4 Join MIR Clinical, Research Faculty

Four new faculty members have joined Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Mercy Akerele, PhD, joins nuclear medicine as an assistant professor and will be providing services as a physicist for the division. Akerele recently completed a residency in diagnostic medical physics from the department of radiology at the University of Florida. She holds an MSc in physics and technology of nuclear reactors from the University of Birmingham and a doctorate in biomedical imaging science from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Akerele earned a BTech in physics electronics from the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria.

Shinjini Kundu, MD, PhD, joins neuroradiology and the Computational Imaging Research Center (CIRC) as an assistant professor. Her areas of research include artificial intelligence and medical devices. Kundu completed her diagnostic radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She also holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in artificial intelligence applied to medical imaging from Carnegie-Mellon University. Kundo earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Ayman Nada, MD, PhD, joins neuroradiology as an assistant professor. Prior to arriving at MIR, he was an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Missouri. While there, he led a clinical trial investigating the efficacy of a new MR contrast medium compared to the standard of care. He earned his medical degree, completed a diagnostic radiology residency and earned a doctorate in diagnostic and interventional radiology at Cairo University. Nada did a neuroradiology fellowship at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Alex Zheleznyak joins the Biophotonics Research Center (BRC) as an instructor. He has been a staff scientist in the BRC since 2016. His expertise is in novel cancer theranostics, molecular imaging and understanding the molecular underpinning of therapy. Zheleznyak earned his master’s degree from the University of Missouri, and his bachelor’s degree from Washington University.