Wesley Williams, PhD

Program Area: Molecular Imaging Instrumentation and Computations

Mentor: Craig Levin, PhD
SMIS Fellowship: (1/16/2025 - 1/15/2028)

Wesley Allen Williams received his PhD dgree in Nanoengineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2024. His PhD work focused on the developed of novel computational applications (artificial intelligence) towards the identification of heterogeneous microplastics within terrestrial water sources. Wesley joined the Levin lab in 2025 and is currently working on applying reconciliatory techniques via energy-based scatter correction in PET and PET/MR imaging. Wesley is also working on using artificial intelligence, informed by the former work, to help improve image resolution based on experimental data. Wesley is also interested in using AI to predict new radiotracers for theranostic applications towards a variety of diseases.

Nisi Zhang, PhD

Program Area: Therapeutic Applications of Molecular Imaging, including Cancer Immunotherapy and Theranostics

Mentor: Katherine Ferrara, PhD
SMIS Fellowship: (8/1/2024 - 7/31/2027)

Nisi Zhang received her PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering from Peking University in 2022. Her PhD work focused on the development of nanosonosensitizers and conducting sonodynamic therapy in murine cancer models. Nisi joined the Ferrara lab in 2022 and is working on gene transfection using microbubbles and nanoparticles for imaging-guided immunotherapy.

Kimberly Trevino, PhD

Program Area: Chemistry of Molecular Probes

Mentor: Jianghong Rao, PhD
SMIS Fellowship: (3/1/2024 - 2/28/2027)

Kimberly received her PhD in Chemistry at UC Davis under the mentorship of Dr. Angelique Louie. Her graduate work focused on synthesizing a series of spiropyran derivatives that were utilized as sensors for the detection of copper(II), glutathione or as an activatable contrast agent for MRI. At Stanford, she is working under the guidance of Dr. Jianghong Rao, where she is developing an 18F-labeled α-fucosidase-sensitive nanoaggregation PET tracer for senescence imaging.

Abraham Moses, PhD

Program Area: In Vivo Molecular Imaging, Including Cell Tracking

Mentors: Corinne Beinat, PhD and Jianghong Rao, PhD
SMIS Fellowship: (2/1/2024 - 1/31/2027)

Abraham joined the Beinat lab as a postdoc in June 2023 after earning a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Oregon State University under the guidance of Dr. Oleh Taratula and Dr. Olena Taratula. The primary focus of his research was investigating the use of polymeric nanoparticles encapsulating photothermal NIR dyes in diagnosing and treating female reproductive diseases and disorders including endometriosis and ectopic pregnancy. Other areas of focus included the use of lipid nanoparticles for delivery of therapeutic mRNA to increase lean muscle mass and induce appetite in mouse models of cancer cachexia. At Stanford, Abraham is currently working on the development of PET radiotracers that could be used to gauge the effectiveness of novel ferroptosis-based treatments for glioma.

Madeleine Landry, PhD

Program Areas: Therapeutic Applications of Molecular Imaging, including Cancer Immunotherapy and Theranostics

Mentors: Corinne Beinat, PhD and Andrei Iagaru, MD
SMIS Fellowship: (4/1/2023 - 3/31/2026)

Madeleine received her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Oregon State University. Her Ph.D. research focused on development of nanoparticle formulations for drug delivery of x-ray radiosensitizing cancer therapies, including micellar delivery of PARP and PI3K inhibitors and lipid nanoparticle delivery of mRNA. In the Beinat lab at Stanford Madeleine is working on the discovery of peptides for targeted radionuclide therapy using phage display.  

Hieu Thi Minh Nguyen, PhD

Program Areas: In Vivo Molecular Imaging, Including Cell Tracking

Mentors: Guillem Pratx, PhD and Ramasamy Paulmurugan, PhD
SMIS Fellowship: (1/1/2023 - 12/31/2025)

Hieu received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Her Ph.D. research focused on optical-based interventions for early-stage cancer detection and therapy, including work with fiber-based spectroscopy devices for tumor resection guidance and application of ns high-energy laser pulse to induce immunogenic cell death in breast cancer cells. At Stanford, she is currently developing methods for tracking single cells in vivo with PET under the mentorship of Prof. Guillem Pratx.