Rutgers University–Camden is pleased to extend a warm welcome to the 12 new faculty members for the 2025–26 academic year. These distinguished scholars, researchers, and educators begin their Rutgers–Camden careers with high levels of attainment in their respective academic disciplines. Read below to learn more about the experience and expertise they will bring to their roles as they enter the beloved Camden community.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Camden
Jesse Bayker
Assistant Teaching Professor, History
Jesse Bayker is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of History and an affiliated scholar at the Digital Studies Center. He holds a doctoral degree in history from Rutgers University–New Brunswick and a bachelor’s degree in history and LGBTQ studies from CUNY Brooklyn College. His research interests include gender in nineteenth-century America and the history of slavery in New Jersey. Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers–Camden, he was the digital archivist for the Scarlet and Black project at Rutgers–New Brunswick.
Michelle Sarah Livings
Assistant Professor, Health Sciences
Michelle Sarah Livings is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences. She received a doctorate in population, health, and place from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in public health from Georgia State University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemical biology from Stevens Institute of Technology. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Center for Research on Child and Family Wellbeing at Princeton University. Her research interests include population mental health, bereavement, housing and food insecurity, family instability, intimate partner violence, the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, and geographic health disparities.
Joanna Cohen Kallan
Assistant Teaching Professor, Health Sciences
Joanna Cohen Kallan is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Health Sciences. She received her doctoral degree in sociology from Temple University and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in sociology from McGill University. Her dissertation, entitled “It’s Like a Different Kind of Parenting’: Constructions of Good and Bad Parenting in Neonatal Intensive Care,” focused on the experiences of parents with infants in neonatal intensive care units. She taught at Rutgers-Camden regularly as a part-time lecturer beginning in 2011, and currently teaches graduate courses in prevention sciences, as well as undergraduate classes in both sociology and health sciences.
Guannan Shen
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Guannan Shen is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. She received her doctoral degree in biobehavioral sciences and master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Columbia University and her bachelor’s degree in English language and literature and international business from Zhejiang University. Her research focuses on cognitive neuroscience, and her recent projects use primarily electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and diffusor tensor imaging (DTI) to characterize multisensory perception and speech/language development. Prior to joining Rutgers-Camden, she was a research scientist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
School of Business
Natalie (Ximin) Huang
Assistant Professor, Operations Management
Natalie (Ximin) Huang is an assistant professor of operations management. She received her doctorate in operations management from the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology and her master of philosophy in applied mathematics and her bachelor of science in mathematics and finance from Hong Kong University. Her research focuses on environmentally and socially responsible operations, and her current projects study the economic and environmental impacts of various environmental regulations, ranging from waste management to climate change policies.
Anita Pansari
Assistant Professor, Marketing
Anita Pansari is an assistant professor of marketing. She received her doctorate in marketing from Georgia State University, as well as master and bachelor of arts degrees in economics from Madras University. Her research focuses on customer engagement, brand relationships, and the intersection of marketing strategy and consumer behavior. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the International Journal of Research in Marketing.
Iman Paul
Assistant Professor, Marketing
Iman Paul is an assistant professor of marketing. He received his doctoral degree in marketing from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his master of business administration from George Washington University. His research focuses on consumer psychology and behavior, particularly at the intersection of disruptive technologies—such as artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and smart devices—and decision-making in consumption, health, finance, and prosocial behavior.
Hao Qu
Assistant Professor, Accounting
Hao Qu is an assistant professor of accounting. He received a doctoral degree in accounting and a master of science in applied economics from the University of Rochester, a master of science in business analytics from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor of business administration in accounting from Sichuan University. His research interests include corporate disclosure, capital markets, corporate governance, and emerging technologies in accounting. He is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Washington and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Schiro Withanachchi
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Professor of Professional Practice
Schiro Withanachchi is the associate dean of undergraduate programs and a professor of professional practice. She holds a doctor of business administration from Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, a master of business administration in decision sciences from St. John’s University, and a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from Syracuse University. Her research studies the impact of global dexterity on the upper echelon and the effect of internationalization on student career success. With over 15 years of teaching experience, she develops innovative pedagogy to bridge the application-knowledge gap.
School of Nursing
Scott Hirst
Clinical Assistant Professor, Nursing
Scott Hirst is a clinical assistant professor of nursing. He integrates his clinical expertise into academic scholarship and teaching, with academic interests that include improvement measures in the primary care setting, chronic disease management, mental health comorbidities, and cardiovascular risk reduction. Dr. Hirst’s work emphasizes data-driven, algorithm-based approaches to enhance clinical decision-making and improve health outcomes in underserved populations.
Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin
Clinical Associate Professor, Nursing
Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin is a clinical associate professor of nursing. She holds her doctorate of education from Columbia University and her master of science and bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. Her areas of experience and expertise include cardiac nursing, medical surgical nursing, education, publishing, NCLEX, disease management, telehealth, nursing management, professionalism, leadership, and ethics. The main focus of her scholarship is ethical practice in nursing. She is a member of numerous state, national, and international nursing organizations, serving as chair of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Faculty Leadership Network Steering Committee. She was recently accepted as a fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education.
Rutgers Law School
Omar Vasquez Duque
Assistant Professor of Law
Omar Vasquez Duque is an assistant professor of law. He received J.S.D., J.S.M., and M.A. in Economics degrees from Stanford University; an LL.M. from Harvard Law School; and an LL.B. in law and sciences from Universidad de Chile. His research focuses on antitrust law and economics, business law, behavioral law and economics, and empirical legal studies.
