Get to Know Our Research Team
- Principal Investigator
- Management
- Postdoctoral Researchers
- Graduate Students
- Clinical Research Coordinators
- Research Assistants & Work Study Students
- Associated Faculty, Staff, and Collaborators
Principal Investigator
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Read More about Dr. Julio Chirinos, MD, PhD
Dr. Julio Chirinos, MD, PhD
julio.chirinos@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
View Julio's Publications
Julio A. Chirinos, MD, PhD is a Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Clinical Research T32 Training Program in Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, and Adjunct Faculty at the Center for Magnetic Resonance and Optical Imaging at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He is the current President of the North American Artery Society. He is also an adjunct Faculty member at the University of Ghent in Belgium. He is a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, with a sub-specialty in cardiac imaging (echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging). He directs an NIH-funded research program focused on the role of arterial stiffness and pulsatile hemodynamics in cardiovascular disease and mechanisms of human heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). He co-leads a Global Heart Failure biomarker consortium, an industry-academic collaboration investigating proteomics and genomics in heart failure. He is the University of Pennsylvania Principal Investigator and a Steering Committee member of Heart Share, a multicenter research consortium funded by the NHLBI aimed at discerning mechanisms of disease in human HFpEF. Dr. Chirinos has published >250 papers in high-impact journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine Evidence, The Lancet, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Circulation, Hypertension and Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). He has received awards or honorary fellowships from the American Heart Association, the Inter-American Society of Cardiology, the American Society of Hypertension, the European Society of Cardiology and the Korean Society of Cardiology. He has served as associate Editor or Editorial Board member in multiple journals including Circulation Heart Failure, Journal of Clinical Hypertension, Journal of the American College of Cardiology-Cardiovascular Imaging, American Journal of Hypertension, Pulse, Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, and Journal of the American Heart Association. He is the editor of the 2-volume textbook "Arterial Stiffness and Pulsatile Hemodynamics in Health and Disease". He has participated in various clinical expert committees for the American Heart Association, American Society of Echocardiography, European Society of Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension and European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging, and has been a speaker in >150 scientific sessions in national or international meetings.
Management
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Read More about Sue Kun, BA
Sue Kun, BA
Clinical Research Project Manager
seavmeiyin.kun@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Sue is the Chirinos Lab project manager, overseeing the CAPRICORN-19, HeartShare, and OSCAR studies, as well as our outside collaboration and academic work. Prior to her promotion to project manager, Sue worked as a clinical research coordinator on the CAPRICORN-19 study and presented an abstract on interim findings at North American Artery. Her dedication to patient care and commitment to high-quality health services drive her work in the lab and extend beyond it through her volunteer efforts with the American Red Cross. Sue graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Economics.
Postdoctoral Researchers
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Read More about Dr. Hamed Tavolinejad, MDDr. Hamed Tavolinejad, MD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Email Dr. Hamed Tavolinejad, MD
View Hamed's Publications
Dr. Hamed Tavolinejad, MD
Postdoctoral Researcher
hamed.tavolinejad@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
View Hamed's Publications
Hamed is a postdoctoral researcher working on studies of large artery stiffness and pulsatile hemodynamics. His research is focused on the epidemiological aspects of large artery stiffness and implementation of multiomics approaches to study arterial function in health and disease. He holds an MD from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. His career path is driven by his deep passion for cardiology, and his ultimate aspiration is to become a cardiac electrophysiologist. When he is not in the lab, he enjoys immersing himself in Persian literature, classical music, Lord of the Rings lore, and history. A culinary enthusiast, he enjoys practicing the art of cooking!
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Read More about Dr. Heng Wei, PhD
Dr. Heng Wei, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
heng.wei@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
View Heng's Publications
Dr. Heng Wei received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China and earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. He joined Dr. Chirinos’ laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, where he works on cardiac transfer function modeling and waveform analysis. His research focuses on cardiovascular hemodynamics and the development of AI-based tools for waveform and image analysis.
Graduate Students
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Read More about Cameron Beeche, BS
Cameron Beeche, BS
PhD Student
Cameron.Beeche@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu
View Cameron's Publications
Cameron is a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Bioengineering. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from The University of Pittsburgh in 2021. He joined the lab in 2023 after completing two years of research in the Department of Radiology at UPMC. His research interests include the development of multiomic research techniques and their application towards cardiovascular disease.
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Read More about Bianca Pourmussa, BABianca Pourmussa, BA
PhD Student & Clinical Research Coordinator
Email Bianca Pourmussa, BA
View Bianca's Publications
Bianca Pourmussa, BA
PhD Student & Clinical Research Coordinator
bianca.pourmussa@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
View Bianca's Publications
Bianca started with Chirinos Lab as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. Since graduating, she has continued her work as a research coordinator and graduate student, collaborating on various studies, trials, and analyses for the Arterial Stiffness Core Laboratory. Bianca is a student in Biomedical Science at Drexel University and her research interests include the study of the mechanisms that underlie aortic stiffening with age.
Clinical Research Coordinators
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Read More about Isabella Trinacria, BS
Isabella Trinacria, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator (CAPRICORN-19)
isabella.trinacria@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Bella graduated from Drexel in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in organismal biology and physiology. She has 4 years of experience working in clinical research, with 3 of those years specializing in cardiovascular clinical research. Bella has worked on several studies based in cardiology, endocrinology, and radiology. She is currently pursuing a degree in advanced interventional cardiology imaging.
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Read More about Ernesto Gamauf, BA
Ernesto Gamauf, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator (HeartShare and OSCAR)
ernesto.gamauf@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Ernesto coordinates the HeartShare and OSCAR studies and is passionate about emergency medicine and health care policy. Outside of work, he volunteers with Puentes de Salud and enjoys playing guitar, soccer, and reading.
Research Assistants & Work Study Students
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Read More about Rosie GenzolaRosie Genzola
Research Assistant (HeartShare)
Rosie Genzola
Research Assistant (HeartShare)
Rosie is currently in her last year at Drexel, majoring in Biological Sciences, and she plans on pursuing a career in healthcare.
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Read More about Amy HuangAmy Huang
Research Assistant (Core Lab & CAPRICORN-19)
Amy Huang
Research Assistant (Core Lab & CAPRICORN-19)
Amy began working in the Cardiac Imaging Quantification Core Lab in September 2023 as a research assistant for the CAPRICORN-19 study. She is a current student at Drexel University, BS, Health Science and minor in Biological Sciences.
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Read More about James KwakJames Kwak
Research Assistant (CAPRICORN-19)
James Kwak
Research Assistant (CAPRICORN-19)
James Kwak (he/him) is a junior at Rutgers University majoring in Cell Biology/Neuroscience with aspirations of becoming a physician. James serves as a Lead Changemaking Mentor at the Honors College and is the Vice-President for the Youth Empowerment Club, which works to connect college students to New Brunswick K-8 students in the New Brunswick Free Public Library. In his free time, James loves to watch films, listen to classic and alternative rock, read thrillers, and play sports.
Associated Faculty, Staff, and Collaborators
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Dr. Walter Witschey, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology, Associate Vice Chair of Research IT, and Director of the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Lab
Email Dr. Walter Witschey, PhD
CorLab Website
Dr. Walter Witschey, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology, Associate Vice Chair of Research IT, and Director of the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Lab
witschey@mail.med.upenn.edu
CorLab Website
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Read More about Dr. John Eberth, PhD
Dr. John Eberth, PhD
jfe28@drexel.edu
View John Eberth's Profile
John F. Eberth, PhD is an Associate Professor in Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems (BIOMED) with over 20 years of experience in soft-tissue mechanics. His formal training includes BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M, and a Bioengineering postdoctoral fellowship from Rice. Using multi-scale and multi-species approaches combined with theoretical and mathematical modeling, extensive experimental verification, and eventual clinical translation, research in Dr. Eberth’s Integrative Mechanobiology and Biomechanics Lab (IMBL) centers around the behavior of healthy and diseased blood vessels as they grow and remodel in response to mechanical stimuli. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on cardiovascular growth & remodeling, aneurysm mechanics, arterial stiffening, perfusion tissue culture, cardiac development, congenital heart defects, hydrogel mechanics, and tissue-engineered vascular grafts. His work has been supported by grants from the NIH, NSF, and numerous private foundations focused on improving cardiovascular health outcomes.
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Read More about Hannah Maynard, MPH
Hannah Maynard, MPH
hannah.maynard@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Hannah Maynard, MPH, is a Project Manager for the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Reduction Initiative’s Dynamic Adaptation Project at the University of Pennsylvania. She is part of the AI/ML and Data Management Workgroups at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics.
Previously, Hannah oversaw the Arterial Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Core Lab at the Chirinos Lab, where she managed clinical trials, studies, and research related to deep phenotyping, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and arterial stiffness.
