Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center
Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center
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    • Home
    • Our Team
      • Researchers
      • Academics
      • Publications
      • Press
    • Projects
      • Current Projects
      • Past Achievements
    • Services
    • Contact
  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Projects
  • Services
  • Contact

Academics

With professors from the University at Buffalo (UB) Departments of Neurosurgery, Radiology & Biomedical Engineering, the Canon Stroke & Vascular Research Center is truly a multidisciplinary hub.  The investigators in our lab provide mentorship to undergraduates, graduates, and doctoral students through our affiliation with UB and the Jacob's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

Research Fellows

The Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology service at UB Neurosurgery and Kaleida Health is world-renowned for its innovation and advancements in minimally invasive treatments for neurological disorders.

In collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists at the acclaimed Canon Stroke & Vascular Research Center (CSVRC), the endovascular surgical neuroradiology faculty and fellows conduct “translational” research, which involves the rapid application of treatment breakthroughs in the clinical arena. In addition, the faculty and fellows participate in numerous national clinical trials. Thus, staying at the forefront of technology and treatment.

The research fellows are hand-selected by Dr. Adnan Siddiqui and are active in clinical trials and manuscript publication. They are instrumental liaisons between the Department of Neurosurgery and CSVRC. The fellows provide insight into current clinical practices, imaging interpretation and a wealth of anonymized data.  

Andre Monteiro, MD

Research Associate & Postdoctoral Fellow in Endovascular & Cerebrovascular Surgery

Dr. Monteiro obtained his medical degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas in Brazil, where he was born and raised. In 2020, he joined the University at Buffalo, Department of Neurosurgery as a Research Fellow. He provides clinical perspectives and data to various on-going projects at CSVRC. He also helped perform micro-surgery in a pre-clinical stroke model. Andre is a valued collaborator to both CSVRC Principal Investigators and PhD students. He will continue on as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2022. 

Post-Doctoral Researchers

Kerry Poppenberg, PhD

Postdoctoral Associate

Kerry Poppenberg is a postdoctoral neurosurgery researcher, who received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Buffalo. Kerry joined the CSVRC during graduate school with an interest in aneurysm work. Currently, she is working on blood-based aneurysm identification and risk profiling using gene expression. She is performing similar work with stroke detection, identifying risk with blood testing and studying epigenetic mechanisms. Kerry plans to stay in Buffalo, continuing her work in translational research and her involvement in the start-up company “Neurovascular Diagnostics.”  

Allison Shields, Ph.D., CNMT

Postdoctoral Associate

Dr. Shields recently concluded her dissertation research under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Rudin, which centered on a novel angiographic technique that enables high-resolution blood flow imaging at 1000 fps. This high-speed angiographic method allows for derivation of detailed velocity distributions in a variety of clinically-relevant applications, such as the assessment of flow before and after placement of flow diverting stents. Further building on quantitative angiographic imaging techniques, her postdoctoral research will focus on the development of 4D angiography, where the primary goal is to obtain both structural and functional information from time-resolved DSA’s. Dr. Shields will further support related research projects under the domain of medical physics, including spectral X-ray imaging and cone beam CT reconstructions. 

1000 fps high-speed angiography is used to visualize flow in-vitro; a saccular aneurysm model (video left) before and after deployment of a stent, and a left ventricular assist device model (video right). Example vector fields corresponding to the velocity distribution within the model are shown.


-Dr. Shields

Kelsey Sommer, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr. Sommer received her Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University at Buffalo. Kelsey chose the CSVRC for the appeal of big picture projects, which coincides with her interests in biomedical science and management. She began working here as an undergraduate, and has since then furthered her research to include computational fluid dynamics and theoretical models corresponding to the physiology of coronary arteries. Dr. Sommer's current focus is on optimization of 3D printed, patient specific, neuro-models and combining it with AI to develop a platform for training and device testing. 

As medical technology advances, 3D printed vessel models show great promise as models to study our physiology and how conditions such as aneurysms affect our functional abilities. The models are based on fluid dynamics and anatomical designs.


Dr. Kelsey Sommer

Current Graduate Students

Mohammad Mahdi Shiraz Bhurwani

Mohammad Mahdi Shiraz Bhurwani is a graduate student in the Biomedical Engineering department, currently seeking a PhD. Mohammad Mahdi attended University of Buffalo for his undergraduate studies, where he found his niche in medical imaging and began working at CSVRC. In his graduate years. he wanted to explore his interest in medicine without becoming a clinician, and he found that medical imaging is an up and coming field that is a hybrid between his two main interests, engineering and medicine. Mohammad is currently working on several projects, one of which he is using artificial intelligence to guide surgeons during intraoperative neurological procedures, as well as to provide guidance for aneurysm treatment and stroke care. He enjoys the research and mentorship at CSVRC and hopes to take his knowledge and experience from the lab to work for a medical imaging company, aiding clinicians in a variety of fields. 

The outcome of this project is immediate guidance for neurosurgeons who have to make treatment plans for patients with strokes and aneurysms. The work will provide crucial information that is patient specific and reliable.


Mahdi Bhurwani

Jacob Collins

Jacob Collins is a Buffalo native. He completed undergraduate studies at UB where he received his B.S in Physics with a minor in mathematics. He received an MS in Medical Physics at UB and is currently a PhD candidate, working under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Bednarek. His work focuses on a system to determine the patient eye-lens dose in real-time during fluoroscopic neuro-interventional procedures. To do this, he has developed a machine learning algorithm which predicts patient head geometry from the in-procedure fluoroscopic image. Using the patient geometry, and the exposure and geometric parameters taken from the clinical system, he has further created a deep learning algorithm to predict the eye-lens dose during the procedure. The head geometry and dose prediction algorithms are being integrated into our Dose Tracking System (DTS) to provide physician feedback about patient eye-lens dose in real-time. 

Briana Santo

Briana Santo is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences' Computational Cell Biology, Anatomy and Pathology (CCBAP) program. She attended Tulane University for her undergraduate studies, where she received a B.S. in Biological Chemistry. Her research at the CSVRC involves investigation of acute ischemic stroke thrombus histopathology. More specifically, computational analysis of thrombus organization as well as detection and characterization of platelet-neutrophil-NET interactions in thrombi. 

Jonathan Troville

Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS)

Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS)

Jonathan Troville is a PhD Candidate in Medical Physics with a research concentration on radiation safety and dose management. He received a dual B.S. degree in physics and mathematics from Purdue University and an M.S. degree in physics at the Air Force Research Laboratory where he developed simulations of carbon nanotube synthesis in a catalytic chemical vapor deposition reactor. Jonathan’s research focus at the CSVRC has been on the development of the Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS), which provides real-time feedback of scatter-related dose to staff members involved with fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures, as well as virtual-reality radiation-safety training.  Jonathan has applied both deep learning and Monte-Carlo simulations for software design and enhancement. In recent work, Jonathan has quantified scatter cross-talk in biplane High-Speed Angiography neuro-interventional procedures using Monte-Carlo simulations. After graduation, Jonathan plans to continue his research, academic, and clinical training in a Medical Physics Residency program.  

Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS)

Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS)

Scattered-Radiation Display System (SDS)

The SDS utilizes human recognition and the depth sensing capabilities of a Kinect camera to provide staff dose management through individualized real-time feedback in the interventional procedure room and staff radiation safety training in a virtual reality world. The SDS has recently been featured as Image Wisely’s RSNA Dose Exhibit of the Month, given its promise for improving radiation safety practice in FGI procedures.  

Sricharan Veeturi

Sricharan Veeturi is a graduate student in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, who is looking to acquire his PhD. He obtained an undergraduate degree in India from the Visvesvaraya Technological Institute and his Masters from University at Buffalo. He chose his lab placement as a result of his exposure to the hemodynamics program during his time as a masters student, which motivated him to work toward his PhD. Currently, he is working on non-invasive image-based biomarkers to improve risk stratification for intracranial aneurysms. He is using radiomics and machine learning in developing risk stratification models. His career plans include working in the research and development division of an organization in order to generate a positive impact on the medical field. 

Past Graduates

Rupa De, Ph.D., 2000-2001 

Chang-Ying Yang, Ph.D., 2000-2001

Ling Gao, Ph.D.,  2005-2009

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Alex ME Podgorsak, Ph.D., 2015- 2021

Zeynab Rezaee Hassan Abadi, Ph.D., 2016-2021

Kelsey Sommer, Ph.D., 2019-2021  

Department of Biophysics

P. Massoumzadeh, Ph.D., 1992-1999

Department of Electrical Engineering

Christos Keleshis, Ph.D., 2004-2009  

Hidab Hamwi, Ph.D., 2006-2008 

Sharma Prateek, Ph.D., 2007-2012 

Bin Qu Ph. D., 2008-2011 

Ying Huang, Ph.D., 2008-2011 

Setlur S.N. Vasan, Ph.D., 2009-2014 

Department of Physics

Chang-Ying Yang, Ph.D., 1996-2000 

Ruijie Liu, Ph.D., 1996-2001

Daryl Nazareth, Ph.D., 1998-2004  

Arundhuti Chattopadhyay Ganguly, Ph.D., 1998-2003 

Anant Gopal, Ph.D., 1999-2005 

Mustafa Cem Altunbas, Ph.D., 1999-2004 

Ye (Mark) Wu, Ph.D., 2000-2005 

Ciprian Ionita, Ph.D., 2000-2005 

Iacovos (Jake) Kyprianou, Ph.D., 2001-2004 

Andreea Dohatcu, Ph.D., 2003-2009 

Girijesh Yadava, Ph.D., 2004-2007 

Andrew Kuhls-Gilcrist, Ph.D., 2005-2010,  

Vikas Patel, Ph.D., 2005-2009 

Amit Jain, Ph.D., 2007-2010 

Department of Physiology & Biophysics

Zhou (Iris) Wang, Ph.D., 1998-2004 

Wei Yuan Wang, Ph.D., 2007-2011 

Ashish Panse, Ph.D., 2008-2012 

Vivek Singh, Ph.D., 2010-2014 

Vijay Rana, Ph.D., 2010-2015 

Brendan Loughran, , Ph.D., 2010-2014 

Jason Spaans, M.S., Ph.D, 2010-2013 

Jon Schmitt, Ph.D., 2009-2012

Raman Rana, Ph. D., 2012-2017  

Sarath Vijayan, Ph.D., 2013-2017 

Megan Russ, Ph.D., 2013-2017 

Medical Physics Program

Xiong, Zhenu, Ph.D., 2014-2018  

Alok Shankar, Ph.D., 2014-2019 

Jordan Krebs, Ph.D., 2016-2020 

Chao  Guo, Ph.D., 2016-2020 

Allison Shields, Ph.D., 2018-2021 

Stephen  Bhagroo, Ph.D., 2018-2021 

Shen-Hsuan Sun, Ph.D., 2019-2021  

Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Chityala N. Ravishankar, Ph.D., 2002-2006 

Ye Pu, Ph.D., 2002 

Hussain Soeb Rangwalla, Ph.D., 2002-2007 

Minsuok Kim, Ph.D., 2004-2007 

Yiemeng Hoi, Ph.D., 2004-2008 

Markus Tremmel, Ph.D.,  2006-2009 

Eleni Metaxa, Ph.D.,  2008-2009 

Jianping Xiang, Ph.D.,  2012-2016 

Department of Neuroscience

Jennifer Dolan, Ph.D., 2013-2014   

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