her dissertation work from the Rutgers SPH.

As an immigrant from Nigeria, Dr. Osundina has a passion for global health equity, outcomes research, policy and advocacy. Dr. Osundina joined BMS in 2017 as the BMS Foundation Public Health Resident supporting the organization’s mission to promote health equity and improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by serious disease in sub-Saharan Africa and in the U.S. After completing her residency, Dr. Osundina joined the BMS US Oncology Patient Advocacy and Professional Relations team. 

In her current role, Dr. Osundina leads patient advocacy efforts supporting Lung, Mesothelioma, Head & Neck, and Glioblastoma cancers. She is also leading the US Advocacy Health Equity Strategy to ensure that every BMS advocacy initiative is considered through a Health Equity lens. Through collaborations with various internal matrix teams, Dr. Osundina works to evaluate opportunities and develop unique solutions that appropriately elevate the patient voice. Dr. Osundina has also made significant contributions to BMS’s overall Global Diversity & Inclusion initiatives through the People Business and Resource Group (PBRG) Clinical Trial Advisory Committee, as a member of the Black Organization for Leadership & Development (BOLD) leadership team and the Health Equity Initiative (HEI) Working Group. 

Dr. Osundina obtained her Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Masters in Health Outcomes and Socioeconomic Sciences and Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Toledo, in Ohio. She enjoys traveling, volunteering and spending time with family and friends.

Perry N Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH is a public health psychologist, researcher, educator, and advocate who is Dean and Professor of Biostatistics and Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. Dr. Halkitis is the Founder and Director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies (CHIBPS). For three decades, Dr. Halkitis’ program of research has examined the intersection between HIV, HPV and other STIs, drug abuse, and mental health burden, with regard to the biological, behavioral, psychosocial, and structural factors that predispose these and other health disparities in the LGBTQ+ population. His work focuses on the translation of this knowledge through implementation science research that examines the effectiveness of tailored and adaptive interventions in order to prevent and eliminate these disparities. His research program has been awarded over $30 million in grant funding. Most recently, he has been involved with New Jersey’s contact tracing efforts, helping to develop the curriculum and launch the New Jersey Community Contact Tracing Corps.

Anthonise Louis Fields, PhD, is a Director of Strategic Collaboration at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and serves as Head of the COVID Taskforce.  

As an immigrant from Haiti, Dr. Fields is passionate about health equities. During the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Society of Hematology annual congresses, she hosted several forums where the top leaders in oncology and health equity were convened to develop innovative solutions to key health equity challenges. 

She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in just over 3 years from the Temple School of Medicine. STEM education is a major focus for her; she serves on the BMS BOLD and PAN STEM Board and is an ardent mentor.

In her current role, Dr. Fields functions to define one aligned strategy for BMS and leading US Academic Institutions through collaborations. She directly interfaces with BMS leadership and Institution Executives to define strategies, evaluate opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and cultivate a trusted partner relationship.

Prior to joining BMS, Dr. Fields was recruited by Janssen (Johnson and Johnson), where she was responsible for the analytical strategy and execution of the vaccine portfolio, and presenting pivotal data to the FDA, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, NIH, and other partner academic institutions.  

Preceding Janssen, Dr. Fields has an extensive history at Merck and Co, where she launched  Suvorexant as Project Manager, managed 10+ Vaccine assets from PhI to Life-Cycle Management and managed the execution of the Ophthalmic portfolio.