The Academy's 2016 CECI2 Class
Dr. Dave is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University. His primary research interests are in the field of contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging, specifically in utilizing microbubbles and ultrasound to estimate in vivo clinically relevant pressures, noninvasively in real-time enabling patient diagnosis and monitoring treatment outcomes. This includes monitoring pressures in the chambers of the heart, monitoring portal hypertension (i.e., portal vein pressures) and monitoring interstitial fluid pressures in the breast. Dr. Dave has over 20 peer-reviewed articles, with more than 60 abstract presentations at national and international conferences. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recognized him in 2015 for “research excellence in recognition of outstanding dedication and achievement in heart disease and stroke research” and also awarded Dr. Dave a scientist development grant to advance his novel and innovative contrast enhanced ultrasound research for cardiac applications. Dr. Dave also received the “editor’s recognition award for reviewing with distinction” for Radiology. Dr. Dave serves as a scientific reviewer for 8 other journals, along with serving on a research and education grant study section and reviewing online educational modules put together by the RSNA and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
Dr. Dehkharghani joined NYU Langone’s neuroradiology section after six years on the neuroradiology faculty at Emory University School of Medicine. His research interests include the translational use of neuroimaging for biomarkers of hemodynamic stress, metabolism, and tissue viability. He has been awarded the Foundation of the American Society of Neuroradiology Scholar Award in Neuroradiology Research, and received other foundational funding support, for a project called “Investigating the Utility of MR Thermometry and Perfusion in the Evaluation of Cerebrovascular Ischemia: Applications to the Ischemic Penumbra Model of Neurovascular Injury.” Dr. Dehkharghani has been a co-investigator on the Stroke Trials Network supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as well as several multicenter trials.
Dr. Eggebrecht’s research focuses on developing novel tools that extend mapping of brain function beyond current limitations and are applicable where traditional neuroimaging systems (PET, MRI) are not, e.g. on subjects who are sensitive to small environments, radiation or remaining immobile for extended periods, as well as patients within the operating room or intensive care unit. The technology his lab is focused on developing, diffuse optical tomography (DOT), uses harmless infrared light to map brain function. These DOT approaches have better resolution than EEG and superior temporal resolution to MRI and PET. Additionally, they can be fabricated to be highly wearable, allowing for the participant to be comfortable and freely interacting while in the imaging cap. Dr. Eggebrecht’s recent work has concentrated on the expansion of the field of view, resolution and wearability of the DOT system.
Dr. Gade’s research broadly focuses on the study of the tumor microenvironment and how alterations in the tumor microenvironment affect subpopulations of cancer cells, as well as how they influence the interactions of stromal cells with the tumor. As a resident, Dr. Gade founded the Penn Image-Guided Interventions Laboratory and developed a research team therein. He developed an independent research program resulting in ground breaking publications, successfully competed for internal and external foundation grants, and was the first radiologist to receive the prestigious NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. In his studies of cellular adaptations to ischemic stress, Dr. Gade has achieved the rare feat of bench-to-bedside translation as his findings have led to an IRB-approved clinical trial investigating combination therapy with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and autophagy inhibition in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Dr. Manu Goyal is a board certified neuroradiologist and neurologist who is an active junior investigator and neuroradiologist in the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine. He uses advanced PET and MR imaging techniques to non-invasively study human brain metabolism. He is particularly interested in using integrative big data approaches to study how the body’s nutritional, microbiomic and metabolic states influence brain metabolism, development and aging. He has already published several high profile papers and received a competitive 2-year RSNA Research Scholar Award.
Dr. Gupta specializes in neuroradiology, is Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Radiology at Weill Cornell, and an Attending Radiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Gupta earned his BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with Highest Honors. He received his MD degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was inducted to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society upon graduation. Dr. Gupta interprets imaging studies of the brain, spine, and head & neck and performs interventional procedures such as image-guided lumbar punctures and myelography. He is also actively involved in teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. Dr. Gupta has an active research program focused on studying how imaging can help prevent, diagnose, and treat various diseases of the brain. He currently serves as a principal investigator of several research projects supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Jagadeesan’s research focus has been developing smart, low-cost navigation technologies to enable precise resection of a tumor by utilizing intraoperative imaging modalities such as MRI, C-arm CT and PET-CT. He is the technical lead for the following procedures in AMIGO: parathyroid surgery, breast conserving surgery, lung wedge resection surgery, lymphadanectomy, head and neck tumor ablation and kidney stone ablation. In particular, he is interested in developing navigation systems that utilize diagnostic and intraoperative images to provide context specific information to the surgeon to enable precise resection or targeting of the tumors while avoiding damage to sensitive structures around the tumor. Dr. Jagadeesan’s work has been published many journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Surgical Oncology, Annals of Surgery, Cancer, and has been described in other papers published in Nature and Science. He has also been dedicated to training numerous young scientists who have visited his lab over the past few years.
Dr. Mian is an Assistant Professor of Radiology in Neuroradiology at the Boston University School of Medicine. He created the functional MRI (fMRI) program at Boston Medical Center and has extensive experience treating stroke and trauma victims. His research interests are Alzheimer’s, white matter diseases, and brain tumor imaging. Currently, he is a co-investigator in multiple NIH funded studies.
Dr. Moreno is an Associate Professor at Emory University, and her primary research focus is developing prepless MR colonography as a screening test for colorectal cancer.
Dr. Nagel is a member of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Imaging Sections of University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Radiology. Hi research focuses on translational pulmonary MRI, in particular on proton-based methods of imaging lung structure and function using ultrashort echo time and dynmic contrast-enhanced perfusion methods. Cystic fibrosis and pulmonary embolism are two of the primary clinical settings to which he has applied these techniques. Since 2011, Dr. Nagle has been Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Center for Diagnostic Imaging.
Dr. Rakow-Penner is a board-certified diagnostic radiologist and scientist whose expertise is in developing and applying imaging techniques dedicated to improving women’s health. She is trained in breast and body imaging and her practice focuses on comprehensive breast imaging care as well as abdominal and pelvic imaging. Dr. Rakow-Penner has highly specialized training and experience in MRI (magnetic resource imaging) with a focus in women’s health. Her analyses of imaging studies are used for cancer staging and treatment planning (breast, ovarian, cervical), fetal imaging, pelvic pain, and pelvic floor. Dr. Rakow-Penner’s research is focused on developing MRI technologies to improve the detection and evaluation of female cancers (breast, ovarian, cervical). She also has extensive research experience in prostate MR imaging.
Dr. Sander is an Assistant Professor at the A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging , Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her research is funded through an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Career Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She completed her PhD in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014. Her main research interests are to advance multi-modal imaging techniques, develop new experimental approaches and devise quantitative models with the goal to map signaling pathways of the living brain, and link molecular dynamics to distributed brain function. She envisions bridging the gap between engineering and neuroscientific applications, transforming state-of-the-art imaging approaches into new clinical applications and diagnostic practices for brain disorders.
Dr. Venkataraman, the John C. Malone Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at JHU, develops new mathematical models to characterize complex processes within the brain. She is core faculty in the Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare, which aims to improve the quality and efficacy of clinical interventions, and she is affiliated with the Mathematical Institute for Data Science. Dr. Venkataraman’s lab, the Neural Systems Analysis Laboratory (NSA Lab), concentrates on building a comprehensive and system-level understanding of the brain by strategically integrating computational methods, such as machine learning, signal processing and network theory, with application-driven hypotheses about brain functionality. Her current research projects include a National Science Foundation-supported plan to detect subsystems in the brain that are altered in the presence of a neurological disorder. This work takes a new look at brain pathology by trying to link the heterogeneous clinical manifestation of a neurological disorder to altered neural communication patterns in functional neuroimaging data. Dr. Venkataraman is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the MICCAI (Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention) Society. She is a recipient of a CHDI Foundation grant on network models for Huntington’s Disease, the MIT Lincoln Lab campus collaboration award, the NIH Advanced Multimodal Neuroimaging Training Grant, the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the Siebel Scholarship and the MIT Provost Presidential Fellowship.