Judy Rees, BM, BCh, MPH, PhD (jrees@crgc-cancer.org)
Principal Investigator/Executive Director
Dr. Rees is a physician-epidemiologist who joined the Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC), a program of the Public Health Institute (PHI) from the Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) and the Department of Epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College. After graduating with a degree in medicine from Oxford University in the United Kingdom, she completed a three-year general practice residency in England followed by an MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley while working for the California Emerging Infections Program. Dr. Rees served as the Director of the New Hampshire State Cancer Registry since 2004, overseeing a small but highly effective team that has achieved NAACCR gold certification for data quality each year since diagnosis year 2004. For the Dartmouth Cancer Center, as the Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, Dr. Rees led efforts to work with community partners to reduce the burden of cancer in the Cancer Center catchment area of New Hampshire and Vermont. Dr. Rees’ research interests include investigating the roles of environmental factors including infrastructural and social determinants of health on cancer occurrence and survival outcomes. Examples of her ongoing research include a community-engaged study to design, optimize and evaluate an educational intervention to promote home radon testing, and a feasibility study to investigate an excess of kidney cancer in Merrimack Town, NH. For many years she taught biostatistics and epidemiology to first year medical students at the Geisel School of Medicine, and has enjoyed mentoring researchers at all stages of the educational journey.
Anshu Shrestha, MPH, PhD (ashrestha@crgc-cancer.org)
Research Scientist III/Research Unit Manager
Anshu Shrestha, PhD, MPH, joined the Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC) as the senior epidemiologist in 2019 and currently serves as the CRGC’s Research Unit Manager.
Dr. Shrestha has extensive experience in conducting a wide range of epidemiological studies involving both primary data collection and secondary data analysis using large databases such as registry data. Her research areas include investigating disparities in cancer occurrences, treatment utilization, and survival as well as understanding factors associated with cancer risks and survival in various populations. Dr. Shrestha currently serves as a CRGC site PI on multi-site patient contact studies including THRIVE: Tracking Health and Responses to Living with Cancer study to learn about patient reported symptoms, side-effects, and cancer outcomes from individuals living with advanced colorectal cancer and the RESPOND study to investigate genetic and environmental factors associated with increased risk of prostate cancer and poor survival among African American men. She also leads multiple collaborative efforts with external researchers on cancer areas including bladder cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Prior to joining the CRGC, Dr. Shrestha conducted research focused on health economics and outcomes in various disease areas.
She earned her MPH and PhD in epidemiology from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She earned her MS in clinical epidemiology and health services research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Judy Vang, MS (jvang@crgc-cancer.org)
Senior Director of Operations
Judy Vang joined the Cancer Registry of Greater California in 2017 and currently serves as the Senior Director of Operations. She oversees and provides high-level, collaborative direction and leadership for the operations functions and units at the CRGC program, which includes the Data Collection Unit, Data Quality Control and Compliance Unit, IT Unit, and Administrative and Fiscal Unit. Judy also collaborates with the CRGC Principal Investigator/Executive Director to co-create vision, strategy, resources, and program outcomes. She brings almost two decades of deep knowledge and understanding of nonprofit operations and progressive program management experience. Judy holds a BA in Communications and a MS in Accounting.
Kyle L. Ziegler, BS, ODS (kziegler@crgc-cancer.org)
Data Management and Informatics Director
Interim Data Quality Control Director and Facility Reporting Compliance Officer
Kyle Ziegler has been in the Cancer Registry field since 1990 and has worked in both hospital and regional registry settings. In 1990 he entered the cancer registry field at an American College of Surgeons (ACoS) facility where he learned the requirements to manage a hospital-based cancer program and maintain standards of the ACoS, NCI’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program standards, and the California Cancer Registry (CCR) statewide standards. In 1999 he became an auditor for the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) where he audited state Cancer Registries around the United States and Puerto Rico. Since joining PHI and CRGC 20 years ago he has worked in data quality, served as the CRGC auditor, and since 2014 has been the Director of Data Management where he oversees physician office reporting, surgery center and free-standing radiation therapy centers case ascertation, path report screening and other data quality activities. Kyle has a BS in Public Administration.
Scott Riddle, BS (sriddle@crgc-cancer.org)
Business Analyst III
Scott Riddle has been part of the California Cancer Registry (CCR) system for over 28 years working in Information Technology. In 1987, he started at the CCR’s Sacramento region where he designed and managed their first cancer data management system. In 1993, the region began using California’s CANDIS (CANcer Data Information System) system where he developed various utility programs and reports. In 1998 he helped design California’s current cancer data management system, Eureka, which was put into production in 2003. Scott has been involved with many aspects of cancer registry operations – linkages, studies, software support, death clearance, report creation, and small database design.
Mignon Dryden, ODS (mdryden@crgc-cancer.org)
Director of Electronic Reporting and Education
Ms. Dryden obtained her Oncology Data Specialist credentials in 1985 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology (1978) from the California State University, Fullerton and a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential (1980) from the California State University, San Bernardino. Ms. Dryden joined PHI originally in 1987 as a Quality Control Specialist with the California Cancer Registry (CCR). She then had 25 years working as the Director of Region 6 and 2, two of the regional registries of the CCR, under a subcontract with the California Health Collaborative. She assumed her current position in August 2014 and is responsible for coordinating e-path and other e-reporting and education and training for the Cancer Registry of Greater California.
