Opoku Adjapong, MD, MPH (University of Michigan Medical School): Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (AC) at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.

Naiara Aquizu Lopez, PhD, Assistant Professor CHOP (Tenure): Dr. Naiara Aquizu Lopez has joined the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She received her postdoctoral training in genetics of neurodevelopmental diseases at the University of California San Diego and The Scripps Research Institute. Research in Dr. Aquizu’s lab aims to uncover functional and molecular features that distinguish one neuronal type from another and provide differential sensitivity of neuronal populations to imbalances that occur in neurological diseases. By combining animal models and human-stem-cell-derived cellular cultures her current studies are focused on understanding how diversity in protein homeostasis leads to the loss of specific neuronal types in pediatric neurodegenerative disorders that are caused by perturbed protein synthesis and degradation events. Dr Aquizu’s ultimate goal is to better understand human brain complexity in health and disease and to uncover therapeutic targets for neurological disorders.

Beatriz M. Carreno, PhD (Microbiology, Georgetown University School of Medicine): Research Associate Professor. Research focus: vaccines in cancer immunotherapy, melanoma.

Edimara Da Silva Reis, PhD, Research Assistant Professor: Former Research Associate joins the Lambris Lab as Assistant Professor. Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Systemic Inflammation Research, University of Lubeck, Germany (2010). Fellow in Complement Immunology, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center, Cincinnati (2006-2007). PhD, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Immunology (2008).

Christopher Gault, MD, PhD (Medical University of South Carolina; Residency and Surgical Pathology Fellowship, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania): Instructor in GI/Liver Pathology.

Yuk Yee Leung, PhD, Research Assistant Professor: Dr. Yuk Yee (Fanny) Leung is a new research-track faculty member of the Division of Neuropathology. Dr. Leung received her Bachelor degree in Medical Engineering and PhD in Electrical and Electronic engineering in Bioinformatics from the University of Hong Kong. She subsequently came to Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 for her postdoctoral training, where she developed bioinformatics approaches for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), as well as protein/small RNA biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease using multi-analytic proteomics panel and RNA-seq data. In 2015, she joined the genomic annotation and QC groups for the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project. In 2016, she started implementing cloud-based bioinformatics pipeline for processing thousands of whole genome and whole exome data as part of the NIA Coordinating Center for Genetics and Genomics of Alzheimer’s Disease (GCAD) at Penn. Dr. Leung’s interests include developing experimental protocols and translational bioinformatics approaches for identification of small RNA biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Rebecca Lee Linn, MD, Assistant Professor CHOP (C-E): MD St. Louis University School of Medicine; Residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Fellowship in Pediatric Pathology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Specialty area placental pathology.

MacLean Nasrallah, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor (AC): Dr. MacLean Nasrallah has joined the Division of Neuropathology. She is dual board certified in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology. Dr. Nasrallah graduated with an A.B. in mathematics from Harvard, following which she taught math and physics and community health education in Tanzania with the Peace Corps. MacLean received her MD and PhD in neuroscience from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and subsequently completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology and fellowship training in Neuropathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nasrallah's interests include understanding the molecular pathology of brain tumors as well as understanding the relationship of tumor pathology to imaging and clinical features through collaboration with the larger neuro-oncology group, with the goal of refining diagnoses and treatment of brain tumors.

Jeffrey Petersen, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (AC) at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. MD: UCLA School of Medicine. Specialty Certifications: Diplomate of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology; Diplomate of Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine; American Board of Pathology.

Jacquelyn Roth, PhD, Assistant Professor (AC): Dr. Jacquelyn Roth has joined the Precision and Computational Diagnostics Division faculty. She is dual board certified in Clinical Cytogenetics and Clinical Molecular Genetics by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). Dr. Roth received her PhD in Genetics from Thomas Jefferson University. She then completed her two ABMGG fellowships at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2014, she joined the Molecular Pathology Laboratory in the Division of Precision and Computational Diagnostics at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as the Molecular Development Assistant Director for three years before transitioning into her current role. Dr. Roth’s interests include harmonizing the use of cytogenetic and molecular techniques to improve patient diagnostics and laboratory quality control.

Mahdi Sarmady, PhD, Assistant Professor CHOP (AC): The Division of Genomic Diagnostics (DGD) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia welcomes Mahdi Sarmady, PhD, as a new AC Track Faculty member. Dr. Sarmady will also serve as the Director of Bioinformatics within the Division. Dr. Sarmady received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Software Engineering at the University of Tehran in Iran, and his PhD (2010) in Biomedical Engineering (Bioinformatics) from Drexel University. He came to CHOP in 2010 as a Bioinformatics Scientist in the Center for Biomedical Informatics, where he worked to establish pipelines and bioinformatics tools for some of CHOP's first Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based tests.  He joined the DGD in 2014 and he built a growing team who is working to develop and integrate clinical-grade software, pipelines and analytical algorithms. These enterprise-scale solutions support efficient operations as well as R&D of the analytical approaches, processes, and informatics tools needed for diagnostic use of current genomic approaches. His primary clinical interests include computational diagnostics and applications of machine learning on medical and genomic data.