member
Valentina Marulanda Corzo is a Clinical Research Fellow in Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics at Weill Cornell Medicine. She received her medical degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, and has an outstanding academic background, including research experience in urology and general surgery.
Prior to joining the team at Weill Cornell, Valentina collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to streamline processes and deliver better patient outcomes. At the Anticoagulation Clinic at Hospital Universitario San Ignacio where she conducted patient consultations and led critical data collection and audits improving operational efficiency. Valentina also gained valuable experience through clinical rotations in internal medicine and pediatric anesthesiology at the University of Florida Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Valentina is deeply committed to advancing healthcare in underserved communities. She has volunteered with organizations focused on expanding access to healthcare and education, and she has mentored students in leadership development. These experiences reflect her passion for impactful, community-centered healthcare initiatives.
With a focus on enhancing patient care through research and innovation, Valentina aspires to further her career in diagnostic radiology. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Valentina brings a global perspective to the team.
Dr. T. Kemi Babagbemi is a board certified radiologist specializing in Women’s Imaging. Dr. Babagbemi has been full time faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine since 2006. She is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Attending Radiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Campus. Dr. Babagbemi is also the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Radiology.
Dr. Babagbemi earned her B.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA in 1994 and was awarded her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA in 1998. Dr. Babagbemi was an intern (1998-1999) at The Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA. She then completed her residency training (1999-2003) in Diagnostic Radiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. Babagbemi was elected Chief Radiology Resident in 2001-2002. She remained at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital for additional training in Women’s Imaging and Emergency Radiology. Prior to joining Weill Cornell, Dr. Babagbemi was an attending radiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in both the Ultrasound and Breast Imaging departments.
Dr. Babagbemi’s clinical expertise is in Women’s imaging (mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI and image guided procedures) and ultrasonography (including early obstetrical and gynecological ultrasound).
Dr. Babagbemi is very active and involved in the teaching of radiology residents and medical students. She is the creator and course director for the Diversity Visiting Student Internship in Radiology designed to help increase exposure for those students historically underrepresented in Medicine, and specifically Radiology. She is the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Jeanne and Herbert Siegel award for Excellence in Medical Education at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Currently, Dr. Babagbemi serves as the team captain for the national radiology team #RadsforFood as part of the X( Twitter) based annual Healthcare Workers vs Hunger fundraising competition to raise money for food banks nationwide. The team raised $234,351 and won the 2023 national competition.
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Dr. Lauren Groner, D.O., M.S., is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Radiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, with a specialty in Cardiothoracic Imaging.
Dr. Groner earned her B.S. in Physiology from Michigan State University in 2007 and her D.O. from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013. She completed a one-year internship at Maimonides Medical Center, followed by a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Atlantic Health System/Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, finishing in 2018. She then pursued a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Imaging at Weill Cornell Medicine, completed in 2019. In May 2023, Dr. Groner earned an M.S. in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research from Weill Cornell Medical College.
As an early-stage investigator, Dr. Groner’s research addresses social determinants of health that contribute to cardiopulmonary health disparities, with a focus on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. She is the principal investigator of the IBREATHE study, funded by the Dalio Center for Health Justice, which utilizes implementation science to pilot a multicomponent behavior change intervention aimed at overcoming barriers to equitable, guideline-concordant lung cancer screening in primary care settings.
Dr. Groner is an active member of the Meyer Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control Group and recently joined the Board of Directors of Physicians for a National Health Program—NY Metro Chapter. Additionally, she participates in the CDC Lung Cancer Working Group and the NYS Cancer Consortium’s Lung Cancer Screening Action Team (LCSAT), where she serves on the Legislative and Education subcommittees.
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Olive C. Osborne, M.D. is a board-certified ophthalmologist with over 25 years of experience in private practice. She has served as an attending physician at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Montefiore Medical Center.
Dr. Osborne earned her M.D. from Brown University School of Medicine, followed by an internal medicine internship at Westchester Medical Center. She completed her ophthalmology residency at SUNY Downstate Health Science University and went on to pursue a surgical and medical vitreoretinal fellowship at Southern Illinois University.
As the Community Engagement Manager for Rad Health Equity, Dr. Osborne excels in navigating complex regulatory landscapes, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and leveraging technology to drive innovation. Her track record includes enhancing operational efficiency, improving patient care, and driving revenue growth within complex healthcare systems. Dr. Osborne’s expertise lies in strategic planning, team leadership, and resource allocation, all aimed at achieving excellence in patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Dr. Kritika Subramanian is formerly the chief resident of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics at Weill Cornell Medicine and currently a trainee in Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center.
Aside from residency, she is also involved in a multitude of research projects which help improve patient consent and access to Molecular Imaging resources. While at Weill Cornell she conducted multiple studies evaluating the demographic access to PSMA PET and cardiac PET imaging as well as respective health economic analyses as part of her Masters dissertation in Clinical Investigation.
As a part of the Rad Health Equity team, Dr. Subramanian led the effort to identify the current cost-effective methods for prostate cancer imaging and examined important racial disparities that must be addressed during rollout. The data exemplified what must be done in molecular imaging to capture the greatest impact of the newest technology across demographics.
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Kyla Nixon is a radiopharmaceutical research technician with the division of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics at Weill Cornell Medicine. While completing her undergraduate studies focusing on biological sciences and journalism, Kyla gained experience using social media to recruit African American men for prostate cancer research. As part of the Rad Health Equity team, Kyla aims to address the communication gap in radiology and medicine through her writing skills. Using her background and interest in medical journalism and the RHE online platform, she hopes to amplify patient voices and bring patient advocates into the clinical trials space.
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Dr. Andres Ricaurte-Fajardo has been a part of our team since 2022. He completed his M.D. at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular imaging and therapeutics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He is currently in his residency in clinical neurology.
Dr. Ricaurte Fajardo’s research interests include stroke, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer imaging, and health equity. He is also a strong advocate for high-quality medical education. During his time at Weill Cornell, he served as a problem-based learning facilitator for the Essential Principles of Medicine (EPOM) course, where he instructed first-year medical students in fundamental concepts encompassing science, patient care, and physicianship. He fostered an interactive learning environment that encouraged active participation and collaborative problem-solving among students.
He has authored numerous papers on these topics in world-class journals and has presented at some of the most prestigious neurology, radiology, and oncology conferences worldwide. His strong leadership skills are demonstrated through his coordination and improvement of radiotherapeutic care for cancer patients in clinical trials, as well as his involvement in the Weill Cornell Meyer Cancer Center as a member of the Trainee Advisory Council.
In recognition of his impactful contributions to underserved communities, Dr. Ricaurte Fajardo has received more than six honors in recent years, including the 2023 Pioneer in Diversity Louis Wade Sullivan, M.D. Award at Weill Cornell Medicine. Additionally, he received the Ralph Blumhardt Award from the American College of Nuclear Medicine and the Hill Day Travel Award from Weill Cornell Medicine, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Association of American Cancer Institutes. This prestigious opportunity enabled him to advocate for increased funding for cancer research to the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. Capitol, engaging with congressional teams alongside a select group of cancer experts from leading institutions in the United States.
Currently, he is focused on theranostics, neurodegenerative diseases, and vascular neurology research aimed at reducing healthcare disparities, utilizing his international experience and global perspective to tackle health issues both locally and globally.
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Dr. Sandra Huicochea Castellanos is a radiologist and board-certified nuclear medicine physician specializing in Oncologic Imaging. She is Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Radiologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Campus.
Dr. Huicochea Castellanos completed her residency training in Diagnostic Radiology in Mexico City. After working for five years as a radiologist in Mexico she moved to New York and completed a residency in Nuclear Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a Latina, she has a better understanding of some of the social factors that impact the health among the Hispanic population. Also, as a native Spanish speaker, she is able to overcome the language barrier that many in this demographic population face. Dr. Huicochea Castellanos focuses her research efforts on clinical and radiological research focused around prostate cancer. As part of Rad Health Equity, she hopes to increase the awareness surrounding cancer-related healthcare disparities as a means of addressing health equity.
Reed A. Omary, M.D., M.S. holds the Carol D. and Henry P. Professorship in the Department of Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville, Tennessee. With 25 years of experience as a practicing interventional radiologist, NIH-funded scientist, and educator, Dr. Omary is a recognized leader in his field.
From 2012 to 2023, Dr. Omary served as Vanderbilt’s Chair of Radiology, where he oversaw a team of over 700 faculty, staff, and trainees. During his tenure, he chaired the Board for the Vanderbilt Medical Group, founded the Medical Innovators Development Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and co-led VUMC’s strategic planning initiatives. Nationally, he has held leadership roles as President of the Association of University Radiologists and President-elect of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments.
A passionate public speaker, Dr. Omary advocates for sustainability, equity, and innovation in healthcare. Recently, he stepped down as Chair of Radiology to embark on a one-year sabbatical dedicated to climate change and sustainability. As a visionary and effective communicator, Dr. Omary is committed to motivating the U.S. healthcare sector to decarbonize operations, adopt sustainable practices, and promote planetary health.
Visit Dr. Omary’s Healthcare Sustainability and Green Leap pages on Rad Health Equity.