Favilla Lab Members

Chris Favilla, MD

Dr. Favilla is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania where he also serves as the Director of the Non-invasive Cerebral Hemodynamic Evaluation (NICHE) Center. He completed undergraduate at Penn and medical school at the University of Florida. He completed neurology residency and stroke fellowship at Penn after which he joined the faculty. His clinical practice focuses on acute stroke management, while his research focuses on the translation and adaptation of non-invasive imaging modalities to monitor cerebral hemodynamics. The lab is particularly interested in developing biomarkers and treatment targets that will facilitate personalized care that optimizes cerebral hemodynamics.

Sarah Andersen

Sarah received a bachelors and masters in Education from Drexel. After working as both a teacher and early literacy specialist, she transitioned to the biomedical research space after completing her post-bacc in pre-health studies at Jefferson. Before joining the Favilla Lab as Project Manger, she worked as a research assistant in the Center for Neurorestoration at Jefferson and as a research coordinator in the Penn Memory Center. In her current role, Sarah oversees the lab's research portfolio and it's personnel while supporting programmatic growth.
Becca Gitlevich

Becca received a degree in Neuroscience from Temple and then joined the Favilla Lab as a clinical research coordinator. She has unique expertise in performing bedside hemodynamics monitoring and has developed a range of data processing pipelines. Becca is particularly passionate about intra-operative monitoring, and she plans to attend medical school in the coming years.
Pargol Balali, MD

Dr. Balali completed medical school at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and she received a Master’s in Neuroscience at McMaster University. After completing StrokeNET fellowship traning at Penn, she began her postdoctoral fellowship training in vascular neurology. She is interested in using advanced imaging techniques to better tailor stroke care, in large part through deciphering unique stroke mechanisms, such as carotid webs.
Bella Ganfield

Bella received a degree in Neuroscience from Franklin and Marshall, after which she joined the Favilla Lab as a clinical research coordinator. Bella has unique experience applying bedside neurotechnology, including TMS, EEG, and MeRT). Bella supports a range of projects that include bedside optical imaging and stroke education.
Selma Nsioui

Selma received a degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania, during which she also gained experience as a lab assistant and patient care tech, before joining the Favilla Lab as a clinical research coordinator. She supports a range of clinical research studies that include bedside optical imaging and stroke education.
Joe Makeski, PhD

Dr. Majeski received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester, and is currently completing his Postdoctural fellowship at Penn. He has expertise in developing instrumentation for noninvasive diffuse optical spectroscopy and tomography of hemodynamics. He is also interested translating his methods to clinical practice for the timely detection of cerebral hemodynamic impairment.
Braden Denny

Braden received a degree in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Florida, and he is currently a medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. He has supported advanced neuroimaging analyses and bedside evaluations for a clinical trial. Braden plans to apply for residency in Neurology.
Nitin Lodha

Nitin is completing his Masters in Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He has expertise in data processing and applied machine learning, with a particular interest in applying these techniques in the context of biomedical research. Nitin develops and refines data processing pipelines for the Favilla Lab.

Collaborators

Steve Messe, MD

Dr. Messe is Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Division of Stroke and Vascular Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania where he also serves as Director of the Center for Neuro-Cardio Protection. He is internationally recognized for his work in clinical practice guidelines, clinical trials oversight, and stroke outcomes research. Dr. Messe has been a key career mentor to Dr. Favilla, and they collaborate on a range of work including the development of novel imaging biomarkers in stroke.
Scott Kasner, MD

Dr. Kasner currently serves as Neurology Development Lead at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this position, he was Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Division of Stroke and Vascular Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kasner has been a key mentor of Dr. Favilla’s, and they have collaborated on projects evaluation cerebral hemodynamics in acute stroke, intra-arterial thrombolysis, and stroke education.
Arjun Yodh, PhD

Dr. Yodh is Progressor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. He has made pivotal contributions to the optical sciences and has pioneered the development of optical imaging modalities. He and Dr. Favilla have a longstanding collaboration investigating cerebral hemodynamics using diffuse optics.
John Detre, MD

Dr. Detre is Professor of Neurology and Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania where he is founding Director of Center for Functional Neuroimaging and the Brain Science Center. Dr. Detre is a pioneer in the development of MR-based perfusion imaging, and he has been pivotal in the application of advanced neuroimaging modalities at Penn. He mentored Dr. Favilla as a trainee and junior faculty, and they continue to collaborate in applying advanced physiologic imaging in acute stroke.
Mike Genuardi, MD

Dr. Genuardi is Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine. He has expertise in the clinical management of heart failure, with an emphasis on mechanical support. Dr. Genuardi and Dr. Favilla have a longstanding collaboration exploring cerebral hemodynamics after LVAD implantation.
Wes Baker, PhD

Dr. Baker is Assistant Professor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where is Co-Director of the Biomedical Optical Devices to Monitor Cerebral Health Frontier Program. Dr. Baker is a physicist with expertise developing and translating biomedical optical techniques for clinical applications.
Visish Srinivasan, MD

Dr. Srinivasan is Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Srinivasan has expertise in cerebrovascular neurosurgery, in particular microsurgical and endovascular techniques. He and Dr. Favilla collaborate across a range of studies that involve intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring.
Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, PhD

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Ed Dickinson, MD

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H. Branch Coslett, MD

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Kimberly Waddell, PhD

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Felix Wehrli, PhD

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Andy Kofke, MD

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