Department Highlights: January & February 2026

Achievements

Peter Chang named Director of the Institute for Precision Health (IPH)

Peter Chang, MD, has been appointed the Director of the UC Irvine Institute for Precision Health. IPH is a campus-wide initiative that brings together UC Irvine's strengths across health sciences, engineering, statistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, clinical genomics, data science and healthcare delivery to provide personalized and effective health and wellness strategies.

Arash Kheradvar is highlighted for his Groundbreaking Research

UC Irvine's Arash Kheradvar, MD (left) and Greg Pressman (right) of Jefferson Health, along with their research teams, have discovered fundamental differences between two major causes of mitral valve stenosis (heart valve narrowing). Using advanced 3D ultrasound imaging and patient-specific laboratory modeling, the team found that MAC-related stenosis behaves very differently from rheumatic stenosis — challenging decades of "one-size-fits-all" diagnostic approaches.

Sabee Molloi, PhD, and Cholsoon Jang, MD, Receive First ARPA-H Award

Molloi and Jang were given UC Irvine's first Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) award, which provides $7.45 million in support funds. They are receiving prestigious recognition for their significant contributions to advancing lymphatic imaging.

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• Gelareh Sadigh, MD, has been selected to become a Fellow of the Association of Academic Radiology (AAR). She was also appointed to the AAR Clinical Effectiveness in Radiology Research Academic Fellowship (CERRAF) Board of Review and participated in a study-section review for CERRAF awards and the NIH Cancer Prevention, Control and Treatment Research Study Section.
• Irene Tsai, MD, and the Breast Imaging team have secured donor funds to purchase a new mammogram machine at the Costa Mesa Breast Center. Special recognition to our donors, the Wu Family Education Fund, for their generous contribution to the success of our department.
• Hanna Liu, MD, was selected to be a part of the Venture Capital Immersion Program.
• Zhuoli Zhang, PhD, was invited to serve on the NIH Scientific Review Panel, MCST-U (55) Cancer Nanomedicine.
• Amir Imanzadeh, MD, was accepted ino the American Roentgen Ray Society 2026 Clinician Educator Development Program.

New Faculty Publications

Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, MD

• Joseph A. Breuer, M.D., M.S.; Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, M.D.; Fred T. Lee Jr, M.D.; Zain Lalani, M.D.; David K. Imagawa, M.D., PhD.; Jason Chiang, M.D., PhD.; Steven S. Raman, M.D.; J. Louis Hinshaw, M.D.; Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Vascular Injury after Histotripsy: a case series of hemorrhage and pseudoaneurysm complications in human patients J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2026 JVIR_108576 (accepted)
• Jeremy Harris, M.D., MPhil. ; Christina Boyd, M.D.; Mengying Shi, PhD.; Michael Reilly, PhD.; Aaron Simon, M.D., PhD.; Steven M. Seyedin, M.D.; Wen Pin Chen, PhD.; Misako Nagasaka,M.D., PhD.; Rupali Nabar, M.D.; Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Pilot Study of Combining SBRT with Pulsed Field Ablation for Oligometastatic/ Oligoprogressive Lung Tumors J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2025 Nov;36(11):1687-1695. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2025.08.005

Lydia Min-Ying Su, PhD

• Su MYL. Editorial for "Multisequence MRI Enables High-Fidelity FDG-PET Synthesis for Epilepsy Using GANs". J Magn Reson Imaging. 2026 Jan 16. doi: 10.1002/jmri.70234.
• Zhao Y, Chen Z, Wang Z, Zhou J, Miao H, Ye S, Liu H, Wei Y, Ye F, Wang M, Su MY. Nomogram for reducing unnecessary biopsies of breast lesions based on MRI and clinical features: a multi-center retrospective cohort study. Cancer Imaging. 2025 Dec 6;26(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s40644-025-00972-z.

Anderanik Tomasian

• Too close for comfort? Assessing the impact of thermoprotective techniques in image guided ablation of musculoskeletal tumors. CVIR Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44343-025-00014-2
• Geographic characterization of intra-articular pathologies in early-stage avascular necrosis of the hip. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2026 Feb 6. doi: 10.1186/s12891-026-09564-9
• Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Interventions in Management of Bone Tumors. Radiologic Clinics North America (In-press)

New Faculty Presentations & Posters

Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, MD

Presentations

• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Speaker: “DOORwaY90: Selective Internal Radiation Therapy using SIR-Spheres Y-90 Resin Microspheres as first-line treatment for unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma patients (NCT04736121) – an interim analysis” HCC-Live 2026 Huntington Beach, CA; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Faculty: Optimal Preparation and Treatment Endpoints of cTACE, Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO), Savannah, GA; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Speaker: Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: Adding the Local Approach Session: Understanding the Difficult TME of LAPC, Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO), Savannah, GA; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Moderator & Speaker: TME and Intratumoural Therapy Session: Understanding the Tumor Microenvironment, Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO), Savannah, GA; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Speaker and panelist: Ensuring ablation success in liver tumors, Spectrum 2026, Miami, FL; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh M.D.: Speaker and panelist: Leadership and Women in IR, Spectrum 2026, Miami, FL; USA

Posters

• Farshid Dayyani, M.D., PhD.; Jennifer Valerin, M.D., PhD.; Christina Boyd, M.D.; Dayantha Fernando, M.D.; Kristen Neumann, R.N., MsC; David K. Imagawa, M.D., PhD.; Zeljla Jutric, M.D.; Reed I Ayabe, M.D., PhD.; Adam M. Bourgoyne, M.D., PhD.; Thomas H. Taylor, PhD.; Jasmine Balangue, M.S.; Fa-Chyi Lee, M.D.; May T. Cho, M.D.; April Choi, M.D.; Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Phase 2 Study of cabozantinib (Cabo) combined with ipilimumab (Ipi) / nivolumab (Nivo) and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with liver limited unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC); American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, 2026, San Franscico, CA; USA
• Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Jennifer Valerin, M.D., PhD.; Dayantha Fernando, M.D.; Fa-Chyi Lee, M.D.; April Choi, M.D.; David K. Imagawa, M.D., PhD.; Justin Glavis-Bloom, M.D.; Maha Jarmakani, M.D.; Kun-Ming Chan, M.D.; Kuei-An Chen, M.D.; Ying-Chieh Lai, M.D.; Chia-Yu Yang, M.D.; Ian Yi-Feng Chang, M.D.; Chih-Yuan Chung, M.D.; Chang-Hsien Liu, M.D.; Farshid Dayyani, M.D., PhD.; A phase 2, open-label single-arm, multi-center study of Trans-Arterial Tirapazamine Embolization (TATE) combined with nivolumab (nivo) in patients with advanced immunotherapy-refractory hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, 2026, San Franscico, CA; USA
• Chia-Yu Yang, PhD.; Ian Yi-Feng Chang, M.D.; Mahmoud Singer, PhD.; Farshid Dayyani, M.D., PhD.; David K. Imagawa, M.D., PhD.; Dayantha Fernando, M.D.; Kun-Ming Chan, M.D.; Kuei-An Chen, M.D.; Ying-Chieh Lai, M.D.; Chih-Yuan Chung, M.D.; Chang-Hsien Liu, M.D.; Wei-Zhou Chang, M.D.; Teng-Wei Chen, M.D.; Zhen-liang Tsai, M.D.; Cheng-Lung Ku, M.D.; Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Tumor necrosis-induced expansion of anti-tumor T cells enhanced the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and salvaged patients with immunotherapy-refractory cancer, 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2025, Harbor National, DC; USA
• Ricardo Azevedo, M.D.; Jason Zell, M.D., PhD.; Farshid Dayyani, M.D., PhD.; Jennifer Valerin, M.D., PhD.; Fa-Chyi Lee, M.D.; Dayantha Fernando, M.D.; David Imagawa, M.D., PhD.; Chih-Yuan Chung, M.D.; Chang-Hsien Liu, M.D.; Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, M.D.; Phase 2 single-arm study of Trans-Arterial Tirapazamine Embolization (TATE) plus Pembrolizumab for liver metastatic Colorectal Cancer who have progressed on at least two lines of chemotherapy, 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2025, Harbor National, DC; USA