Lucy Spalluto to Help Lead New VETWISE-LHS Center of Innovation

VUMC Radiology Professor Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, has been chosen to help lead a new Health Systems Research Center of Innovation (COIN) for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The COIN program supports research innovations and partnerships to ensure that research has the greatest possible impact on Veterans Health Administration policies, health care practices and health outcomes for veterans. 

Simone Montoya, M.D.

Simone
Montoya
M.D.
Assistant Professor
Radiology & Radiological Sciences
Assistant Program Director
Integrated Interventional Radiology Residency

Simone Montoya is a neuroradiologist originally from Gainesville, FL, but has received her education and training all throughout America. 

Dr. Montoya completed her undergraduate schooling at Smith College in Massachusetts in 2005, then a predoctoral fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT. She attended the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, FL, where she earned her medical degree in 2011. For post-graduate training, Dr. Montoya did her internship at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA, Diagnostic Radiology residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in western NY, and a two-year Neuroradiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA in 2021.

Following her fellowship, Dr. Montoya practiced radiology in Greenville, NC with Eastern Radiologists and serving as the Director of Radiology Education at East Carolina University. Dr. Montoya joined VUMC Radiology as an Assistant Professor in August 2024. On October 1, 2024, she became the diagnostic radiology Assistant Program Director for the integrated Interventional Radiology program.

She is a member of the American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, American Society of Neuroradiology, and Association of Academic Radiology.

Shaun A. Wahab, M.D.

Shaun
A.
Wahab
M.D.
Associate Professor
Radiology & Radiological Sciences

Shaun A. Wahab, MD, received his medical degree and completed a diagnostic radiology residency with Michigan State University, where he also served as chief resident. He then continued his training with a fellowship in Body Imaging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

Dr. Wahab joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati in 2015 as an Assistant Professor where he received multiple awards, including the Benjamin Felson Faculty Teaching Award. In 2021, Dr. Wahab was promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati. He served as the Body Imaging Fellowship Director from 2017 to 2024. 

In 2024, Dr. Wahab joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as an Associate Professor. He specializes in Abdominal/Body Imaging and his clinical interests include gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecologic oncology, transplant, and ultrasound imaging. 

Dr. Wahab is active in multiple national organizations and serves on committees with the Society of Abdominal Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society, American College of Radiology, and American Board of Radiology. He has served as an author on many publications and has written multiple book chapters. 

Section: Abdominal Imaging

Zerwa Farooq, M.B.B.S.

Zerwa
Farooq
M.B.B.S.
Assistant Professor
Radiology & Radiological Sciences

Zerwa Farooq, MBBS, joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences in August of 2024 as an Assistant Professor in the Emergency Radiology section.

Dr. Farooq earned her medical degree at Fatima Jinnah Medical University in Lahore, Pakistan. She completed her residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, where she was Chief Resident.

After finishing residency, Dr. Farooq completed a fellowship in Neuroradiology at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.

Dr. Farooq is a member of the national medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. She is also a member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR).

Section: Emergency Radiology

Heather Cole Named Associate Program Director for Nuclear Medicine Residency & Fellowship Programs

The Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences is proud to share that Heather Cole, MD, will be assuming the role of Associate Program Director of the Nuclear Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs. Dr. Cole recently joined VUMC Radiology faculty as an Assistant Professor after spending time in our department as a nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology resident. This makes her an optimal candidate to work alongside the Program Director, Nuclear Medicine’s Section Chief, Philip Scherer, MD. 

Katie Van Schaik Awarded VICTR Seed Grant

Assistant Professor Katie Van Schaik, MD, PhD, has been awarded a seed grant from the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) for her pilot study "Mechanistic Association of Epigenetic Bone Age and Frailty Measures with Bone Imaging Studies Using Novel Artificial Intelligence Approaches."Using Vanderbilt’s ImageVU and BioVU resources, Dr. Van Schaik's pilot study will identify correlations between bone mineral density, as measured on opportunistically acquired CT exams, with DNA methylation measurements.