
Our overall objective is to foster excellence and global impact in translational research through enhanced collaborations and research education in the department. We work to coordinate research-related events to facilitate collaboration within and between clinical and fundamental science Radiology researchers. Our membership includes representatives from academic and clinical faculty, residents and post-doctoral fellows.

Dr. Corree Laule, Vice-Chair, Research
Dr. Laule is an MR physicist, a Professor in the Departments of Radiology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Vice-Chair of Research in Radiology, and an Associate Director of the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) at the University of British Columbia. She is also an associate member of the Department of Physics & Astronomy, where she is actively involved in the Medical Physics program. Dr. Laule heads an interdisciplinary research program in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury spanning technical innovations to clinical translation. Her research on human brain and spinal cord MRI and histology is funded by NSERC, the MS Society of Canada, the Craig Nielsen Foundation and ICORD. With an h-index of 35, 98 publications and 250+ conference presentations, she has been cited more than 5000 times. She is an elected Senior Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and serves on many UBC and international committees each year, including the Radiology Awards Committee (co-chair) and the Radiology EDI committee. Dr. Laule is passionate about science communication and leads initiatives to increase diversity in Science-Technology-Engineering-Math including the ICORD Summer Research Program for Indigenous Youth.

Hamid Abdollahi, PhD, Postdoctoral Research
Hamid Abdollahi, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He completed his PhD in Medical Physics at Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Prior to his postdoctoral work, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at Kerman University of Medical Sciences for four years. Dr. Abdollahi’s research centers on radiomics, radiogenomics, and image-guided radiotherapy, with a particular focus on optimizing radiopharmaceutical therapies through advanced mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence. His interests span quantitative imaging, outcome prediction, AI-driven innovations, and the development of digital twins for cancer therapy.

Dr. Philipp Blanke
Dr. Philipp Blanke is an Associate Professor at the Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia and Staff Radiologist at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. He is the Director of the Cardiac CT Core Lab at St. Paul’s Hospital, which supports clinical trials in the field of transcatheter heart valve replacement and repair in regard to CT imaging for screening and follow up. His major research interest are cardiac CT for planning and optimization of heart valve interventions with a focus on investigational devices. Dr. Blanke received his medical degree and residency training from the University of Freiburg, Germany. He was previously a staff radiologist at the University of Wuerzburg were he successfully underwent the German habilitations process (Dr. med. Dr. habil.). He completed a fellowship in Advanced Cardiac Imaging at UBC/St. Paul’s Hospital before joining as a staff physician.

Dr. Philip Edgcumbe
I am excited about the future we can create together through research and innovation. I joined the research committee because I believe that excellence in research is critical for meeting the challenges of tomorrow and building a health care system that effectively serves all Canadians. As a UBC radiology resident, I want to be part of creating a department that achieves excellence and global impact through research. I recently wrote this BCMJ blogs article: Two Big Hairy Audacious Goals for Canadian Health Care. Please check it out! As a committee member, my specific goals include: The creation of a UBC radiology data science office (similar to the MGH data science office); Making innovation and clinical entrepreneurship part of the residency curriculum.; Participation of UBC residents in the UBC surgery resident innovation week; Supporting sonographers and medical imaging technicians who want to get involved in research projects.

Dr. Christina Graf
Dr. Christina Graf holds a BSc and MSc in Mathematics and earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Graz University of Technology in 2023. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Alexander Rauscher’s lab, where her research focuses on developing advanced MRI acquisition strategies, particularly in the design of radiofrequency pulses using optimal control methods to address magnetic field inhomogeneities. Alongside her research, she is dedicated to teaching and mentoring, inspiring the next generation of young researchers.

Dr. Ilker Hacihaliloglu
Dr. Hacihaliloglu obtained his B.Sc.(2001) and M.Sc. (2004) from Istanbul Technical University (Turkey) and his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia (2010). He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Vancouver General Hospital and the Center for Hip Health and Mobility between 2010-2013. From 2014 to 2021 he was a faculty member at Rutgers University (NJ, USA) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and an Adjunct faculty member in the Department of Radiology. Dr. Ilker Hacihaliloglu’s research is aimed at developing innovative machine learning methods for processing various medical image data. A core mission of his research is to drive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) towards industrial and clinical services and products. Reason for joining the committee: Improve the global impact of the Department of Radiology and UBC.

Dr. Sara Harsini
Sara was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. After graduating from the combined MD/MPH program, she completed a Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging residency and obtained board certification at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. She then joined BC Cancer for a research fellowship. Sara serves as a Mentor in the American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR) Mentorship Program and is active on the AAWR Members-in-Training Committee. She also serves on the Women’s Empowerment Task Force of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM). Her clinical and research interests include cancer imaging, molecular imaging, radionuclide therapy, population health, and data science.

Tigris Joseph, PhD Student
Tigris is a PhD student in the medical physics program supervised by Dr. Cornelia Laule and Dr. Andrew Robertson. Tigris’ research interests include clinical applications of advanced MRI techniques and MRI quality assurance. Her current research focusses on the use of quantitative MRI to quantify brain/spinal cord tissue damage and metal artifact reduction techniques.

Zoe Kortje, Medical Student
My name is Zoe Kortje and I am a second year medical student at UBC. Previously, I completed my BSc in Life Sciences at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. I am passionate about both the clinical and research aspects of medical imaging and look forward to learning more through the Radiology Research Committee. I have been involved with clinical research in the Dept. of Radiology since 2020; I have worked with Dr. Donna Lang on retinal imaging studies in individuals with post COVID-19 syndrome and those living with chronic schizophrenia. I am particularly interested in novel ways to image and understand the central nervous system; I am also a research assistant in the Dept. of Psychiatry, where I have been helping the MacVicar Lab image Alzheimer’s biomarkers in animal models. For fun, I love to run in the trails around Vancouver and am also an avid reader, mainly of historical fiction!

Dr. Donna Lang
Dr. Lang completed her PhD in Neuroscience at UBC (2002) in the Dept. of Psychiatry, where she developed a career-long interest in biomarkers of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. She has been with the Dept of Radiology as for the last 21 years. Dr. Lang is a strong supporter of junior researchers and learners at all levels.

Nikolai Lesack, PhD Student
Nikolai Lesack is a PhD student in medical physics, specializing in advanced MRI techniques for spinal cord injury research under the supervision of Dr. Cornelia Laule. He completed his master’s degree in medical physics in 2022 at UBC-Okanagan, focusing on MRI applications in neuroimaging. His current research at UBC and ICORD investigates how diffusion MRI metrics correlate with tissue microstructure and axonal health in spinal cord injury, aiming to develop imaging methods to improve diagnostics and patient outcomes. He is passionate about advancing MRI’s role in clinical care and looks forward to contributing his expertise to the Radiology Research Committee.

Dr. Lulu Liu
Dr. Liu is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia. She completed her MSc in Radiation Biology at the University of Oxford and MD at Dalhousie University. Dr. Liu has been extensively involved in teaching activities at UBC, serving as a key member of the team designing and teaching Canada’s first undergraduate radiology course, Rads 301. This pioneering course introduces undergraduate students to fundamental concepts in radiology, helping to shape the next generation of medical professionals.
Passionate about translating scientific advancements into clinical practice, Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the therapeutic application of both non-radioactive and radioactive microspheres for therapeutic applications, including Y-90 radioembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and Genicular Artery Embolization (GAE) for knee osteoarthritis. She has been an active contributor to several clinical trials. She is also deeply engaged in emergency radiology, with a focus on identifying Imaging signs crucial for diagnosing acute trauma conditions.

Dr. Erin MacMillan
Dr. MacMillan is an MRI physicist and MRI Clinical Scientist for the UBC MRI Research Centre in the Dept. of Radiology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. MacMillan leads and supports advanced technical development across a wide range of MRI paradigms including multi-nuclear imaging, MR spectroscopy, myelin water imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, concurrent MRI and non-invasive therapies like transcranial magnetic stimulation and low intensity focused ultrasound, and more. My passion is to innovate and optimize MRI data acquisition to be able to reveal insights about underlying pathophysiology of disease and mechanisms of actions of therapies to improve care for neurological and psychiatric diseases, disorders, and injuries. My goal as part of the Radiology Research Committee is to bring together the excellent clinical and research expertise at UBC to launch world-leading and highly impactful studies to improve health care for all.

Noah Marini, Medical Student
Noah Marini is a medical student who works under the supervision of Dr. Corree Laule. He has a wide variety of interests and has worked in many areas of research, recently including MRI biomarkers for multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. With a passion for clinical health policy, he prioritizes emphasis on clinical translation – an important value promoted by the UBC radiology research committee.

Dr. Alexander Rauscher
Dr. Rauscher is a physicist and Canada Research Chair in Quantitative MRI. He obtained his PhD from Vienna University of Technology (Austria), working on susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in Vienna and at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). His lab develops new MRI methods and investigates how myelin, iron, and blood oxygenation in the brain influence the MRI signal. He translates his work to research in multiple sclerosis, concussion and newborns.

Elena Timakova, PhD Student
Elena Timakova is a PhD student in Medical Physics at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and TRIUMF. She holds a BSc from McMaster University and an MSc in Medical Physics from the University of Victoria. Elena’s current research focuses on the development and evaluation of targeted alpha therapy (TAT) for cancer treatment, which includes the production of alpha-emitting radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals, as well as clinical evaluation and dosimetry of these therapies. Through her work, Elena is bridging the gap between fundamental research and clinical application.
Reason for joining the committee: Elena is committed to supporting multi-disciplinary collaboration and advocating for the inclusion of early-career scientists in translational research initiatives.

Dr. Irene Vavasour
Dr. Irene Vavasour is the Associate Director for the UBC MRI Research centre in the Department of Radiology. Her main focus is on the development of advanced MRI techniques to track tissue pathology in disease, with special focus on multiple sclerosis. She is involved in data analysis for several researchers and studies, and leads a monthly analysis meeting for users of the centre.

Dr. Fereshteh Yousefirizi
Dr. Fereshteh Yousefirizi is a Staff Scientist at the Quantitative Radiomolecular Imaging & Therapy (Qurit) Lab in the Department of Integrative Oncology at the BC Cancer Research Institute. She is eager to contribute to the committee with the goal of bridging the gap between AI algorithms developed in academia and their practical implementation in clinical imaging workflows. Dr. Yousefirizi holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tehran, where her doctoral research investigated the use of ultrasound signals to determine carotid artery wall stiffness. For the past four years, as a Research Programmer, Post-doctoral Research Fellow Fereshteh has been immersed in PET/CT analysis, focusing on both segmentation and predictive modeling to enhance prognosis and treatment assessments. Fereshteh’s research focuses on PET/CT analysis, medical image analysis, deep learning, and Radiomics. This research will be further extended to predictive dosimetry and theranostics. She has also experiences with CIHR and NSERC grant writing.

Dr. Ren Yuan
Dr. Yuan is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia and an oncological radiologist at BC Cancer’s Vancouver Centre. She oversees the UBC Radiology Residency Body Oncological Imaging Rotation at BC Cancer and teaches in the General Practitioner in Oncology (GPO) and MD programs.
Dr. Yuan is also a Clinician Investigator in the Department of Clinical Research at the BC Cancer Research Institute (BCCRI), where she serves as the Medical Lead of the Cancer Medical Imaging Core Lab (CanMIC), and co-leads the Advanced Imaging Core, PRO-Lung, Integrative Oncology. Her work focuses on advancing state-of-the-art imaging tools to enable precise and personalized oncology care and translating clinical research into practice. Dr. Yuan received the Michael Smith Health Professional Investigator Award for her studies on artificial intelligence and lung cancer.