Congratulations to UCSF Radiology’s 2024 RSNA Grant Recipients!

Each year, we are proud to recognize department members who receive research funding from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). This year’s grant recipients include three medical students, two residents, one postdoctoral fellow, and three faculty members.

Research Medical Student Grant

The Research Medical Student Grant offers early exposure to radiology research with the aim of igniting a passion for the specialty.

With support of the UCSF radiology community and a network of mentors, a summer project has the potential to become a career-long pursuit of research and discovery. Each grant is $3,000, matched by UCSF Radiology & Biomedical Imaging. This year’s medical student grantees:

Jonathan Shih, UCSF Med, ’26 – MRI Brain after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: Descriptive and Quantitative Patterns of Injury in Association with Neurologic Outcome
PI and Mentor: Yi Li, MD
Co-Investigators: Duan Xu, PhD and Rachel Vassar, MD (Neurology)

Two medical student grant recipients are alumni of the Research Initiative to promote Diversity in Radiology (RIDR)

Cindy Folefack, UCSF Med, ’25 – Quantification of Pleural Loculations with MRI as a Model for Future Study of Pleural Fibrinolytics Efficacy
PI: Miles Conrad, MD,
Mentor: Thienkhai Vu, MD

Ibukunoluwa Ibrahim, UCSF Med, ’26 – Outcomes of Combined TACE and Thermal Ablation vs Radioembolization for Early-Stage HCC: A Propensity Matched Retrospective Analysis
PI and Mentor: Christopher Brunson, MD
Advisors: Vishal Kumar, MD, and Mark Wilson, MD

Research Resident/Fellow Grant

The Research Resident/Fellow Grant offers trainees the opportunity to pursue research at a critical point early in their radiology careers. Working alongside an experienced advisor, trainees gain insight in research methods and techniques. This two-year grant awards a maximum of $50,000/$75,000. Trainee recipients:

Luke Bonham, MD, PGY5 – Evaluation of Glutamatergic Physiology in Frontotemporal Dementia Using Astrocytic Glutamate Transporter (EAAT2) PET and Glutamate Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Advisor: Leo Sugrue, MD, PhD

Lohith Kini, MD, PhD, PGY5 – Guiding Lesional and Non-Lesional Epilepsy Surgery Through a Multi-Modal, Network Approach
Advisor: Andreas Rauschecker, MD, PhD
Co-Investigator: Dr. Ankit Khambhati, PhD (Neurosurgery)

Tician Schnitzler, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow – Qualitative and Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers of Interstitial Lung Abnormality (ILA) That Predict Progression to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Advisor: Jae Ho Sohn, MD, MS

Research Scholar Grant

The RSNA’s prestigious two-year Research Scholar Grant in the amount of $200,000 provides protected research time to conduct complex projects with the guidance of a mentor and scientific advisor in preparation for NIH funding. Faculty recipients:

Maggie Chung, MD – Deep-learning Based Simulated Contrast Breast MRI for Supplemental Breast Cancer Screening
Scientific Advisors: Bonnie Joe, MD, PhD, and Amie Lee, MD

Jaehoon Shin, MD, PhD – A Novel Strategy for Locoregional engineered T cell Therapy
Scientific Advisors: David Wilson, MD, PhD, and Kole Roybal, PhD (Immunology)

Emerging Issues Grant

The RSNA’s Emerging Issues Grant provides up to $100,000 for projects that enable the current and next generation of radiologists to stay abreast of a continuously evolving profession and help achieve equitable care for all. These grants address urgent topics that threaten the health and well-being of disparate populations. Awarded funding for the Environmental Impact and Sustainability of Radiology:

Sean Woolen, MD – Identifying MRI Scanning and Cooling Approaches for Energy Reduction in Radiology: A Path to Decarbonizing MRI Operations