LONI - Key Persons


Agatha Lee

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Akshay Shinde

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Akul Sharma

Job Titles:
  • Data Management Coordinator

Albert Feng

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Alex Leow

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Alexis Bennett

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Alica Twisselmann

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Alice Yang

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Alyssa Zhu

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Andrea Klunder

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

April Ho

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Arthur Toga

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Director, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institut
Dr. Toga's research focuses on neuroimaging, informatics, mapping brain structure and function, and brain atlasing. He has developed multimodal imaging and data aggregation strategies and applied them in a variety of neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, neurovascular diseases, and ocular diseases. His work in informatics includes the development and implementation of some of the largest and most widely used databases and data mining tools linking disparate data from genetics, imaging, clinical, and behavioral studies, and supporting global efforts in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's Disease, and Parkinson's Disease. His work also involves measurement of the dynamic brain during development and aging, and as a result of insult.

Aubrey Martinez

Job Titles:
  • Resource Employee

Boris Gutman


Brandon Hall

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Brandon Ojogho

Job Titles:
  • Resource Employee

Cally Xiao

Job Titles:
  • Project Administrator

Calvary Fisher

Job Titles:
  • User Experience Designer

Carinna Torgerson

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Research Assistant

Caroline Brun

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Caroline O'Driscoll

Job Titles:
  • Senior Scientific Graphic Designer
Education 2013: M.S. in Biomedical Visualization, University of Illinois at Chicago 1993: B.A. in Sociology, Minors in Music and Science, University of California, San Diego Experience 3 years Biomedical Visualization for Aerospace Research and Education

Catalina Soria

Job Titles:
  • Business Analyst

Celina Alba

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Chris Patterson

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Christina Avedissian

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Christopher Ching

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Cong Zang

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Conor Owens-Walton

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Danielle Quinteros

Job Titles:
  • Associate Research Administrator

Danny JJ Wang

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Neurology and Radiology, Director of Imaging Technology Innovation
Dr. Wang runs the Laboratory of Functional MRI Technology (LOFT), where he develops techniques and clinical translations of arterial spin labeling (ASL) and performs cross-scale and modality complexity analysis of resting state fMRI and electrophysiology data. Dr. Wang leads projects to develop and validate imaging biomarkers of cerebral small vessel diseases (cSVD) and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). He also researches electric current mapping of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Another current project involves the development of low-dose CT perfusion technology, which may help significantly reduce radiation exposure without compromising image quality. Education 2010: M.S.C.E. in Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine 1998: Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of Science and Technology of China 1993: B.S. in Biophysics, Fu Dan University Experience 2016 - present: Professor, Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 2016 - present: Director of Imaging Technology Innovation, Mark & Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 2016 - present: Professor (secondary), Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 2012 - 2016: Executive Director, UCLA-Beijing Joint Center for Advanced Brain Imaging 2015 - 2016: Professor-in-Residence (secondary), Department of Radiology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine 2015 - 2016: Professor-in-Residence, Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine 2011 - 2015: Associate Professor-in-Residence (secondary), Department of Radiology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine 2010 - 2015: Associate Professor-in-Residence, Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Dawen Tan

Job Titles:
  • Web Developer
Education 2002: B.S. in Computer Science, UCLA Postdoctoral Fellows

Denise Koslicki

Job Titles:
  • Senior Research Administrative Director

Dhrumil Parikh

Job Titles:
  • Systems Administrator

Dominique Duncan

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Neurology
Dr. Duncan's expertise lies in the development of analytical tools to extract information from biomedical data. Both her Ph.D. and postdoctoral research used EEG data to isolate patterns indicating the onset of epileptic seizures. She has worked on developing algorithms, such as Unsupervised Diffusion Component Analysis, to identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease in patients using structural MRI data. Her recent projects include identifying biomarkers to predict epilepsy following a traumatic brain injury and using Virtual Reality to improve segmentation, a manual error-correction process required to analyze brain imaging data. Education 2013: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Yale University 2007: B.S. in Mathematics and Polish Literature, University of Chicago

Dr. Paul Thompson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
  • Director
  • Professor
  • Professor of Neurology
Associate Director, Mary and Mark Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute Director, Imaging Genetics Center Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Radiology, Pediatrics and Engineering thompson@loni.usc.edu Dr. Thompson's primary focus is imaging genetics, the study of how individual genetic differences lead to differences in brain wiring, structure, and intellectual function. He co-founded a worldwide imaging genetics consortium, ENIGMA, which studies 22 brain diseases in 37 countries, and has published the largest-ever neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Other research pursuits include developing new computational algorithms for neuroimaging, dynamic (4D) brain mapping, creation of a probabilistic atlas of the human brain and cortex, and creation of population-based atlases for Alzheimer's Disease, Schizophrenia, and other disorders.

Duyen Nguyen

Job Titles:
  • Data Management Coordinator

Elizabeth Haddad

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Research Assistant

Elnaz Nourollahimoghadam

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate
Education 2018: M.D., Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran)

Emily Laltoo

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Emma Gleave

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Faraz Rabbani

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst II

Fereshta Saraj

Job Titles:
  • Research Administrator

Francesca Sibilia

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Garrett Kevin Reynolds


Gautam Prasad


HoSung Kim

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Neurology
Dr. Kim's research spans an interdisciplinary cross-section of medical image processing, machine learning and neuroscience, covering both clinical neurology and neuropsychiatry. He studies multicontrast image registration and segmentation as well as surface modeling of both cortical and subcortical structures. One of his current projects involves the prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm babies. He is also developing an online neuroimaging data quality control (image QC) system. Education 2016: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Imaging of Neurodevelopment, UC San Francisco 2012: Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (specialty: brain image analysis), McGill University 2011: Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University 2003: M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University

Ioannis Pappas

Job Titles:
  • Research Neurology

Iyad Ba Gari

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

James Stanis

Job Titles:
  • Medical Animator
Education 2007: M.S. in Biomedical Visualization, University of Illinois at Chicago 2001: B.A. in Studio Arts, Columbia College Chicago Experience 2007 - 2014: Scientific Visualizer/3D Medical Animator, TheVisualMD.com (formerly known as Anatomical Travelogue)

Jamie Terner

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Jane Lee

Job Titles:
  • Home Department Payroll / Personnel Coordinator I / Jane.Lee@Loni.Usc.Edu

Jason Dizon

Job Titles:
  • Systems Administrator
  • System Administration

Jason Stein


Jeiran Choupan

Job Titles:
  • Research Neurology
Education 2016: Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience, University of Queensland 2010: M.Sc. in Information Technology Engineering & Signal Processing, Sharif University of Technology 2008: B.Sc. in Information Technology Engineering, Sharif University of Technology

Jennifer Limon

Job Titles:
  • Receptionist

Jesse Lamas

Job Titles:
  • Research Coordinator I

Jiaxin Yue

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Jim Paniagua

Job Titles:
  • Graphic Designer

Jonathan Morra

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Joshua Liu

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Julio Villalon

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Kalpana Sundaram

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst III

Karen Crawford


Katherin Martin

Job Titles:
  • Radiologic Technologist

Katherine Lawrence

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Kay Jann

Job Titles:
  • Research Neurology
Dr. Jann develops analytical tools and clinical translations of functional MRI technology. He studies the relationship between functional connectivity, complexity and metabolism of brain networks. His multimodal approach involves a combination of fMRI, connectivity measures, cerebral blood flow, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) excitation and inhibition, and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). He is also exploring the use of neuromodulation, such as TMS, in the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders. Education 2009: Ph.D. in the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Veterinary Medicine, University of Bern

Kevin Low

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Kiralee Hayashi

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Kirsten Lynch

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Koral Wheeler

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Lara Foland-Ross

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Lauren Salminen

Job Titles:
  • Instructor of Research Neurology
Education 2016: Ph.D. in Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Missouri St. Louis 2014: M.A. in Psychology, University of Missouri St. Louis 2011: B.L.S. in Psychology and Writing, University of Missouri St. Louis

Leila Nabulsi

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Leon Aksman

Job Titles:
  • Research Neurology
Education 2017: Ph.D. in Neuroimaging, King's College London 2006: M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland 2004: B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Liana Apostolova

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Lu Zhao

Job Titles:
  • Research Associate

Madelaine Daianu


Malwina Misque Boswell

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Marina Barysheva


Mario Mandujano

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Research Administrator

Marlene Becerra

Job Titles:
  • Research Lab Technician II

Marlene Casey

Job Titles:
  • Research Coordinator

Meral Tubi

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Meredith Braskie

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Neurology
Dr. Braskie's research evaluates how genetic and environmental risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) relate to brain structure, function, and connectivity throughout adulthood, with an emphasis on metabolic risk. She primarily studies cognitively intact adults and those with early mild cognitive impairment, studying how AD risk-related biological mechanisms and signaling pathways are associated with brain changes, using relevant blood and cerebrospinal fluid measures, as well as multimodal imaging (structural and functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and PET).

Michael Bienkowski

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Physiology and Neuroscienc
Dr. Bienkowski's research focuses on the relationship between anatomy, genetics, and function within brain regions involved in memory and emotion. His scientific goals are to identify the structural organization of neural networks, then dissect the functional role of specific network circuits to understand how the circuits cooperate to produce animal behavior. Education 2012: Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh 2007: B.S. in Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh

Michael Hendrickson

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Ming-Chang Chiang

Job Titles:
  • Biomedical Engineer
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Monica Estrada

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist - Administrativ

Natalya Shatokhina

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst

Natasha Lepore

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Neda Jahanshad

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Neurology

Neda Khanjani

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager
Education 2017: M.S. in Neuroimaging and Informatics, USC 2009: M.S. in Biology-Microbiology, Azad University 2005: B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology-Microbiology, Azad University Experience Neuroimaging, brain mapping, cell typing, neurodegenerative disease (AD, blinding disorders)

Neelroop Parikshak

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Nicole Chow


Nien-Chu Shih

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Nikhil Dhinagar

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst II
Education 2018: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Ohio University 2013: M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Ohio University Experience 2018 - 2020: Post-doctoral Scholar, UCLA 2015: Software Engineer PhD Intern, Dermspectra LLC 2014: Image Processing Intern, Intel

Noelle Lee

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Priya Rajagopalan

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Radiology and CIA Medical Director
Together with Dr. Paul Thompson at the Imaging Genetics Center, Dr. Rajagopalan works on brain mapping and assisting deep learning methods to understand brain structure in healthy aging and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's dementia. Education M.P.H. Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley M.B.B.S. Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, NTR University of Health Sciences, India Experience 2021 - present: Assistant Professor Clinical Radiology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California, USA 2021 - present: Assistant Program Director, Neuroradiology Fellowship, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California, USA 2021 - present: Medical Director, Center for Image Acquisition, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA 2020 - 2021: Clinical Instructor, Neuroradiology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Priyanka Subash

Job Titles:
  • Staff Research Assistant

Rachel Custer

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Raffi Missirian

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant I

Ragini Jain

Job Titles:
  • Web Developer III

Rebecca Dutton

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Rosie Acevedo

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant, NIIN

Roy Wu

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Ru Zhang

Job Titles:
  • Project Specialist

Samantha Cohen

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Sana Salehi

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Sandy Lui

Job Titles:
  • Senior Business Officer II, Financ

Sayim Gokyar

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate
Education 2018: Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bilkent University 2011: M.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bilkent University 2009: B.S. in Electronics Engineering, Faith University

Scott Neu

Job Titles:
  • Research

Sebastian Benavidez

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Shruti Gadewar

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant

Shuo Huang

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Shyam Mohanchandran

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst IV
Education 2012: M.S. in Computer Science, University of Houston-Clear Lake 2009: Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering, K.K. Wagh I.E.E.R., University of Pune

Sidney Taiko Sheehan

Job Titles:
  • Communications Manager

Sophia Thomopoulos

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager

Stevens Hall

Job Titles:
  • Facilities

Suh Lee

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Sweta Bhagavatula

Job Titles:
  • Resource Employee

Talia Nir

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate

Tamoghna Chattopadhyay

Job Titles:
  • Programmer Analyst II
Education 2019: M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California 2017: B.E. in Electronics Engineering, Gujarat Technological University

Teresa Monreal

Job Titles:
  • Project Assistant
Education 2012: Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, University of California, San Diego 2005: M.A. in Research Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles 2001: B.A. in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles Experience 2012 - 2017: Post Doctoral Fellow, University of California San Diego

Terri Stephen


Tom Nguyen


Tyler Ard

Job Titles:
  • Research
Dr. Ard aims to improve scientists' understanding of neuroscientific data through novel visualizations, enabling human insight into highly complex datasets. Before joining LONI, he worked with USC's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), where he mastered Virtual Reality techniques which he now applies to neuroimaging data. Education 2013: Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Brown University 2006: B.A. in Psychology, University of Colorado Boulder

Victoria Tennant

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Vignesh Santhalingam

Job Titles:
  • Student Worker, Research

Xingfeng Shao

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Assistant Professor of Research Radiology at the USC Stevens Neuroimaging
Dr. Shao is Assistant Professor of Research Radiology at the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine USC. His research focuses on developing ASL sequences with high spatial/temporal resolution. Currently Dr. Shao is working on a novel MR pulse sequence and modeling algorithm to quantify the water exchange rate (kw) across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) without contrast, and to evaluate its clinical utility in a range of neurological disorders including cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), Alzheimer's Diseases (AD), etc. Dr. Shao is also working on high resolution 7T ASL to quantify layer-dependent CBF and obtain concurrent measurement of CBV, BOLD and CMRO2.

Xinyu Nie

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student Researcher

Yan Jin


Yi-Yu Chou

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Previous GROUP

Yixue Wendy Feng

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Yonggang Shi

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Yuan Li

Job Titles:
  • Student Worker, Research

Zhiwei Deng

Job Titles:
  • Student Worker, Research