Virginia Planz, MD, is a graduate of Auburn University and earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health and served as chief resident. After completing a fellowship in Abdominal Imaging and Intervention at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Planz joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2018 as Assistant Professor. In 2019, she was appointed Director of Grand Rounds and later appointed Director of CT/US Procedures in 2020. In April of 2023, Dr. Planz was named as the Section Chief for Body Imaging. She is a member of the American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society and the Society of Abdominal Radiology. On July 1, 2024, Dr. Planz was promoted to Associate Professor. Later that year, she was named a Fellow of the Society of Abdominal Radiology.
 

Section: Abdominal Imaging

Catherine H. Phillips, MD, is an honors graduate of Duke University and earned her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Phillips completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, during which she served as chief resident and earned a medical student teaching award. She then completed her fellowship in Women's Imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

After training, Dr. Phillips joined the staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital and faculty at Harvard Medical School in 2018, where she served as the Medical Director of Ultrasound from 2018-2021 and the Division Chief of Ultrasound, Co-Director of the High-Risk Obstetrical Ultrasound Unit and Radiology Director of the Ultrasound Vascular lab from 2020-2021. In 2019, Dr. Phillips was selected to attend the Brigham Leadership course at Harvard Business School.

She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2021 as an Assistant Professor. Interests include first trimester and abdominal ultrasound, infertility, mentoring and leadership development. On July 1, 2024, Dr. Phillips was promoted to Associate Professor.

Section: Abdominal Imaging

Wellington Pham, Ph.D. is a medicinal chemist with over 20 years of experience developing molecular probes for biomarker imaging. His laboratory is well recognized for synthesizing multimodal probes, including optical, MRI, and PET agents. He served on several steering committees and conference organizers on molecular imaging and molecular probes, a recipient of the Japanese Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Award (2010), and a distinguished investigator of the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research (2019). His current research interests include the discovery of biomarkers and imaging probes, combined with delivery technologies dedicated to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and he has published several publications, including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference abstracts/proceedings, editorials, and patents on these subjects. His research is supported by NIH, DOD, the Veterans Affairs and industry.

Section: Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science

Todd Peterson, PhD, earned his MS and PhD in Physics from Indiana University Bloomington. Following three years as a Postdoctoral Research at the Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging, University of Arizona, he joined the Vanderbilt faculty as Assistant Professor and Director of Nuclear Imaging in the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. From 2010 to 2017, he also served as Faculty Directory for the Office of Honor Scholarships. Dr. Peterson's research interests extend from the development of semiconductor radiation detectors for high-resolution nuclear imaging to preclinical and clinical applications of PET, SPECT, and CT imaging in oncology, pharmacology, and diabetes. Dr. Peterson was promoted to Professor in 2022.

Section: Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science

Krupa Patel-Lippmann, MD, is a graduate of Medical College of Wisconsin and completed a residency at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and a fellowship in Abdominal Imaging at Duke University Medical Center. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2016 as an Instructor in Clinical Radiology and Radiological Sciences and was appointed Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology and Radiological Sciences in 2017. In 2013, she received a Silver Medal at the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) for her educational exhibit entitled: Pain and Bleeding in the Frist Trimester: Ultrasound Evaluation. In 2023, Dr. Patel-Lippmann was promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Radiology and Radiological Sciences. In 2024, she was named a Fellow of the Society of Abdominal Radiology.
 

Section: Abdominal Imaging

Ashish Patel, MD, MS, RMSK earned his masters degree in Medical Science and medical degree from Wayne State University. Recently, he graduated with an MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Haslam College of Business. He completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Beaumont Dearborn Hospital and a fellowship in Musculoskeletal Radiology at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Patel joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2018 as Assistant Professor. He is a member of the Skeletal Society of Radiology, Radiology Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society and the American College of Radiology.

Section: Emergency Radiology

Reed A. Omary, M.D., M.S., is a Professor in the Department of Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville, Tennessee. He has 25 years of experience as a practicing interventional radiologist, NIH-funded scientist, and educator.

Having served as Vanderbilt’s Chair of Radiology from 2012-2023, Dr. Omary oversaw over 700 faculty, staff and trainees. During that time, he was Chair of the Board for the Vanderbilt Medical Group, founded Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Medical Innovators Development Program, and co-led VUMC’s strategic planning efforts. Nationally, he served as President of the Association of University Radiologists and President-elect of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments.

Kristin O’Grady, PhD, is a biomedical engineer, imaging scientist and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). She earned her BS in Engineering Science at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX and her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Dr. O’Grady completed her postdoctoral training in the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS) under the mentorship of Seth Smith, PhD. She was awarded an NRSA F32 postdoctoral fellowship by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2017-2018) to develop chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI methods to study cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2019 as Research Instructor. Dr. O’Grady was promoted to Research Assistant Professor and was awarded a four-year K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in 2020. Her research is focused on developing quantitative MR methodologies for the brain and spinal cord, with the goal of better understanding the effects of biological sex on pathological changes associated with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Section: Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science

Allen Newton, PhD, is a biomedical engineer with a broad background in imaging science and specific expertise in magnetic resonance imaging and image/signal analysis. He earned his MS and PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2016 as Research Assistant Professor pursuing novel imaging strategies for pediatric and functional neuroimaging. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2022.

Dr. Newton runs the pediatric clinical fMRI program for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and advises the clinical community on advanced MRI. His research interests span a wide range of fields including decreasing the need for sedation in pediatric MRI, decreasing radiation exposure in children by facilitating modality shift from CT to MRI, the use of imaging in 3D printing, utilizing ultra-high field MRI in pediatrics, perfusion imaging, functional MRI, image guidance for surgery, and MR histology. In general, Dr. Newton is interested in doing new things never done before, and doing simple things better.

Section: Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science

Brett Murdock, MD, is a graduate of David Lipscomb University and earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology and fellowship in Cardiothoracic Imaging at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Murdock joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2019, and he currently serves as the Cardiothoracic Fellowship Director. In 2025, Dr. Murdock was promoted to Associate Professor.

Section: Cardiothoracic Imaging