Heather Cole, MD, joined VUMC Radiology faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2024. She specializes in Nuclear Medicine and Image Guided Procedures. 

Currently, Dr. Cole serves as the Associate Program Director for the Nuclear Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs and the Nuclear Medicine Education Director for the Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program. She is the Director of the FCC Radiology elective course through Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Dr. Cole received her undergraduate degree from Colorado Sate University and went to medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She completed her residency here at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. During her residency, Dr. Cole was conference chief (2023-2024), received the "Radiology Resident of the Year" award (2023-2024), as well as the "Radiology Resident Teacher of the Year" award (2022). As a trainee, she helped start an ultrasound clinic within Shade Tree Clinic.

Katie Cassella, DO, MS, joined VUMC Radiology faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2024. She specializes in Pediatric Imaging and Emergency Imaging.

Dr. Cassella received her undergraduated degree from Mississippi State University and earned a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University. She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Next, Dr. Cassella completed her radiology residency program at Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital (formerly Beaumont) in Michigan. She then traveled to Nashville to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Radiology here at Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children's Hospital.

Dr. Cassella currently serves as the Emergency Radiology section's Education Director and Curriculum Committee Representative.

Michael Pridmore, PhD, is a Nashville native. He joined VUMC Radiology as an Assistant Professor in 2024 after enjoying a stint at our very own Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS), where he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focusing on clinical applications of sodium MRI in patients with lymphatic disease. 

Dr. Pridmore received his doctoral degree in Chemical and Physical Biology in the Imaging Science Track in June 2020 at Vanderbilt University. His dissertation is titled, "Multiparametric MRI of Neurodegeneration in the Peripheral Nervous System." 

While pursuing his PhD, Dr. Pridmore had the opportunity to translate existing brain MRI scan protocols to the peripheral nervous system to look at disease pathology such as nerve injury, repair, and neurodegeneration. Dr. Pridmore also holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. 

Section: Radiological Sciences

Fatemeh Adelnia, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS). She earned her Ph.D. in Physics with a focus on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at the University of Milan. Dr. Adelnia completed her postdoctoral training in VUIIS under the mentorship of John Gore, Ph.D. She was awarded a four-year K25 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and an Alzheimer's Disease Administrative Supplements grant and was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 2022. 

Dr. Adelnia's research interest focuses on developing and validating novel noninvasive in vivo MRI and MRS biomarkers and their application in clinical studies to quantify the progression of diseases and characterize their underlying pathophysiology. Her current projects are i) Development and application of R1ρ dispersion imaging and 31P MR spectroscopy to quantify degenerative changes in skeletal muscle with aging. ii) Identify and validate the biological correlates of extracted R1ρ dispersion MR biomarkers in AD and normal aging brains, using animal models.