ABOUT
ABOUT
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
OMAR ISLAM
MD, FRCPC
Dr. Islam is a Diagnostic Neuroradiologist at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre where he is the Head of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Assistant Professor of Medical Imaging at Queen's University. He has an interest in advanced brain tumour imaging, including MR perfusion, innovation in Radiology, and improving imaging access for patients at local and national scales. He has been the lead organizer of the project to bring the first clinical Portable MRI machine into Canada, located in Moose Factory, Ontario. Through this successful project, he has worked with Indigenous community leaders and has interest in the challenges and opportunities of implementing cutting edge healthcare technologies in Canada’s North.
ADITYA BHARATHA
MD, FRCPC
Dr. Bharatha is a staff neuroradiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health, Toronto where he is the Division Head of Diagnostic Neuroradiology. He is an Associate Professor of Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. His clinical and research interests are focused in advanced imaging techniques to study neurovascular disease, neuroinflammation and brain tumors. He is interested in advancing quality of care, accessibility, and patient experience in medical imaging.
EDITORIAL BOARD
GOVIND BHAGAVATHEESHWARAN
PhD
Govind Nair earned his Bachelor of Technology in Biomedical Engineering from Cochin University of Science and Technology in India and his Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia. He earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and University of Massachusetts where he studied and developed Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques for imaging the retina. During his postdoctoral fellowship with Drs. Xiaoping Hu and Michael Benatar at Emory University, he worked on developing specialized magnetic resonance imaging techniques and markers of disease progression in patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He joined the National Institutes of Health in 2011 as a Staff Scientist, and directs the quantitative MRI core facility at the NINDS.
Dr. Nair’s research focuses on techniques to improve the sensitivity and specificity of MRI in detecting changes in the neuronal microenvironment in neuroinflammatory diseases, which could help with understanding disease processes in-vivo. At present, his research focuses on developing quantitative MRI markers of disease progression in neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Human T-cell leukemia virus, type 1 or HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, disorders with neurovascular involvement such as CADASIL and COVID-19, as well as neurocognitive impairments in HIV infection.
SYED ATHER ENAM
MD, PhD, FRCSI, FRCSC, FRCS, FRCSG, FACS
Dr. Enam is a U.S. Board-certified Neurosurgeon, Professor of Neurosurgery, and Scientific Director of Juma Research Laboratories, at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. He has been awarded several accolades and honors for his work in the USA and Pakistan, including the Physician of the year medallion, Master Surgeon Award, Excellence in Neurosurgery Award, and the presidential award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Dr. Enam has a strong interest in basic science research with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Northwestern University Institute of Neuroscience, USA. He is a life member of Sigma Xi, a scientific research honor society, as well as the Founding President of the Pakistan Society of Basic and Applied Neuroscience, the Founding President of the Pakistan Society of Neuro-Oncology, Founder of the Pakistan Academy of Neurological Surgery, and a member of the Executive Committee of AANS-CNS Section of Brain Tumors (USA). He has been editor of several international scientific journals and has delivered numerous lectures globally on Neurosurgery, Neuro-Oncology, and Neuroscience topics. He is actively involved in many clinical and basic science research projects and has authored over 300 manuscripts, chapters, abstracts, editorials, and articles.
MARCO ESSIG
MD, PhD, FRCPC
Dr. Essig is Professor and Chair of the Radiology Department at the University of Manitoba, and Medical Director of the Diagnostic Imaging Program with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. He pursued two fellowships, one in Neuroradiology from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, and a second in Interventional Radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Essig is a valued member of numerous societies, including the Deutsche Rontgengesellschaft, the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and the Radiological Society of North America. He has a PhD in Neurological Sciences, from the University of Heidelberg, 1994. He is an author on more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and the author of more than 20 book chapters. His research interests include multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, stroke imaging, and traumatic brain injury. He is a member of the editorial board of European Radiology, Investigative Radiology, Insights into Imaging, Canadian Association of Radiology Journal, and Der Radiologe. Dr. Essig is a deputy editor for neuroimaging at the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
SHANNON KOLIND
PhD
Dr. Kolind earned her PhD in Physics at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, developing ways to measure myelin, the insulating layer that surrounds nerves in the brain and spinal cord, using magnetic resonance imaging. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain at the University of Oxford as well as the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. While in the UK, she specialized in developing new methods to image myelin in the brain and spinal cord and making these techniques more practical for use in research. She then returned to UBC, this time in the Division of Neurology. Dr. Kolind’s lab is focused on developing a toolbox of tissue-specific imaging techniques. Her multi-disciplinary team employs these multi-modal tools to achieving greater sensitivity and specificity in clinical research; particularly for clinical trials of new therapies. With a goal of making advanced imaging available to everyone, Dr. Kolind is working on developing myelin sensitive imaging for low field, point of care MRI for use in both urban and rural settings.
FATIMA MUBARAK
MD, MCPS, FCPS
Dr. Mubarak is an associate professor and experienced neuroradiologist at the Aga Khan University Hospital with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. She is skilled in MRI, clinical research, medical education, and advanced neuroimaging. She has a strong educational background with an MCPS, FCPS, and a neuroimaging fellowship from Singapore General Hospital. Dr. Mubarak was the first international outreach member of the American Society of Neuroradiology from Pakistan and is also a member of the Asia Oceania Regional Committee and the Quality Improvement Network of the Radiological Society of North America. She is also the first neuroradiologist from Pakistan to receive an international recognition award at the American Society of Neuroradiology. Dr. Mubarak has more than 100 publications and many national and international grants to her credit.
Additional Editorial Board members to be announced
EDITORIAL STAFF
KAAMRAAN ISLAM
BHSc CANDIDATE, QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY
Editorial Assistant and Website Designer