TOP-TIER Trainees
Trainee: Helia Hosseini, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Project: The Interplay Between CSF Circulation and Amyloid-β Metabolism and Deposition
Primary Mentor: Arash Nazeri, MD
Secondary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD
Trainee: Karan Jani, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Developing a CT-Based Clear Cell Likelihood Score: An Explainable AI Approach with Transport Based Morphometry
Primary Mentor: Shinjini Kundu, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentors: David Ballard, MD; Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD; Daniel Ludwig, MD; Anup Shetty, MD
Trainee: Govind Mattay, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Predicting Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer with Machine Learning Models Utilizing Diffusion Basis Spectrum Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Primary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentors: Victor Song, PhD
Trainee: Arian Madani Neishaboori, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Project: Application and Evaluation of Clinical TSPO-PET to Track Inflammation in Neurological Diseases
Primary Mentor: Aisling Chaney, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD
Trainee: Farzaneh Rahmani, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Integration of Head CT Quantified Adiposity and Sarcopenia with Machine Learning for Opportunistic Screening of Alzheimer Disease
Primary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD
Past Trainees
Trainee: John Cooper, MD, PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: TREM1-PET for the Characterization of Myeloid Inflammation after TBI in Mice
Primary Mentor: Aisling Chaney, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD PhD, Professor of Radiology and Neurological Surgery, Biology and Biological Sciences
Trainee: Abdulmunaim Eid, MD *
Department: Neurology, Fellow
Project: The Neurobiological Basis of Parkinson Disease Clinical Subtype
Primary Mentor: Meghan Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Joel Perlmutter, MD, Elliot Stein Family Professor of Neurology, Radiology, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy
Trainee: Jacqueline Godbe, MD PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Development of a Multimeric, PET Radiotracer for Molecular Imaging of Multiple Myeloma
Primary Mentor: Monica Shokeen, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biophysics
Trainee: Adrian Sanchez, MD PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: AI-based CAD Devices in Breast Imaging
Primary Mentor: Abhinav Jha, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Aimilia Gastounioti, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology and Michelle Lee, MD, Professor of Radiology
Trainee: Santiago Elizondo Benedetto, MD
Department: Department of Surgery, Fellow
Project: Theranostic Targeting of CCR2-MMP-FAP Molecular Axis in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Primary Mentor: Mohamed Zayed, MD PhD, Professor of Surgery, Radiology, Molecular Cell Biology, and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Yongjian Liu, PhD, Professor of Radiology
*Eid is a second-year trainee in the TOP-TIER program.
Trainee: Andrew Chang, MD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Assessing the Relationship Between Head and Neck Adiposity and Glioblastoma Outcomes
Primary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biophysics
Secondary Mentor: Joel Garbow, PhD, Professor of Radiology
Trainee: Abdulmunaim Eid, MD
Department: Neurology, Fellow
Project: The Neurobiological Basis of Parkinson Disease Clinical Subtype
Primary Mentor: Meghan Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Joel Perlmutter, MD, Elliot Stein Family Professor of Neurology, Radiology, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy
Trainee: Hamidreza Moheimani, MD *
Department: Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Research Fellow
Project: Quantitative Imaging of Microtubule Mechanobiology In Vitro
Primary Mentor: Guy Genin, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Secondary Mentor: Eliot Elson, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Physics (TBN)
Trainee: Hani Nakhoul, MD PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Machine Learning Models for Tumoral Heterogeneity in Prostate Cancer
Primary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biophysics
Secondary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology,
*Moheimani is a second-year trainee in the TOP-TIER program.
Trainee: Eva Klinman, MD, PhD
Department: Neurology, Fellow
Project: Using Live-Cell Imaging to Evaluate the Contribution of Mitochondrial and Cytoskeletal Dysfunction to Alzheimer’s Disease in Patient-Derived Directly Reprogrammed Neurons
Primary Mentor: Andrew S. Yoo, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Developmental Biology
Secondary Mentor: Joel Perlmutter, MD, Professor of Neurology, Radiology, and Neurobiology
Trainee: Hamidreza Moheimani, MD
Department: Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Research Fellow
Project: Quantitative Imaging of Microtubule Mechanobiology In Vitro
Primary Mentor: Guy Genin, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Secondary Mentor: Eliot Elson, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Physics (TBN)
Trainee: Nathan Skinner, MD, PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Feature Extraction in Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Using Machine Learning for Automated Segmentation and Diffusion Tractography Analysis
Primary Mentor: Robert C. McKinstry, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics
Secondary Mentor: Josh Shimony, MD, Professor of Radiology and BME
Trainee: Greg Wehner, MD, PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Predicting Permanent Pacemaker Implantation After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement from Aortic Annulus Shape Models Derived from Pre-Procedural Computed Tomography
Primary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Abhinav Jha, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology and BME; Alan Zajarias, MD, Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Kelsey Lauren Anderson, MD
Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fellow
Project: 3D Non-Invasive Electrophysiology Imaging of Human Uterine Peristalsis
Primary Mentor: Yong Wang, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Valerie Ratts, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Trainee: Scott Bugenhagen, MD, PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellow
Project: Absolute Perfusion Reserve: Theory and Measurement of a New Metric for Coronary Lesion Grading
Primary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Yong Wang, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering
Trainee: Omar Butt, MD, PhD
Department: Neurology, Fellow
Project: Serum Neurofilament Light (NfL) as a Marker for Brain Injury in Individuals Undergoing Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T Therapy
Primary Mentor: Beau Ances, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Armin Ghobadi, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology
Trainee: Matthew Glasser, MD, PhD
Department: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Resident
Project: Adaptation of Human Connectome Project-Style Brain Imaging Methods to Be Able to Address Clinical Problems in Neuroradiology
Primary Mentor: David Van Essen, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery
Trainee: Helen Hwang, MD
Department: Fellow, Neurology
Project: Developing a Single Molecule Fluorescence Imaging Assay to Diagnose Parkinson’s Disease
Primary Mentor: Paul Kotzbauer, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology
Secondary Mentor: Andrea Soranno, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Trainee: Liang-I Kang, MD, PhD*
Department: Fellow, Clinical Pathology
Project: The Hepatic Tumor Microenvironment in Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Primary Mentor: David G. DeNardo, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Farzaneh Rahmani, MD
Department: Post-doc, Radiology
Project: Implementing a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to Characterize White Matter Lesions Associated with Small and Large Vessel Ischemic Disease
Primary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Abhinav Jha, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology and BME
Trainee: Leo Shmuylovich, MD, PhD
Department: Resident, Dermatology
Project: Validation of Laser-Stimulated Thermal Imaging (LSTI) in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer
Primary Mentor: Samuel Achilefu, PhD, Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
*Kang is a second-year trainee in the TOP-TIER program.
Trainee: Mohammad Fakhri, MD
Department: Resident, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Project: Functional Reorganization in the Presence of Brain Tumor
Primary Mentor: Josh Shimony, MD, Professor of Radiology and BME
Secondary Mentor: Abraham Snyder, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Neurology
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Margaret Nalugo, MD
Department: Research Fellow, Vascular Surgery
Project: Characterization of atherosclerotic plaque in lower extremity peripheral artery disease in patients with diabetes
Primary Mentor: Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery
Secondary Mentor: Jie Zheng, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Trainee: John Younce, MD*
Department: Fellow, Neurology
Project: Analysis of Preoperative Resting State fMRI in People with Parkinson Disease having Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery
Primary Mentor: Joel Perlmutter, MD, Professor of Neurology, Radiology and Neurobiology
Secondary Mentor: Avi Snyder, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
*Younce is a second-year trainee in the TOP-TIER program.
Trainee: David Ballard, MD
Department: Resident, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Project: 3D printing and additive manufacturing for surgery and intervention
Primary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
Trainee: Mark Hoegger, MD
Department: Resident, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Project: Radioresistant Rag2-IL2rg (R2G2) mice demonstrate position-dependent bioluminescent tumor signal and increased lethality compared to severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice in a disseminated lymphoma mode
Primary Mentor: Richard Wahl, MD, Professor of Radiology
Secondary Mentor: Mark Longtine, PhD
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Daniel Ludwig, MD
Department: Resident, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Project: MRI calculation of the fractional extracellular volume (fECV) in liver pathologies
Primary Mentor: Hongyu An, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Abraham Qavi, MD
Department: Resident, Pathology
Project: Ultra-high resolution acoustic imaging enabled by whispering gallery mode photonic resonators
Primary Mentor: Lan Yang, PhD, Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering
Secondary Mentor: George Despotis, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology, Immunology and Anesthesiology
Trainee (Provost Appointment): Delaram Shakiba, MD
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Project: Quantitative imaging of in vitro fibrotic remodeling
Primary Mentor: Guy Genin, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Secondary Mentor: Pamela Woodard, MD, Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Trainee: Aiad Zaza, MD
Department: Neuroradiology Fellow, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Project: Concordance of quantitative SUVR with visual assessment of [18F]-AV-1451 tau PET/MRI and relation to off-target sites
Primary Mentor: Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Neurologic Surgery
Secondary Mentor: Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology
