https://www.thedecodelab.com/home daily 1.0 2023-05-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/573a04372fe131630fd25157/1469729752911-UFETSG39XPIFRSHOM0XH/hero_pattern.png data ~ insight ~ knowledge ~ Action https://www.thedecodelab.com/team daily 0.75 2025-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/f8293199-e1ef-4c76-ac03-5b5112572db3/IMG_7936.jpg Team - Zixuan Feng Zixuan is a Ph.D. student in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State. Zixuan’s primary research advisor is Dr. Qiushi Chen. His research interest includes mathematical and statistical modeling and data analytics techniques in the field of public health. Zixuan has worked with different types of healthcare data. He is co-mentored by Dr. Abedi and Dr. Zand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/6a44ad35-890b-4033-b967-771e675ea0e6/profile_picture.jpg Team - Saiqua Islam, MS Saiqua is a Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Memphis. Her research focuses on developing and optimizing machine learning models for predictive analysis. Saiqua is supervised by Dr. Yeasin and co-mentored by Dr. Abedi, Vafaei Sadr, and Dr. Zand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1595554460413-3UWDA5QCEOO3QMJQYQ29/Bany.jpg Team - Mohammed Bany Muhammad, PhD Dr. Muhammad is a graduate (2020) from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Memphis. Bany’s research focuses on interpretable and optimized machine learning technology designed for clinical applications. Co-mentored by Dr. Abedi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1555636553305-6VHL4BRGY5G607WBJOVO/20140505_164747.jpg Team - Ramin Zand, MD, MPH Dr. Zand, our clinical director, is board-certified in Vascular Neurology. Dr. Zand is a professional member of American Heart Association, American Academy of Neurology, European Stroke Organizations, and World Stroke Organization. He is actively involved with American Heart Association as the chair of Great River Affiliate Stroke Task Force; and mission chair of American Heart Association Northeast Pennsylvania. His research expertise spans multiple interdisciplinary fields, including imaging markers of acute stroke, machine learning, and genomic medicine. Dr. Zand is a Professor of Vascular Neurology at the College of Medicine at the Pennsylvania State University. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1622574908717-Q5YJBDOJCVZI55TCNT5M/Asma.jpg Team - Asma Poursoroush Asma joined our team in 2019. Her research is focused on the application of AI/ML in the medical field. Asma defended her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from a joint program between the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). Dr. Abedi was Asma’s research mentor. Asma has since joined the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1585857327074-QFATWCPEZTE6PBTVQUPQ/Venky.jpg Team - Venkatesh Avula, MS Venkatesh is a Machine Learning scientist working at the interface of predictive modeling and clinical decision system. His recent work with our team has been focused on stroke outcome prediction and its risk factors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/72d9f52c-1831-42e4-9a41-e339606f02cc/Doreswamy%2C+Kruthika.jpg Team - Kruthika Doreswamy, MPH Kruthika Doreswamy is a medical student at Penn State College of Medicine who joined the team in 2025. She has conducted research on paternal factors and spontaneous abortion, worked as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and served as a 2024–2025 Fulbright Scholar in India supporting stroke survivors and their caregivers. Her current research interests include Stroke Care and Health disparities in Rural Settings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1617303579181-EGHUKGMZOX1KEYEF3SSZ/diaz-johan%2B%25282%2529.jpg Team - Johan Diaz Johan is a medical student and has been working with our team since 2020. His research focus has been to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with oral anticoagulant undertreatment of atrial fibrillation among a cohort of rural patients with stroke outcomes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1585856987688-LXMDQB1642RGPM5XZL1P/Sharma_V_med%2Bschool%2Bpic.jpg Team - Vaibhav Sharma Vaibhav is a medical student and has been working with our team since 2018. Vaibhav’s research is centered around stroke, malnutrition and diagnostic accuracy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/8b5153d4-fa7e-4783-b2b1-dcf548374431/Deb.jpg Team - Debdipto (Deb) Misra, MS Deb Misra has a background in Machine Learning and Big Data in the healthcare. He has worked in Natural Language Processing (NLP) on clinical notes since 2016. Currently, Deb works full-time at Geisinger Health System and is a part-time student in the DrPH program at Penn State College of Medicine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586073794196-T2UAADREXFGO0DOYC5ZH/Nuria.png Team - Nuria Tubau-Juni, PhD Dr. Tubau-Juni is a graduate (2019) from Virginia Tech in the Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, with focus on immunology and infectious diseases. Co-mentored by Dr. Abedi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1622573274905-GKQP04WBQY73EVS4O6ZB/Shreya.jpg Team - Shreya Bavishi, MBBS Shreya joined our team in 2020 and her research focuses on the clinical outcomes in stroke and its association with common comorbidities. She is also pursuing her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a focus in Neuroscience at the Tulane University. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/5e7e82b6-7b58-4573-98cc-37a836b8d414/IMG_2991.jpg Team - Sasan Bahrami, MD Dr. Bahrami was a Research Project Manager from 2024 to 2025. Sasan holds an MD, with a specialization in Neurology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586074104553-7ZQT43P7LVUA12RQHM3O/nate.jpg Team - Thomas Nate Person, MS Nate has contributed towards our study on genetics of neurological disorders and rare diseases, leading to important advances in the field of precision medicine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1617311614153-2EIHX5PMI365JU1I279F/thumbnail_anyaehie-michelle.jpg Team - Michelle Anyaehie Michelle was a research extern with the Center of Excellence at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and an active member of our team from 2020 to 2021. Michelle’s research was focused on long-term stroke outcomes in young adults. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586390686821-LV2QRRSKVQ8JYQXJTVZT/FB_IMG_1586377635098.jpg Team - Ayesha Khan, MD Dr. Khan joined the team as a postdoctoral fellow and laboratory manager. Dr. Khan’s expertise is in neurological diseases, including stroke, as well as rare genetic disorders of the nervous system. Dr. Khan joined Geisinger’s residency program in 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/137db338-0e34-4bad-8fd3-7861c7b538e0/fsadjadpour.jpg Team - Fatima Sadjadpour Fatima is a PhD candidate in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research focus is on applications of AI and system dynamics to improve healthcare. Fatima’s primary research advisor is Dr. Hosseinichimeh; she is also co-mentored by Dr. Abedi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1555636659523-N5CYW7NO4S4TB0IGKHUE/2017-12-23_18-12-26_094.jpg Team - Vida Abedi, MS, PhD Dr. Abedi, our AI director, leads the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-driven projects for the team. Dr. Abedi, formally trained as an Engineer and Biochemist, with a masters in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, has a broad interdisciplinary background in mathematical framework, Natural Language Processing (NLP), statistical tools, and Techniques with a good understanding of biological and medical sciences. Dr. Abedi is an Associate Professor at the College of Medicine at the Pennsylvania State University. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/3067272a-f450-4b7c-b668-eda606eef120/headshot.jpg Team - Ajith Vemuri, PhD Ajith Vemuri, PhD Candidate is a Staff Scientist at Penn State College of Medicine. His research is in the design of novel interventions, harnessing wearable technology to promote behavioral change in stroke patients. During his PhD, his research was in the area of Multi-Agent Scheduling/Planning. Specifically, he worked on problems where environments are dynamic requiring scheduling and planning algorithms to adapt on the fly. Applications of his research are primarily in Planetary Rovers and Automated Health Coaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/4cef3c9f-c371-47b0-8666-09e9ca03cbce/Hasiholan+Tiroi+Simorangkir.jpg Team - Hasiholan Tiroi Simorangkir, RN Hasiholan is a graduate student in the DrPH Program at Penn State University. His passion is for the field of health informatics with a focus on stroke care. His long-term goal is to help achieve health equity and eliminate disparities in stroke patients. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1608340966390-GXU9A63MZ4KDB7XP1G9V/ALeberv2.jpg Team - Andrew J. Leber, PhD Dr. Leber is a graduate (2017) from Virginia Tech in the Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, with focus on immunology, advanced computational modeling, data analytics, AI, and drug development. Co-mentored by Dr. Abedi. Link to Dissertation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/8654e3ae-e058-42c2-ab43-6853b32d7e9c/EddahMauti.jpg Team - Eddah Mauti Eddah is a graduate student in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on the intersection of, healthcare policy, and the application of AI, with special emphasis on readmission in stroke patients. Eddah is co-mentored by Dr. Hosseinichimeh, Dr. Abedi, and Dr. Zand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586641684101-MRAFE10FPUSQ64I3IW9G/shima_PHOTO-2020-04-10-21-16-19.jpg Team - Shima Shahjouei, MD, MPH Dr. Shahjouei joined our team in 2020 as a postdoctoral fellow. However, Dr. Shahjouei has worked under the guidance of Dr. Zand since 2015 on clinical and epidemiological research in Cerebral Artery Occlusion, stroke, and pathogenesis of drug treatment. Dr. Shahjouei joined Penn State University’s residency program in Neurology in 2023, but continues to work with the team on different projects. Dr. Shahjouei has over 80 publications in the field. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586074180995-OFPEWT3G7RPFB1DFSMAO/Manu2.jpg Team - Manu K Shivakumar, MS Manu had a background in computer science and was a highly proficient programmer working with our team at Geisinger. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1603339862324-A93EY0NCWLS8H8V2UDR7/rieder-emily.jpg Team - Emily Rieder Emily is a medical student and has been working with our team since 2020. Emily’s research is centered around stroke, multiple sclerosis and genetics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/b7eddc6e-bfa4-4fef-94a7-e74832d19ea7/NazliprofilePic.png Team - Nazli Radfar, MD Dr. Radfar joined our team in 2025. She is currently working on multiple projects as a project manager and is also actively involved in several research projects. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1585857115505-GJV1MOUZPMQ4THQYO2D6/Sharma_Vishakha.jpg Team - Vishakha Sharma, MS Vishakha joined our team in 2019 and her research focuses on the intersect of stroke, and actionable risk factors, including nutrition, microbiome diversity, and obesity. Vishakha starts medical training in 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1585857455064-0R4XFPQPUKCTTMOH654C/Alireza_S.jpg Team - Alireza Sadighi, MD Dr. Sadighi has contributed to a number of studies, with focus on stroke, stroke mimic, transient ischemic attack (TIA) and diagnostic error (2017-2020). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/e29c84c2-6b33-4fe4-b090-3e5638054a18/IMG-20250730-WA0034.jpg Team - Aabila Tharzeen, PhD Aabila is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Penn State College of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing machine learning frameworks for sparse spatio-temporal data from complex biological systems, with an emphasis on improving the trust and generalizability of AI models. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/6c655d3a-34e4-4491-81ff-679bbad8c946/GHWANG_Headshot.jpg Team - Grace Hwang, MPH Grace, a medical student at the Penn State College of Medicine, joined our team in 2023. Grace will be researching knowledge and attitudes toward the adoption of AI-based tools in healthcare. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1595651593431-9CY11NUXGPBUT6UJ96YJ/clare2020.jpg Team - Clare Lambert Clare is a former professional athlete as well as medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. Clare’s research is centered around stroke disparity. Clare joined Yale University for residency training in 2021 while contributing to the team’s research effort to improve care for stroke patients. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586059378466-9DU1O0VVUM9ELBJLHGHU/durgesh.jpg Team - Durgesh P Chaudhary, MBBS Dr. Chaudhary joined our team in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow. His focus is on Big Data and applied statistics in the field of cerebrovascular medicine. His recent contribution is on analyzing comprehensive Electronic Health Record (EHR) data on more than 50,000 patients. Dr. Chaudhary has joined Penn State University’s residency program in Neurology in 2022 and continues to work with the team on various research projects. Dr. Chaudhary has over 50 publications with the team. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/ac69e691-b84b-4107-84d0-41ff9b2b5f7b/Screenshot+2021-06-13+115602.jpg Team - David (DJ) Schnabel, Jr., MSN, RN, CCRN, CFRN David (DJ) Schnabel is a Ph.D. student pursuing a dual-title degree in Nursing and Clinical & Translational Sciences. Prior to graduate school, he worked for 10 years as a pediatric critical care nurse. His research interests include the impact of altered pubertal timing on future health outcomes. Dr. Abedi is part of the DJ’s mentoring team with Dr. Lorah Dorn. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586073517845-C3L2MKJZB8TEBU57H47K/remco.jpg Team - Remco Hack, MD, MSc Dr. Hack is a PhD Candidate at the Leiden University Medical Center, working on CADASIL. Dr. Hack is co-mentored by Dr. Zand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1617304136263-IB3YEDL46WQE83VNGNV5/EricKoza.jpg Team - Eric Koza Eric is a medical student and has been working with our team since 2020. His research focus has been to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with oral anticoagulant undertreatment of atrial fibrillation among patients with stroke outcomes as well as sex disparity of care. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/01110c00-a846-4eb7-8f0d-540c59090488/Clark%2C+Hayley+.jpg Team - Hayley Clark Hayley is a medical student at Penn State College of Medicine who joined the team in 2025. Her research focuses on the intersection of stroke and mental health, with a particular interest on the influence of sociodemographic factors and social determinants of health. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586072792177-267O9ZBO5EOI0EZ8IY0N/image-asset.png Team - Meghna Verma, MS, PhD Dr. Verma is a graduate (2019) from Virginia Tech in the Translational Biology, Medicine and Health program. Her research focuses on the development of novel computational models to improve our understanding of complex biological systems, with focus on immunology and infectious diseases. Co-mentored by Dr. Abedi. Link to Dissertation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586377255101-XUF20RKXAV4WK291C28Y/thumbnail_Oluwaseyi_Olulana.jpg Team - Oluwaseyi Olulana Oluwaseyi was a research extern with the Center of Excellence at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and an active member of our team from 2019 to 2021. Her research was focused on stroke and disparity. Oluwaseyi started her medical training in 2020. Follow the link to learn more about her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1555637485668-C38HX7QA171E9UVXGU8W/00134075-002.jpg Team - Jiang Li, MD, PhD Joined us from the University of Northwestern, Dr. Li brings to the team a specialized research portfolio that includes an array of expertise, recently more focused on Pharmacogenomics, Drug Discovery and Precision Health. Dr. Li’s seven years of extensive experience from Hartwell Center for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Core facility at St. Jude research hospital in addition to his six years of experience as research faculty at Northwestern University, are a great asset to our team and collaborators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1586074431886-J7Y4VV8VVSQAM0F9KQ7G/nathanChaclas.jpg Team - Nathan Chaclas Nathan joined our team during the summer of 2017 to work on EHR. During this internship Nathan learned some basic R programming and how to work with EHR data. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1555643376031-MUCQ7F6LIIVOJJ02PVXL/IMG_5682.jpg Team - Nariman Noorbakhsh-Sabet, MD Dr. Noorbakhsh-Sabet is a clinical scientist with focus in Cerebral Microbleeds and Stroke. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1616504912338-TO76VETPK2BW5VVNC6I9/Alireza_VafaeiSadr_2021.jpg Team - Alireza Vafaei-Sadr, PhD Dr. Vafaei Sadr, a trained physicist, is an Assistant Professor at Penn State University, College of Medicine. Alireza is working on a number of projects, including AI, big data, medical images and deep learning, imputation, anomaly detection, and outcome prediction modeling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1595545736651-T3UT36PEKJ24KUDZSZGC/Negar.jpg Team - Negar Darabi, MS, PhD Negar Darabi, PhD Candidate https://www.thedecodelab.com/research daily 0.75 2025-10-17 https://www.thedecodelab.com/career daily 0.75 2023-09-08 https://www.thedecodelab.com/in-the-news daily 0.75 2025-07-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/99cb5667-8e30-446c-962f-8057f45e7829/hand-image.jpg In the News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1611075153646-G85Z0JV3W9ZTF0DRWNNW/logo-EDLL.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1596765229436-0AFI458UITH8J0J0ENAH/strokepatient.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1611272013998-YNAT215KPUSYGK84IBC4/woman-patient-woman-nurse.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1621301880224-0M6COU5A7FT1VVIZSAS6/pc0521diaz_graphic_01.jpg In the News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1596835045311-YSOYMIJAEEMLQV78QLRU/WEB_AIER_Lavelle_Art-735x490.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1596744113642-74R1697998SNQUT77WE4/Geisinger-HITN_0_0.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1611199307709-H00QPB60RNJA6KLMM9TQ/geneticriskfactor.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/2986e513-23ab-4cb7-a396-800f0f644c50/PActivity.png In the News Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1596764656987-KV9AMAKZCRLN86ORV0IM/1*hcX7XE0RIvMqP0qhPeQJSg.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1622564799941-TFWNJWO085JSEIOOND3A/strokecovid.png In the News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1598759245936-ZVNK74JUN6Y2JCKZID7G/technology-developer-touch-finger-royalty-free-thumbnail.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/e5b9c2bf-c355-45d4-8b9d-0215c10e58d3/longCovid.png In the News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1599922578172-TD7YCLKN8HR1PWFZHXC8/globe.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/15d49181-f37d-48d6-8030-4ddf418230c2/pa+and+mental+health.png In the News - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1603253577224-3IC2KMEAC55AC24B2GZH/jamaNeuro_medscape.jpg In the News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cb7dcedaadd34067bfd18d6/1596744703225-ZTGMDVB6B95FR33ZJ3PQ/DSC_0618-new4.jpg In the News