1st quarter 2015 2016 musc radiology newsletter

The Radiology ReviewA Newsletter from the Department of Radiology

Mission: To provide high quality compassionate clinical care to patients through the use of medical imaging technology.

Message from the Chairman

As we enter the first part of the new academic year, the Radiology Department is experiencing growth which lends us the opportunity to welcome new faculty members and clinical fellows. We welcome Dr. Doug Sheafor as the new Director of Abdominal Imaging as we say goodbye and thank you to Dr. Nancy Curry for many great years of dedication to MUSC . Dr. Mark Kovacs has the Abdominal Imaging division, Dr. Arindam Chatterjee and Dr. Milad Yazdani in Neuroradiology. Our new and returning clinical instructors are Dr. Natalie Fitton, Dr. Dustin Johnson, Dr. Carlo De Cecco, Dr. Robert

Hazelrigg and Dr. Kazal Bahl. We welcome nine new residents and nine ACGME fellows to the department.

Researcher, Dr. Ann-Marie Broome is highlighted in an article featured in MUSC ProgressNotes describing the use of nanotechnology for pediatric brain tumors and the COAST project, a multi-center trial investigating coiling treatment for small intracranial aneurysms (< 5mm), is in full operation.

Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Helpern who has been selected for President Obama’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative and appointed to the Distinguished Endowed Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease Research. More exciting news for our research group: Dr. Truman Brown was awarded a NIH/NIMH Research Grant for neural feedback in anti-depressive treatment for $1,365,210. Dr. Stephen Schabel was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award at the MUSC Faculty Convocation, and Dr. Leonie Gordon was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from SNMMI. At MUSC she was recently appointed Sr. Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development. Drs. Matheus, Roberts and Tipnis are promoted to Associate Professor effective January 2016. Drs. Picard and Hill are recognized for being awarded the RSNA/AUR/APDR/SCARD Radiology Research Development Grant of $10,000.

Leading on the technology front, MUSC Radiology will be the FIRST in the U.S. to have cutting-edge PET with 128-slice CT technology. This technology will provide the highest quality images and significantly reduce patient time in the scanner, improving the patient experience.

Please read about more about these important accomplishments and innovative technology within the pages of this publication.

Philip Costello, M.D., F.A.C.R. Professor and Chairman Department of Radiology & Radiological Science

In This Issue:

Research................ 2

New Faculty........... 5

New Residents....... 8

New Fellows........... 9

Wins/Awards......... 11

In The News........... 16

Community............ 21

Editor/Creative:Tonya Pilkenton

Radiology Marketing

Please submit newsletter comments or ideas to Tonya at [email protected] or contact: 843-792-4418

CALENDAROctober• Breast Cancer Awareness• Healthy Lung MonthNovember• Alzheimers Awareness• Lung Cancer AwarenessDecember 5 - Radiology Holiday Party

RESEARCH

Above: Chemotherapy drug encapsulated in a micelle is targeted to the interior of cells. Image courtesy of Dr. Ann-Marie Broome.

Article in MUSC ProgressNotes by Katharine H. Hendrix

Despite decades of clinical trials to find effective therapies, the prognosis for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a common pediatric brain tumor, remains grim. Generally diagnosed before age ten, most DIPG patients survive less than one year. “Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is the worst of the worst pediatric brain tumors,” says Amy-Lee Bredlau, M.D., MSCl, a pediatric neuro-oncologist and Director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at MUSC Children’s Hospital. “There is absolutely no therapy to cure DIPG. It is uniformly lethal,” she explains.

The dearth of treatment options is due in part to the location of DIPG in the pons, which rules out surgery and greatly limits the efficacy of chemotherapy.1 “The agents don’t cross the blood-brain barrier and get into the tumor tissue,” says Bredlau.

Hoping to improve the prognosis for these children, Bredlau formed a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and basic scientists focused on developing DIPG therapies. Ann-Marie Broome, Ph.D., MBA, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology and Director of Molecular Imaging in MUSC’s Center for Biomedical Imaging, who has published widely on the design of nanoparticles for targeted therapies, most recently on the use of gold nanoparticles for that purpose,2 is one of Bredlau’s primary collaborators. Together, the group has developed new platform technologies for DIPG treatment using both organic and inorganic nanoparticles.

A Knockout Punch for Pediatric Brain Tumors?Targeting DIPG with nanotechnology

“We are first trying to eliminate systemic toxicity by delivering currently approved drugs where they need to be and prevent them from going where they don’t,” explains Broome. “The second problem is that tumors often develop resistance to the chemotherapy. If you don’t hit a cancer hard and fast with the correct chemotherapeutic, you run the risk of creating a new, more aggressive cancer.”

By encapsulating existing chemotherapeutic agents in organic nanoparticles such as micelles or on solid-state nanoparticles such as gold, the team can deliver higher doses directly to the tumor, with the hopes of delivering a knockout punch to the cancer.

“The doses we are delivering with these targeted therapies are a hundred times what we could give systemically. These would be fatal doses if not targeted,” adds Bredlau.

“We can target cells that will most benefit from the treatment and deliver high doses in a short window of time, which improves the likelihood that the cancer won’t be able to recover,” Broome explains.

So far, the team has produced dramatic results using targeted nanoparticles in animal models—results that were achieved much more quickly than with standard therapies (i.e., those using neither targeting nor nanoparticles). Leveraging these delivery platforms, they have increased chemotherapy doses by 10 to 1,000 fold and produced rapid tumor cell death—in some cases shortening the therapeutic window from 30 days to three.

Currently, the team has patented these platforms and is conducting in vivo studies with an eye to starting clinical trials as soon as possible.

References

1 Bredlau AL, Korones DN. Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas: treatments and controversies Adv Cancer Res. 2014;121:235-59.

2 Dixit S, Novak T, Miller K, Zhu Y, Kenney ME, Broome AM. Transferrin receptor-targeted theranostic gold nanoparticles for photosensitizer delivery in brain tumors. Nanoscale. 2015;7(5):1782-90.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

The Coast study is a multi center trial managed by the Neuroendovascular Surgery Division. The PI of the study is Dr. Imran Chaudry. We have 10 sites activated and ready to enroll. We have enrolled 32 patients so far in the study. We hope to enroll up to 200 patients across all sites. The study is investigating coiling treatment for small intracranial aneurysms (< 5mm). Because of their shape, small aneurysms are often very difficult to treat. New coils have been developed whereby the complex shape of the coils may allow for stable framing of the aneurysms followed by dense packing of the aneurysm sac and neck, therefore preventing recurrence. The softness of the coils may allow for increased confidence and safety when treating these aneurysms which may be expressed as a reduction of intraprocedural complications. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of these newly designed coils.

Douglas Sheafor, MD joined our department in June as an Associate Professor for Radiology and the Division Director of Abdominal Imaging. He received his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Sheafor completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sheafor spent multiple years in private practice in N.C. and was also an Assistant Professor in Abdominal Imaging at Duke University Medical Center.

Douglas H. Sheafor, MD, FSAR

Mark Kovacs, MD joined our department in July as a full-time Assistant Professor for Radiology in the Abdominal Imaging Division. He received his medical degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Dr. Kovacs completed his residency in radiology at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA and a clinical fellowship in abdominal imaging at the University of California in San Francisco, CA.

Mark Daniel Kovacs, MD

Arindam Chatterjee, MD joined our department in July as a full-time Assistant Professor for Radiology in the Diagnostic NeuroradiologyDivision. He received his medical degree and completed his residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. Dr. Chatterjee also completed a fellowship in diagnostic neuroradiology and endovascular neurosurgical neuroradiology at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine.

Arindam Rano Chatterjee, MD

NEW FACULTY

Milad Yazdani, MD

Milad Yazdani, MD joined our department in July as a full-time Assistant Professor for Radiology in the Diagnostic NeuroradiologyDivision. He received his medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, OH and his fellowship in neuroradiology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Yazdani served as the chief resident of diagnostic radiology at the Cleveland Clinic.

Carlo De Cecco, MD, joined our department in July for a Clinical Fellowship in the Cardiothoracic Division. He received his medical degree at the University of Rome “Sapienza”, Rome, Italy. Previous to coming to the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. De Cecco served as a consultant in radiology at the Department of Radiological Sciences, Oncology and Pathology at the University of Rome “Sapienza”. Originally from Italy, Dr. De Cecco has been at MUSC for over 2 years working as a research assistant professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Imaging and has been responsible for overseeing cardiac CT research activities in Dr. Schoepf ’s lab. His clinical and research fields of interest are cardiovascular

and abdominal CT-MRI, and the investigation of novel imaging biomarkers.

Carlo De Cecco, MD, FESGAR, FSCBTMR

NEW FACULTY

WELCOME CLINICAL FELLOWS

Dustin Johnson, MD has joined our department in July for a 1 year clinical fellowship in Abdominal Imaging. He received his medical degree from Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia. Dr. Johnson completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, KY.

Dustin Lee Johnson, MD

Natalie Fitton, MD has joined our department for a 1 year clinical fellowship in Breast Imaging. She received her medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, TN. She completed an internship in transitional medicine and her residency in diagnostic radiology at Methodist Healthcare in Memphis, TN. Previously Dr. Fitton was a research assistant at GTx, Inc. - The Men’s BioTech Company in Memphis, TN.

Natalie Young Fitton, MD

Kazal Bahl, MD has joined our department for a 1 year clinical fellow-ship in Breast Imaging. She received her medical degree from Ross Uni-versity School of Medicine, Dominica, West Indies. Dr. Bahl completed her residency in diagnostic radiology at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware.

Kazal Bahl, MD, Pharm.D

Robert Hazelrigg, MD has joined our department for a 1 year clinical fellowship in Musculoskeletal Radiology. He received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

Robert Hedrick Hazelrigg, MD

WELCOME CLINICAL FELLOWS

Benton Johnson, MD Medical University of SC

Trident/MUSC

Mike Knipfing, MD Lake Erie College Trident/MUSC

Jessica Martin, MD University of Louisville

Jewish Hospital

Thomas McLaren, MD East Tennessee State Univ.

Trident/MUSC

Daku Siewe, MD Univ. of NC SOM

Univ. at Buffalo SOM

Alex Smith, MD Univ. of Alabama SOM Univ. of Alabama SOM

Caroline Swift, MD Creighton Univ. SOM

Creighton Univ. Med. Cntr.

Samuel Volin, MDTufts Univ. SOM

Lemuel Shattuck Hosp.

Allie Franklin, MD Clemson University

Trident/MUSC

Adonteng Kwakye Medical University of SC

MUSC

WELCOME RESIDENTS

Austin Bourgeois, MDUniversity of Alabama

University of TN

Robert Egbert, MD Medical College of GA

MUSC

Patrick Gilbert, MDTulane University

MUSC

Kyle Sanders, MDRoss University Yale University

INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY FELLOWS

Stetson Bickley, MD MUSC School of Medicine

Medical Univ. of SC

Eric Bass, MD Madigan Army Medical Ctr.

Madigan Army Medical Cntr.

NEURORADIOLOGY FELLOWS

WELCOME FELLOWS

Each year the department hosts a Welcome Party for the new residents and fellows. This year’s event was held at The Alley in downtown Charleston on Saturday, July 11th. There were about 60 adults and 12 children who attended and enjoyed dinner and a great time at the bowling alley.

WELCOME PARTY

Dr. Helpern Selected as Reviewer for President Obama’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN)

Dr. Joeseph Helpern will serve as a reviewer for President Barack Obama's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, a program seeking to revolutionize scientists’ understanding of the brain.

It’s designed to speed up the creation and use of innovative techniques. The hope, according to the initiative’s website: “Researchers will be able to produce a revolutionary new dynamic picture of the brain that, for the first time, shows how

individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space.”

Helpern and his fellow reviewers will look at brain research proposals from the best of the best and figure out which ones could really work, transforming the field.

The BRAIN initiative is part of a new presidential focus aimed at revolutionizing the understanding of the human brain. By accelerating the development and application of innovative technologies, researchers will be able to produce a revolutionary new dynamic picture of the brain that, for the first time, shows how individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space. Long desired by researchers seeking new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders, this picture will fill major gaps in our current knowledge and provide unprecedented opportunities for exploring exactly how the brain enables the human body to record, process, utilize, store, and retrieve vast quantities of information, all at the speed of thought.

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WINS/AWARDS

The Board of Trustees of MUSC approved the appointment of Dr. Joseph Helpern as the Lula P. and Asa Levidow and David J. Levidow Distinguished Endowed Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease Research.

Dr. Joseph Helpern Appointed Distinguished Endowed ChairIn Neurodegenerative Disease Research

Truman Brown, Ph.D. Awarded NIH/NIMH Research Grant for $1,365,210

EEG/fMRI CONTROLLED TMS REAL-TIME NEURAL FEEDBACK IN ANTI-DEPRESSIVE TREATMENT This R21/R33 grant will design and build a neural imager/stimulator which will integrate EEG, TMS and fMRI into a single instrument in the R21 phase. This will enable EEG and fMRI to be acquired simultaneously in conjunction with the application of TMS pulses. This instrument will

test the hypothesis that TMS pulses applied in synchrony with the brain’s internal rhythms will have greater local and distributed effects than will non-synchronized stimulation and specifically whether knowing and understanding the brain’s rhythms and stimulating with this knowledge will have larger brain effects than current state of the art, where stimulation is largely done with-out knowledge of internal brain state. The R21 phase will test these in normal subjects after the full real-time feedback system is developed. In the R33 phase we will test whether synchronized TMS will be a successful treatment in a high percentage of drug resistant depressed patients, and will result in better clinical outcomes than will non-synchronized stimulation, which is currently employed.

WINS/AWARDS

In recognition for his many and varied contributions to MUSC and his involvement with state and national licensing boards and other nationwide organizations, Dr. Stephen I. Schabel was honored at the MUSC Faculty Convocation with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award on August 25, 2015.

STEPHEN SCHABEL, MD HONORED WITHDISTINGUISHED FACULTY SERVICE AWARD

Dr. Leonie Gordon has recently been appointed as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development. Dr. Gordon has been serving as one of the Associate Deans for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development since 2011.

DR. LEONIE GORDON APPOINTED SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR FACULTY AFFAIRS AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

WINS/AWARDS

DRS. MATHEUS, ROBERTS AND TIPNISPROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (effective 1/2016)

Melissa M. Picard, MD, with scientific advisor and past R&E grant recipient Jeanne G. Hill, MD, were awarded a RSNA/AUR/APDR/SCARD Radiology Education Research Development Grant for $10,000. Acute adverse reactions to contrast administration are rare events; however, these can be life-threatening. Surveys have shown some radiologists improperly manage adverse reactions presumably due to the lack of experience in managing these rare events. These findings have raised concern that standard didactic-based instruction may not be sufficient training. Drs. Picard and Hill recently performed a study which demonstrated a combination of didactic and simulation based training with refresher education at 6 months was an effective method of teaching residents how to manage contrast reactions. With this grant, they will investigate the long-term effectiveness and durability of the comprehensive curriculum for teaching radiology residents and fellows the management of adverse contrast reactions.

RADIOLOGY EDUCATION RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT GRANT AWARDED TO DRS. PICARD AND HILL

WINS/AWARDS

LEONIE GORDON, MD HONORED WITHLIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) has awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Education to Leonie Gordon, MD, FACNM.

WINS/AWARDS

Cassie Lane was selected the MUSC“Outstanding Technologist” by the Trident Technical 2015 Rad Tech graduating class for her help and guidance in 1 West.

MUHA Radiology will be the FIRST in the United States to have cutting-edge PET with 128-slice CT technology. This new technology will provide the highest quality images and significantly reduce patient time in the scanner improving the patient experience!

Renovations and installation of the new system is in progress between September and mid-November of 2015 in the main hospital.

We have carefully planned this transition and will NOT have any INTERRUPTIONS in the PET/CT services for our patients. The check-in process for the patients will not change. MUSC Radiology will use a mobile PET/CT similar to what we currently use during the renovation and installation.

We are very excited about this state-of-the-art PET/CT we have purchased. Further communication will be sent out as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Mansle Raines, Radiology Manager directly at 843-876-7153 or email at [email protected].

CUTTING-EDGE PET/CTFIRST IN THE U.S.

COMING TO MUHA NOV. 2015!

IN THE NEWS

The founders of a new medical company, ToleRaM Nanotech are MUSC Radiology researchers Dr. Ann-Marie Broome, Dr. Satish N. Nadig and Dr. Carl Atkinson. This company selected to join a SCRA Technology Ventures program that offers support to emerging businesses.

ToleRaM Nanotech is a bio-engineering firm formed by a transplant surgeon and two research scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina. It is working on synthesizing tiny particles to be used in anti-rejection treatments for organ recipients. Its initial findings were

presented at the State of the Art Winter Symposium of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons in January 2014, according to MUSC.

ToleRaM was selected as a “client company” of SC Launch, meaning it will receive mentoring and other support services. The company also could become eligible to receive funding from the S.C. Research Authority’s investment arm.

NEW CHARLESTON COMPANY TO JOIN SCRA TECHNOLOGY VENTURES PROGRAM

Invited lectures:

1. Targeted rapamycin micelle modulation of donor endothelial-memory T cell interactions. (2015) Nanotech, Microtech, Biotech, Cleantech Joint 2015 Conferences TechConnect World Meeting.

2. PDGFR-targeted delivery of temozolomide to brain tumors using micelle-based theranos-tic nanocarriers (2015) Nanotech, Microtech, Biotech, Cleantech Joint 2015 Conferences Tech-Connect World Meeting.

3. Optical imaging of targeted beta-galactosidase in brain tumors to detect EGFR levels. (2015) Nanotech, Microtech, Biotech, Cleantech Joint 2015 Conferences TechConnect World Meeting.

Manuscripts in print:

4. Dixit, S.K.; Novak, T.J.; Miller, K.; Zhu, Y.; Kenney, M.; & Broome, A-M. (2014) Trans-ferrin receptor-targeted theranostic gold nanoparticles for photosensitizer delivery in brain tu-mors. Nanoscale. 7(5): 1782-90. [PMID: 25519743]

INVITED LECTURES AND MANUSCRIPTS

IN THE NEWS

DR. NANCY CURRY RETIRES AFTER MANY YEARS OF DEDICATION AND SERVICE TO MUSC RADIOLOGY

Dr. Nancy Curry retired at the end of June after many years of dedication and service to the Medical University and the Department of Radiology. Our heartfelt thanks go to Dr. Curry for the excellent clinical care she has brought to our patients and referring clinicians throughout her career at MUSC. Dr. Curry developed a national and international reputation for her expertise in the field of genitourinary radiology which led her to be named President of the Society of Uroradiology in 2007.

IN THE NEWS

VASCULAR INTERVENTIONAL SUMMIT5 YEAR PLAN FORMULATED

The Vascular & Interventional Division is going through some important changes. Starting with the update on the Vision, Mission, Values and Goals, the entire VIR staff is working on short and long-term strategic plans through a SWOT analysis. Small VIR staff groups are working collaboratively to create “excellence in practice”, which is focused on providing the best, safest and most efficient patient-centered care. Dr. Guimaraes emphasized, “we’re creating a culture in VIR. All the staff members understand that everyone has an important role in the longitudinal patient’s care and that compassion, professionalism, integrity, innovation and mutual respect are key elements in the new VIR culture”.

Kathleen Clayton, a VIR Nurse, posts her team’s ideas.

VIR staff members broke up into groups for strategy sessions.Dr. Guimaraes outlines the goals for the VIR Summit.

On Saturday, June 13th, Vascular and Interventional Radiology staff members gathered in the Drug Discovery Building to begin work on formulating a five-year plan for the Division.

IN THE NEWS

Cephus E. Simmons, Sr. has over twenty-five years experience in the field of radiology. He has been employed at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) since 1996. Before returning to school for RA in 2006, he was the interventional radiology operations manager for 10 years at MUSC. He started his medical career by serving four years in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman.

A radiologist assistant (RA) is an advanced practice radiologic technologist who works under the supervision of a radiologist. The primary role of an RA is to enhance patient care by assisting the

radiologist with patient assessment, patient management and radiological procedures. The RA also makes initial observations of diagnostic images but does not provide an official interpretation in the form of a written report.

Mr. Simmons’ responsibilities include performing all fluoroscopic examinations in pediatric and adult diagnostic and image guidance procedures in pediatric and adult diagnostic under supervision, assisting with resident orientation and training in fluoroscopic and ultrasound procedures. He delivers presentations and his abstracts have been accepted at RSNA and SPR conferences. Simmons also presents at various conferences around the country.

In 2013, he launched SealCath, LLC to commercialize a catheter he invented. This invention will be utilized with intussusception reduction procedures, barium enemas, and CT virtual colonoscopies. The product is projected to be commercialized in 2016.

PROFILE ON CEPHUS SIMMONS, RA

NEW RESEARCH FINANCE MANAGER

Kevin Hildreth comes to the Department of Radiology with over 30 years of fiscal management experience, serving the past three years as the Grants Administrator for the Department of Pathology, here at MUSC. He possesses a litany of financial customer service expertise honed from many years of service in the U.S. Navy and FedEx. Kevin is the direct catalyst, organizer, and one of the developers and instructors for the highly successful Integrated Departmental Education for Administrators (IDEA) Program, which provides a valuable comprehensive training program for Research Administrators throughout MUSC. As Research Finance Manager, he will work very

closely with the departmental Grants Coordinators to provide exceptional grant and clinical fiscal support to our departmental researchers and clinicians.

IN THE NEWS

RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT BLOOD DONOR WINNERS

The top blood donors in the Department of Radiology are presented with awards to commemorate their generous donations throughout the year.

COMMUNITYWOMEN IN RADIOLOGYA CHOCOLATE AFFAIR

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Philip Costello, Laura Bell and Marion Watson. Not pictured, Tina Rapstine.

MUSC DEPARTMENT OF RADIOLOGY

Department of Radiology and Radiological Science96 Jonathan Lucas Street, MSC 323Charleston, South Carolina 29425Phone: (843) 792-1414 * Fax: (843) 792-1889Website: http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/radiology/

1st quarter 2015 2016 musc radiology newsletter

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