People
Principal Investigator
Despina Kontos, PhD
- Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Radiological Sciences (in Radiology and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center)
Senior Program Manager
Yenthl Wheeler-Monestime, MPH
- Senior Program Manager
I serve as the senior program manager for Dr. Despina Kontos, including Computational Biomarkers Imaging Group (CBIG) and the Center for Innovation in Imaging Biomarkers and Integrated Diagnostics (CIMBID). As a dedicated and focused healthcare leader with over 16 years of experience, I deliver extensive expertise in clinical and project management and healthcare-related research. I am committed to providing outstanding service and care, with a unique passion for pioneering innovative solutions and enhancing value for stakeholders throughout the healthcare value chain.
Highly regarded for mobilizing and empowering healthcare teams to deliver exceptional and consistent quality of care for diverse patient populations across the CUIMC enterprise. I earned my Executive MPH degree from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Current Members
Andrew William Chen, PhD
- Postdoctoral Research Scientist
My research areas include using radiomics to develop personalized medicine approaches for non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immunotherapy. I am also researching how radiomics can be applied to 3D as well as 4D molecular images for patients with non-small cell lung cancer as well as breast cancer, and I am interested in methods to combine multiomic data. For a complete list of my publications, please visit Google Scholar.
Education and Training
- BS, Mathematics and Physics, Dickinson College
- PhD, Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University
Eric Cohen, MS
- Data Analyst/Biostatician
I work across a variety of projects within CBIG, in statistical analysis and data treatment.
Education and Training
- MS, Biostatistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- BS, Mathematics, Swarthmore College
Nehal Doiphode, MS
I am a PhD student in Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, under the guidance of Professor Despina Kontos. My research focuses on leveraging computer vision and deep learning methodologies to advance breast cancer risk prediction using digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) images. My objective is to harness self-supervised and unsupervised learning, alongside transfer learning techniques in computer vision, to develop a more bias-free and annotation-efficient approach for breast cancer risk prediction. For a full list of my publications, visit Google Scholar.
Education and Training
- PhD Candidate, Computer Science, University of Pennsylvania
- MSc, Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
- BTech/MTech, Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Walter C. Mankowski, PhD
- Senior Staff Associate
My responsibilities include providing computational image analysis expertise to the faculty, staff, and trainees in CBIG and CIMBID. My specific responsibilities include collaborating with faculty and trainees on research projects to develop, implement, analyze, and disseminate software pipelines and analysis results. My research interests include computer vision, pattern recognition, image segmentation, and high-performance computing. For a full list of my publications, visit Google Scholar.
Education and Training
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Drexel University
- PhD, Computer Science, Drexel University
- BA, Mathematics, University of Pennsylvania
Alex Nguyen, PhDc
I am a PhD student in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania advised by Dr. Despina Kontos. My research focuses on 3D imaging biomarkers for breast cancer risk assessment. I am working on optimizing volumetric radiomics from digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), validating background parenchymal enhancement from breast MRI, and developing explainable deep learning models utilizing DBT for risk assessment. For a full list of my publications, visit Google Scholar.
Education and Training
- PhD Candidate, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
- MS, Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco
- BS, Bioengineering, University of California, Merced
Hari Santhanam, PhDc
I am a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, advised by Drs. Despina Kontos and Elisa Konofagou. My research focuses on using deep learning and computer vision models to aid in detecting cancer risk. More generally, I am interested in leveraging AI methodologies to improve patient care and assist in early detection. For a full list of my publications, please visit Google Scholar.
Education and Training
- PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University
- MSE, Robotics, University of Pennsylvania
- BSE, Electrical Engineering, Princeton University
Arunima Sharma, PhD
- Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Arunima Sharma, PhD
Postdoctoral Research ScientistMy research focuses on enhancing and analyzing multi-modal medical images using machine learning and deep learning techniques. I work on extracting radiomic features from MRI images and using these features along with other clinical and imaging data to predict and improve breast cancer response to treatment. For a full list of my publications, visit Google Scholar.
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
- PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Integrated dual degree (B.Tech and M.Tech), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, India
Chunrui Zou, PhD
- Postdoctoral Research Scientist
My primary research focus is on the phenotyping of diseases and the derivation of biomarkers through medical imaging, utilizing machine learning and deep learning techniques. I also engage in multiscale modeling of the lung to understand the interplay between structure and function in diseased lungs. My work aims to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of lung diseases. For a full list of my publications, please visit Google Scholar.
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania
- PhD, Mechanical Engineering, the University of Iowa
- MS, Engineering Mechanics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- BA, Engineering Mechanics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
