Justin Adler, BS
Justin joined the PIGI Lab as a Research Specialist in 2023 while completing his Master of Bioethics at the Perelman School of Medicine. His research applies synthetic biology and metabolic imaging to improve tracking of cellular therapies, engineer an electroporation system for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) intra-tumoral suicide gene delivery, and understand branched-chain amino acid metabolism to improve precision medicine paradigms for HCC. He also has contributed to projects focused on imaging kidney ischemic reperfusion injury, distinguishing genetic mutant subgroups of HCC using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, and implementing the first hyperpolarized carbon imaging clinical trial for HCC. Justin is currently a medical student at the University of Rochester.
Isabela gatmaytan, BA
Born and raised in the Philippines before ping-ponging to suburban Florida then back to the Philippines, Isabela returned to the states to study Biology, Chemistry and American Sign Language/Deaf Studies at UPenn while working part time at the PIGI Lab. After graduating, Isabela continued in the lab as a Research Specialist on the in vivo side before becoming a Clinical Research Coordinator. Between running to clinical sites, you’ll find her working on databases, histology and pathology projects, and caring for the lab’s single plant. Outside of lab, Isabela enjoys volunteering for an AIDS/HIV and chronic illness non-profit, illustrating and writing stories, and stockpiling ingredients for recipes she may or may not actually try.
Quynh-Anh Dang, BS
Anh Dang is currently a Perelman medical student working with the PIGI lab. Outside of school and research, her interests include podcast producing and marketing with the BackTable Podcast Network, playing volleyball, and exploring the city of Philadelphia.
Jonathan Wakim, BS
I’m fascinated in digital health, specifically in using wearables and mixed reality technology for use in all domains of interventional radiology. My work in the PIGI lab has focused on finding use cases for the HoloLens for training, preprocedural planning, and intraoperative tools that can improve surgical workflow and outcomes.
Stephanie Wang, BS
Stephanie graduated from Vanderbilt University and is now a first-year medical student at Penn. When she's not in JMEC, you can find her at the pool as a part-time swim instructor, exploring Philly's fantastic food scene (Chinatown bakeries >>>), or at a concert!
Lauren Shreve, MD
Following a surgical internship with UPenn Surgery, Lauren is now completing her IR integrated residency with UPenn IR. Lauren is interested in research focused on liver disease, women’s health, and improving clinical operations in DR and IR care delivery.
Ryan Kiefer, MD
I joined the PIGI Lab in 2016 as a HHMI-SIRF medical research fellow. Now as an interventional radiology resident at the University of Pennsylvania, my interest is in translational oncologic research and the effort to personalize interventional oncology care for patients.
Abby Woodard, AD
I’ve been with Penn radiology since 2006 and started working in research in 2019 as a research coordinator. I now manage about 10 Interventional radiology studies.
Jen Crainic, BS
I have a broad interest in conditioning the tumor microenvironment to generate targetable dependencies that may be exploited when developing cancer therapeutics. Trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a locoregional therapy that combines embolization of the hepatic artery with intra-arterial chemotherapy and is the most common procedure to treat liver cancer patients that are not eligible for a transplant
Maxim Itkin, MD
Dr. Itkin is a Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania where he is the director of the Center for Lymphatic Imaging and Interventions. Dr. Itkin is nationally and internationally recognized for his clinical and research expertise in an interventional treatment of the lymphatic disorders.
Michael C. Soulen, MD
Professor of Radiology and Director of Interventional Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center and Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Interventional Radiology. His major clinical and research focus for the past 30 years has been image-guided cancer therapy (interventional oncology), with a specific focus on embolotherapy and ablative therapy of solid tumors in the liver and kidney.
