New Clinical Leadership

The Department of Radiology has named five faculty members to lead the clinical activities of the department, which offers diagnostic and interventional services in four hospitals and nine outpatient locations. The new leadership team will be responsible for oversight, strategy, and vision for imaging services across Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP).

The new leadership team is:

• Noor Ahmad, MD, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations
• Marc Brown, MD, Vice Chair of Outpatient Imaging
• Lyndon Luk, MD, Associate Chair of Patient Access
• Angela Lignelli, MD, Associate Chair of Patient Experience
• Benjamin Navot, MD, Associate Chair of Quality and Patient Safety

“With this leadership team in place, Columbia Radiology is set to elevate patient care by expanding locations, improving access to exams, and continuing to provide specialized expertise from Columbia’s exceptional radiologists,” says Ajay Gupta, MD, MS, professor of radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “I am delighted that Drs. Ahmad, Brown, Lignelli, Navot, and Luk are serving in these important roles. They are all deeply commited to ensuring that every patient we are privileged to serve at Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian receives world-class care.”

Streamlining Workflows to Deliver the Highest Quality Patient Care

Noor Ahmad, MD, has been named vice chair of clinical operations. Ahmad joined the department in 2020 and previously served as director of quality and patient safety. In collaboration with the clinical leadership team, he will help implement a more streamlined approach to patient care across a growing number of locations. “We are working towards a data-driven approach to having very focused, accessible, high quality, and patient-centric care as we continue to expand across Westchester and Manhattan,” he says.

Dr. Ahmad, who has a background in bioengineering, attended medical school and radiology residency at New York Medical College, where he served as chief resident. He received his training in vascular and interventional radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is an assistant professor of radiology at CUIMC and will also serve as medical director of the newly formed joint venture with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian Advanced Imaging (CNYPAI), which encompasses two outpatient imaging centers in northern Manhattan.

Overseeing Operations and Growth of Outpatient Imaging

Day to day operations and overall growth strategy for all outpatient sites will be overseen by Marc Brown, MD, who has been named vice chair of outpatient imaging. In collaboration with the clinical leadership team, Dr. Brown will lead the opening of several new sites in the coming months and years, including offices in Hudson Yards in Manhattan; Scarsdale, NY; and White Plains, NY. “Strategy must always be done with realistic estimates of capacity in mind and includes a focus on patient satisfaction as well as growth,” says Dr. Brown. “Strategy for the future must be coordinated with other service lines, so that everyone has the access they need.”

Dr. Brown joined the department in 1997, following medical school, residency, and fellowship training at CUIMC and NYP. He is an associate professor of radiology at CUIMC. He also serves as medical director for Columbia Radiology’s midtown Manhattan outpatient imaging center, ColumbiaDoctors/NewYork-Presbyterian Imaging (CDNYPI) Midtown.

Improving Patient Access to Radiology Services

“One of the most important limitations to care comes when patients are unable to access their imaging at the time and location of their preference,” says Lyndon Luk, MD, who has been named associate chair of patient access. Dr. Luk and the team will continue to improve access for a growing number of patients at a wide range of imaging sites. “Our patients are complex, which leads to a lot of variation in terms of the timing of their imaging and the particular imaging required.”

An abdominal radiologist, Dr. Luk received his medical degree from Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School and served as chief resident in the Diagnostic Radiology Residency at CUIMC/NYP. He completed fellowship training at New York University before returning to Columbia Radiology as faculty in 2018. He also serves as program director for the Abdominal Imaging Fellowship. He is an assistant professor of radiology at CUIMC.

A Patient-Focused Approach to Care

“Getting an imaging exam is a very stressful situation, and our job is to make it as comfortable as possible for our patients,” says Angela Lignelli, MD, who has been named associate chair of patient experience. She will focus on identifying areas of improvement for patients who receive their radiology exams at Columbia and NYP and utilizing new technology to enhance the overall experience. “A patient’s experience should be seamless from the very beginning to the very end,” she says. “They have any number of other concerns, so our goal is to make this part as easy as possible.”

Dr. Lignelli, who previously served as chief of the Division of Neuroradiology, joined the department as faculty in 2002. She attended medical school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed both her residency and fellowship training at CUIMC and NYP. Dr. Lignelli is an associate professor of radiology at CUIMC. She is a member of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeon's Academy of Clinical Excellence (ACE).

A Proactive Approach to Quality and Safety

Benjamin Navot, MD, has been named associate chair of quality and patient safety. Dr. Navot will serve as the liaison from the Department of Radiology to NYP’s Quality and Patient Safety Committee. He will be responsible for both quality control and improvement and will ensure that the department maintains excellence in line with national quality standards. “Every radiology exam involves multiple steps, from the scheduling of the appointment and front desk check in to the technologist who conducts the exam, IT processing, interpretation by a radiologist, and radiologist communication with the referring physician,” he says. “Every step of the process is something that we repeatedly scrutinize, iterate, and analyze to try to improve.”

An abdominal and cardiothoracic radiologist, Dr. Navot received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and completed a diagnostic radiology residency at New York Medical College-Westchester Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in body MRI imaging at Columbia Radiology and subsequently joined the faculty in 2018. He is an assistant professor of radiology at CUIMC and previously served as director of MRI for NYP Milstein Hospital.