ADVANCED CENTER FOR OPHTHALMIC
RESEARCH IN NEUROIMAGING (ACORN)
RESEARCH IN NEUROIMAGING (ACORN)
FACULTY
JOEL S. SCHUMAN, MD, FACS
Co-Director
Co-Director
Professor of Ophthalmology and
Kenneth L. Roper, MD Endowed Chair
Vice Chair for Research Innovation,
Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center
Co-Director, Glaucoma Service, Wills Eye Hospital
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Research Interests:
• Novel ophthalmic diagnostics
• Artificial intelligence for glaucoma
• Novel glaucoma therapeutics
• Stem cell trabecular meshwork regeneration
GADI WOLLSTEIN, MD
Co-Director
Co-Director
Professor of Ophthalmology
Director of Research Training and Education,
Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center
Research Interests:
• Optic nerve and lamina cribrosa role in glaucoma pathogenesis
• Early detection of glaucoma and monitoring disease progression.
FABIO LAVINSKY, MD
Assistant Lab Director
Assistant Lab Director
Professor of Ophthalmology, UNISINOS, São Leopoldo, RS, Brazil
Research Interests:
• Multidisciplinary ophthalmic imaging and functional evaluation
• Glaucoma progression detection and monitoring
• Novel biomarkers, applications and strategies for glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring
• Imaging endpoints for novel treatments in glaucoma and in ophthalmology
• Novel devices for ophthalmic diagnosis
STAFF
RONALD ZAMBRANO, MSc
Lab Supervisor
Lab Supervisor
Drexel University School of Biomedical Engineering, Philadelphia, PA – PhD candidate in Biomedical Science
University of Maryland Global Campus, Adelphi, MD – MSc in Biotechnology Bioinformatics
LEI ZHENG, MD, DADD
Data Manager
Data Manager
Columbia University, New York, NY – DADD
Shandong First Medical University, Shandong, China – Ophthalmology, MD
RYAN LAMRANI
Research Technician
Research Technician
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA – MD candidate (anticipated 2025)
NYU, New York, NY – B.S. in Global Public Health/Chemistry
AHNA DONAHUE
Clinical Research Coordinator
Clinical Research Coordinator
Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA - Certificate in Pre-medicine
Rowan University - Glassboro, NJ - BA in English
KAREN KLEINERMAN
Research Administrative Assistant
Research Administrative Assistant
Rowan University - Glassboro, NJ - MA
Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA - BA in Mathematics
FELLOWS
GABRIELA SCHWANTES, MD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil – MD
SOHAIB FASIH-AHMAD, MD
Research Fellow
Research Fellow
SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, NY – MD
GABRIEL JIMENEZ-BERRIOS, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine - Bayamon, PR
University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez, PR - BS in Pre-medicine (2021)
STUDENTS
ALLISON TOYOS, BSc
Undergraduate Student Researcher
Undergraduate Student Researcher
NYU - New York, NY – BS in Neural Science
BATSHEVA RUBIN, BSc
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA – MD candidate (2027 anticipated)
Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, NY – BS in Neuroscience
JACOB LESTER
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
NYU, New York, NY – MD candidate (2026 anticipated)
NYU, New York, NY – MSc in clinical Investigation (2026 anticipated)
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA – BS in Neuroscience
ALISHA DESAI, BSc
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA – MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
University of Maryland, College Park, MD - BS in Biology
CATHERINE LALMAN, BSc
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA – MD Candidate (2027 anticipated)
JACQUELINE CHEN, MSc
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA – MD candidate (2026 anticipated)
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK – MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA – AB in Economics
ANDREA BAO, BSc
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA – MD Candidate (2026 anticipated)
University of California - Irvine - BS in Biological Science
LOAN HUYNH, BSc
Graduate Student Researcher
Graduate Student Researcher
Drexel University College of Engineering, Philadelphia, PA
University of Wisconsin - Plattsville - BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering
ANNIE ZHANG, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Drexel University College of Medicine - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2027 anticipated)
University of California - Berkeley - BS in Integrative Human Biology
DEENA SHEFTER, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Columbia University, New York, NY - BS in Neuroscience (2022)
HANNAH LEE, BA
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Princeton University - Princeton, NJ - AB in Sociology (2024)
JULIENNE JEONG, BA
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2027 anticipated)
Columbia College of Columbia University - New York, NY (2021)
STEVEN CHANG, MPH
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Dartmouth College - Hanover, NJ - MPH (2023)
Drexel University - Philadelphia, PA - BS in Biology (2022)
CHRISTIAN RAIMONDO, MD
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA – MD candidate (2026 anticipated)
NYU Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Science - MS in Biomedical Informatics
ROCHILE KAHN, MBA
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) - Philadelphia, PA – DO candidate (2026 anticipated)
AMER AHMED, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Cornell University - Ithaca, NY - BS in Human Biology, Health, and Society
SAHIL SHAH, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Drexel University - Philadelphia, PA - BS in Biology
MAHILA KRISHNAMURTHY, BS
Medical Student Researcher
Medical Student Researcher
State University of New York Downstate Medical School - Brooklyn, NY - MD Candidate (2028 anticipated)
Princeton University - Princeton, NJ - AB in Sociology (2024)
CURRENT COLLABORATORS
DREXEL UNIVERSITY - Philadelphia, PA, USA
Andrew Cohen, PhD
DUKE UNIVERSITY - Durham, NC, USA
Dan Stamer, PhD
FEDERATION UNIVERSITY - Berwick, Victoria, Australia
Bhavna Antony, PhD
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Atlanta, GA, USA
Ross Ethier, PhD
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY - New York, NY, USA
Kevin Chan, PhD
James Higham, PhD
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. – Evanston, IL, USA
Hao F. Zhang, PhD
OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY– Portland, OR, USA
Hiroshi Ishikawa, MD
Xubo Song, PhD
David Huang, MD, PhD
Ashkan Abbasi, PhD
Sowjanya Gowrisankaran, PhD
Wei-Chun Lin, PhD
PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. – Andover, MA, USA
Nick Iftimia, PhD
Mircea Mujat, PhD
SUNY DOWNSTATE - Brooklyn, NY, USA
John Danias, MD
Prabha Nepal, PhD
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Tampa, FL, USA
Yiqin Du, PhD
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY – Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Arthur Fernandes, PhD, MPH
Amanda Melin, PhD
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - Philadelphia, PA, USA
Lama Al-Aswad, MD
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Tim Chung, PhD
Ian Conner, MD
Jonathan VandeGeest, PhD
VIVID VISION, INC. - San Francisco, CA, USA
Benjamin Backus, PhD
WILLS EYE HOSPITAL - Philadelphia, PA, USA
Dilru Amarasekera, MD
Lauren Hock, MD
Ping Huang, MD
Leslie Hyman, PhD
Ajay Kuriyan, MD
Jonathan Myers, MD
Reza Razeghinejad, MD
Ed Zhang, PhD
PAST COLLABORATORS
ASAN MEDICAL CENTER - Seoul, South Korea
Kyung Rim Sung, MD
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - Cambridge, MA, USA
James G. Fujimoto, PhD
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY - New York, NY, USA
Laura Balcer, MD
Guido Gerig, PhD
Jiyuan Hu, PhD
TingFang Lee, PhD
Vivek Srinivasan, PhD
Yao Wang, PhD
ALUMNI: Faculty
Hiroshi Ishikawa, MD
Jiyuan Hu, PhD
Kevin Chan, PhD
Larry Kagemann, PhD
Mengling Liu, PhD
Michelle Gabriele Sandrian, PhD
Richard A. Bilonick, PhD
Scott E. Brodie, MD, PhD
ALUMNI: Scientific Staff
Angeles Ramos, MD
Zena Moore, MS
Dino Kovac, BS
Edward Pei, BS
Jessica Nevins, BS
Julia Diamond, MA
Katie Jones, BS
Kelly A Townsend, MS
Lindsey S. Folio, MBA/MS
Meera Mathur, MMSc
Mengfei Wu, MS
Sarah Segal
Ting-Fang Lee, PhD
Troy Williams, BS
Yun Lin, PhD
Taylor Hardwood, COA
ALUMNI: Research Fellows
DENISSE J. MORA PAEZ, MD
Jaime Guedes, MD, MSc
Maroun Khreish, MD
Palaiologos Alexopoulos, MD
William Rojas-Carabali, MD
GHAZALEH SOLTANI, MD
ALUMNI: Post-Doctoral Trainees
Ali Aydin, MD
Behnam Tayebi, PhD
Youngseok Song, MD
Anse Vellappally, BVSC & AH
Daniel Rumiński, PhD
Dingle Foote, MD
Heather Livengood, PhD, OTR/L
Yoav Glidai, MD
Juan Xu, PhD
Rozita Ghassabi, PhD/L
Teesta Naskar, PhD
Tigran Kostanyan, MD
Vesna Jurisic Friberg, MD
Xinlei Wang, MD, PhD/L
Xuejiao Yang, MD
ALUMNI: Residents
Akash Gupta, MD
Anton Kolomeyer, MD
Jacek Kotowski, MD
Nancy Buchser, MD
ALUMNI: Medical Students
Alexi Geevarghese, MD
Allison Ungar, MD
Ashley Sohn
Aushim Kokroo, MD
catherine lalman
Chisom Madu
Daniel M Stein, MD
Eitan Shemuelian, MD
Igor Bussel, MD
Jenna Tauber, MD
Jennifer Lopez, MD
JIN MING LIN
Julia Fallon, MD
Lauren Seo, MD
LEON KAMEN
Lucy Cobbs, MD
Nathaniel Tracer, MD
Philip Martinez
Rachel Anderson, MD
Ravneet Rai, MD
Riya Patel
Samantha Palmer, MD
Zach Dong, MD
ALUMNI: Graduate Students
Zhiqi Chen
Bo Wang, PhD
Chieh-li Chen, PHD
Jongsick Kim, phd
ALUMNI: Undergraduate Students
Alangoya Tezel
Jason Greenfield
Jonathan Fam
Mary Ben Apatoff
Nitisha Ponnappan
Priya Achanta
Zachary Nadler, BS