Imaging Informatics

The Imaging Informatics Division supports the operations of the Emory Department of Radiology and Imaging Services by ensuring that patient images and clinical information are readily available to physicians. The division also is responsible for implementing, supporting, and enhancing systems that the department utilizes not only in clinical practice, but in research and education as well.

Our imaging informatics team is committed to providing solutions to ensure efficient, safe, and innovative solutions for providers as they diagnose and treat their patients. Our multidisciplinary team includes technologists, administrators, IT professionals, researchers, and physicians. Members of the team are active in their own diverse research and development efforts including quality, patient safety, image processing, machine language processing and patient engagement. We welcome collaboration across Emory Healthcare and with external partners and stakeholders. 

- Nabile Safdar, MD, MPH
Vice Chair for Imaging Informatics

Imaging Informatics Fellowship

The division offers a one-year imaging informatics fellowship for physicians to further develop their skills in imaging informatics. This fellowship, with both clinical and non-clinical components, provides requisite skills and knowledge for the trainee to lead in operations, innovation, quality, and research related to imaging informatics. Fellows participate in an ongoing curriculum covering technical, research, leadership, and management topics. Each fellow engages in year-long academic projects, chooses areas of interest for elective study, and is embedded in operational technology-related projects. Acceptance will be contingent on acceptance to a clinical subspecialty area. Applicants must be ABR Board-certified or eligible, complete a residency program in the US or Canada, and be eligible to obtain an unrestricted Georgia medical license.

Please contact Program Director Dr. Peter Harri for further information

I³T - Integrated Imaging Informatics Track

I³T residents learn skills needed to improve the quality and efficiency of imaging services while supporting clinical, educational, and research efforts through the use of information technology. The I³T trainees serve as the liaisons between our Diagnostic Radiology (DR) and/or Interventional Radiology (IR) Residency programs and the Division of Imaging Informatics. The priority for informatics trainee projects is to improve residency training using innovative information technology solutions while acquiring hands-on experience in the field of imaging informatics.

Please contact Dr. Patricia Balthazar for further information.

Administrator of Clinic Operations

Willie joined Emory in 2001 as an enterprise solutions architect supporting various enterprise IT solutions. He received his bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Florida and went on to obtain a master's degree in business administration from Shorter University. As administrator in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, he is responsible for planning, overseeing, and directing day-to-day operations of Radiology’s physician practice. Willie also is involved with the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine and the National Association of Health Services Executives.

Business Analyst IV

April Carter began her career with Emory Crawford Long Hospital in 1997 as a mammography technologist. After years of working in mammography, she expanded her clinical and technical skills by working on the PACS team and eventually becoming an enterprise solutions architect for Information Technology. In her current role for Imaging Informatics as a Business Analyst IV, she enjoys troubleshooting, problem solving, workflow analysis, project coordination and process improvement working with the Department of Radiology and Imaging Services. April takes pride in supporting and developing solutions that positively impact patient care.

Peter Harri, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Harri is the clinical lead for imaging informatics at Emory University Hospital, an assistant professor of radiology in the Abdominal Imaging Division, and has been part of Emory since 2002. His interests include the operationalization of technology in healthcare and the integration of radiology informatics within the entire healthcare enterprise. Dr. Harri also is an active member of Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine and the faculty lead for the Integrated Imaging Informatics Track and Imaging Informatics Fellowship.

Sr. Project Coordinator

During her time at Emory, Mercy has been most excited to be part of the Imaging Informatics team. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University with a master’s degree in Health Informatics and holds a certificate for National Imaging Informatics Course Completion (NIICC). Mercy believes that technology can be leveraged to improve the efficiency, accuracy, usability, and reliability of medical imaging services within the healthcare enterprise.

Donna Thompson

Clinical Informatics Specialist

As informatics education coordinator, Donna Thompson works with our IT and clinical teams to streamline our training initiatives and improve clinical workflow. In previous roles, Donna was a front desk supervisor at Executive Park. She then moved to Emory University Orthopedics and Spine Hospital in an administrative role supporting technical operations. Donna received her bachelor’s degree from American Intercontinental University in healthcare management and received her Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Emory.

Carlo De Cecco, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Dr. De Cecco is an Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Informatics at Emory University. He is board certified from the American College of Radiology and the American College of Nuclear Medicine. He is an internationally recognized expert in cardiac imaging, and his main research focus is the development and application of multimodality cardiac imaging in clinical practice, and the implementation of artificial intelligence in cardiothoracic imaging. He has authored more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, eleven book chapters, and two books. He is associate editor for the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, and he serves as the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning section editor for the European Journal for Radiology, he is on the editorial board of Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, Investigative Radiology and Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography. He actually serves as Chair of the Cardiac Radiology Use Case Panel at the Data Science Institute (DSI) - American College of Radiology (ACR). He is a member of numerous scientific societies, and he is a fellow of the Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography (SCCT), North American Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (NASCI), Society for Advanced Body Imaging (SABI) and European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR).

Judy Gichoya, MD, MS

Assistant Professor

Dr. Gichoya works at Grady hospital on Interventional Radiology and in informatics working on translation of informatics tools to the patients at bedside or in clinic. Specifically, she is studying the future of work for the augmented radiology, ethics of AI, workflow and operational informatics. She heads the RSNA Radiology:AI Trainee Editorial Board and is the co-chair for the SIIM Global Outreach Committee

Hari Trivedi, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Trivedi is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Informatics and a founding member of the Emory HITI lab (hitilab.org). His interests include the application of machine learning and data science towards solving problems in radiology, including breast cancer screening, natural language processing for radiology workflow, and prediction and patient outcomes. He also actively involved in progressing AI work within the Radiological Society of North America, Society for Skeletal Radiology, and the American College of Radiology.

Neil Lall, MD

Assistant Professor 

Dr. Lall is the clinical lead for imaging informatics at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and an assistant professor of radiology in the Pediatric Radiology Division and Neuroradiology Division. His research interests include pediatric neuroradiology, healthcare policy/economics, and practical applications of technology in healthcare. Dr. Lall is also actively involved in the American Society of Neuroradiology its Computer Science and Informatics committee, a member of the Data Sciences Institute Pediatric Panel of the American College of Radiology, and has served in multiple leadership positions in both organizations.

Patricia Balthazar, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Patricia Balthazar is an Assistant Professor of Radiology, in the Divisions of Abdominal Imaging and Imaging Informatics at Emory University. After a postdoctoral research fellowship in Imaging Informatics at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Dr. Balthazar completed a Diagnostic Radiology Residency at Emory University and an Abdominal Imaging fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. As a resident, Dr. Balthazar created the Integrated Imaging Informatics Track (I3T) for Emory University residents. She has published more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and earned multiple grants and awards in the fields of Imaging Informatics and Health Services Research.

Elizabeth Krupinski, PhD

Vice-Chair for Research

Elizabeth Krupinski, PhD, is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. Prior to joining Emory, Dr. Krupinski was a Professor at the University of Arizona in the Departments of Radiology, Psychology and Public Health, and was Vice Chair of Research in Radiology. She is past chair of the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference, past president of the American Telemedicine Association, and past chair of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine