Elizabeth Rula, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute where she oversees a large, diverse portfolio of research that informs health policy and radiology practice. The Institute’s mission is to publish impactful research to promote the effective and efficient use of health care resources to improve patient care. The Neiman Institute is affiliated with the American College of Radiology, where Dr. Rula serves as Vice President of health services and policy research. With over 15 years of experience leading health services & outcomes research, Dr. Rula strives to establish a strong scientific foundation for the value of health care services & health policy that promotes broad & equitable access to high-value care. Read More

Dr. Christensen is the Research Director for the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute (HPI). Additionally, he is a private consultant and has over 25 years of experience as a health economist. Previously, he was an Adjunct Professor of Health Services Management at the University of Minnesota, led an interdisciplinary research team at the Center for Naval Analyses conducting research for various government agencies, and served as the health economist for Children’s Minnesota hospital system. Dr. Christensen’s recent research has focused on radiology workforce issues (such as shortages, attrition from the workforce, practice turnover, and subspecialization) and repeat imaging rates for non-physician practitioners compared with radiologists. Read More

YoonKyung Chung, Ph.D., is a Principal Research Scientist at the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute.  Her main role in the HPI team is to lead and conduct research using large datasets to understand the value and role of radiology in evolving health care delivery and payment systems. With a background in economics, she has extensive experience exploring questions using quantitative methods: finding clear and accurate ways to understand and communicate how patient outcomes respond to how providers are delivering care in complex policy environments. Read More

Alexandra Drake, MPH, joined the ACR-NHPI team in May 2023 as a Senior Health Services Data Analyst. She brings with her over 5 years of experience in population health analytics and visualization development. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology from SUNY Fredonia, Alexandra worked as a Basic EMT and nurse assistant in rural WNY for 1 year before attending the University of Buffalo for her master’s in public health. Read More

Nichole Gonzalez serves as the Neiman Institute's Business & Media Manager. Nichole fills two primary roles on the Neiman Institute team: first to manage the business activities and finances of the team. Second, to manage the marketing for the team, which includes media relations and promotional efforts for the Institute. Read More

Chi-Mei Liu, Ph.D., serves as a senior biostatistician for the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, utilizing her strong analytical skill set. With broad training in various social science research methodologies, she approaches data analysis for radiology health policy research aligned with the goals of the Neiman Health Policy Institute. Chi-Mei excels at adapting different coding languages to handle data and collaborates with others to address diverse research questions. She is skilled at systematically sourcing research resources to drive results. Read More

Casey Pelzl, MPH, joined HPI as a Biostatistician in April 2021, and has since become the team’s Principal Economics and Health Services Analyst. She brings nearly a decade of experience in outcomes research, during which time she worked closely with trauma surgeons from across the nation to improve the treatment and care of injured patients. Since joining HPI, Casey has developed a passion for identifying radiological inequity and accessibility issues in the pediatric Medicaid population. Casey began her doctorate program through Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in the fall of 2024 and is a candidate to graduate with her DrPH in May 2027. Read More

Mikki D. Waid, Ph.D., is an economist by training, her research currently focuses on utilizing Medicare and other health data to analyze a wide variety of topics related to radiology and health, in general. Mikki enjoys using her extensive research experience to write sophisticated econometric programs in order to answer complex questions. Read More

Joshua Hirsch, MD, is director of Interventional Neuroradiology, chief of the Interventional Spine Service, vice chair of Interventional Radiology Quality & Safety and associate Departmental Quality Chair at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has extensive experience in diagnosis, management and treatment of cerebrovascular disease, minimally invasive spine surgery and acute stroke treatment.

Dr. Pina C. Sanelli is a Professor of Radiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and Professor in Health System Science at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Dr. Sanelli serves as the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Radiology and Director of the Imaging Clinical Effectiveness and Outcomes Research (iCEOR) program at Northwell Health. Dr. Sanelli’s research interests are focused in clinical effectiveness and outcomes-based research in the context of health policy. Dr. Sanelli is a national leader and advocate for promoting clinical effectiveness and outcomes research focused on demonstrating the value of imaging in healthcare.

Dr. Christopher Comstock is a radiologist and director of Breast Imaging Postgraduate Training & Education at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He earned his medical degree from Tulane in 1990 and finished his residency in radiology in 1995 at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans. Following his residency, he completed a fellowship in Breast Imaging at the University of Chicago. Dr. Comstock then worked as an Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Chicago and later at Northwestern University Hospital’s Lynn Sage Breast Center. For 2 years, he was the medical director of the West Suburban Hospital’s Center for Breast Care in River Forest Illinois, and later worked at Memorial Care’s breast centers in Long Beach and Orange Coast California. Dr. Comstock is co-author of “Abbreviated Breast MRI: A Practical Guide” published in 2018, co-author of a textbook on breast cancer imaging, has written several book chapters, has been involved in numerous breast imaging publications, and has given over 400 invited lectures.

Dr. Gregory N. Nicola, MD, is a practicing radiologist subspecialized in neuroradiology. He currently serves as an executive leader of the Hackensack Radiology Group in Hackensack, New Jersey, as well as board member and finance chair for the Hackensack Meridian Health Partners Clinically Integrated Network. Dr. Nicola is a leader in the radiology community specifically in regards to health policy and economics issues, and currently serves as chair of the ACR Commission on Economics. He is the past ASNR advisor to the AMA RUC and a past two-time participant of the CMS/Acumen Resource Use Measure Committee. Aside from his leadership roles, he has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles pertaining to health policy and economics, as well as serves a frequent speaker at national medical conferences.

Alan H. Matsumoto, M.D. FSIR, FACR, FAHA, is a professor of radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Virginia. He has pioneered many novel and innovative, minimally invasive, image-guided procedures during his 20 years at the University of Virginia, many of which have become incorporated into practice at many nationally recognized medical facilities. He has published more than 180 articles and book chapters and has trained more than 100 residents and fellows. His patient-oriented, multidisciplinary collaboration with other medical specialists has led to optimization of care in patients with complex diseases.

Robert M. Barr, MD, is a neuroradiologist, past president of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), and chair of the Novant Health Board of Trustees. He is past president of Mecklenburg Radiology Associates, former ASNR advisor to the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee, and former chair of the ASNR Health Policy Committee. He currently serves as president-elect of the American Board of Radiology.

Dr. Richard Barth is Professor of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine and serves as Radiologist-in-Chief, Emeritus the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. Dr. Barth is a pediatric radiologist with specialty expertise in fetal imaging, pediatric ultrasound and body imaging. Dr Barth started the fetal MRI program at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and currently serves as Medical Director. He is also Medical Director for Pediatric Imaging at California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco. Dr. Barth’s clinical and research interests include pediatric quality and safety initiatives, public advocacy to improve pediatric health, development of new fetal MRI applications, and pediatric applications of ultrasound contrast agents and elastography. He is past president and board chair of the Society for Pediatric Radiology. Dr Barth serves on the ACR Board of Chancellors as Chair of the Pediatric Radiology Commission.

Dr. Pandharipande is Professor and Chair of Radiology at Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center. She is a graduate of Cornell University, Cornell University Medical College, and the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her residency in diagnostic radiology at NYU, and an NCI-sponsored fellowship in cancer outcomes research and abdominal imaging at MGH. Dr. Pandharipande's research is centered in imaging, decision science, disease modeling, and cost-effectiveness analysis, with a primary focus in cancer outcomes. Dr. Pandharipande is also clinically active within the Abdominal Imaging Division at MGH, where she interprets imaging studies and trains residents and fellows.

Etta Pisano, MD, is the Chief Research Officer at the American College of Radiology. Dr. Pisano is a professor in residence at Harvard Medical School and is the principal investigator for the Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST) involving 165,000 women. The study aims to compare 2D digital mammography to digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and determine if DBT is more effective at reducing advanced breast cancers.

Laura Findeiss, MD, MHA is an interventional radiologist and is the director of the Division of Policy and Evidence Review in the Coverage and Analysis group at CMS. She brings extensive experience as a physician practice and hospital operations leader in a variety of settings and geographic regions including roles of division chief, fellowship program director, and department chair. With experience in academic, private practice, rural regional health system, and urban public safety net environments, she has focused on building interprofessional and multispecialty teams for aligned systems improvement through performance excellence, utilization optimization, and personalized care. She has served as a member of the Board of Examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Award, and was a 2022-2023 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, working in the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is a past President of the Society of Interventional Radiology and has served in leadership roles in the American College of Radiology, American Heart Association, and Society of Vascular Medicine. Her interests include provider alignment, operational excellence, value-based models, and rural healthcare.

Ryan K. Lee, MD, MBA, MRMD is Professor of Radiology at the Sidney Kimmel College at Thomas Jefferson University. He is the Chair of Radiology in the Einstein Healthcare Network. His areas of expertise include radiation management in imaging, radiology clinical decision support, and MRI Safety. He is known for his work not only in CT radiation dose reduction, but also in the reduction of variance in radiation dose. An authority on quality in radiology, he serves on several quality and safety committees in the Einstein Healthcare Network. Dr. Lee has expertise in hospital and physician reimbursement, and as Chair of the MACRA committee at Einstein is responsible for developing strategies in the MIPS and APM environment. He has extensive experience in the implementation of radiology clinical decision support, and has given numerous lectures regarding its benefits. He is a member of ACR Appropriateness Criteria Neurological Imaging Subcommittee, ACR MACRA committee, ACR Economics Subcommittee on Neuroradiology, and ACR GSER Quality and Safety Committee. He serves on the board for the Pennsylvania Radiological Society and the Philadelphia Roentgen Ray Society.