Department and Faculty
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Mayo Clinic radiologists and staff in the Department of Radiology provide the highest-quality diagnostic and interventional imaging services in a caring and efficient manner while sustaining outstanding programs in research and education.
The department is fully integrated with all the medical services available throughout Mayo Clinic. More than 80 radiologists and physicists cooperate with staff to provide diagnostic and therapeutic radiology services to patients, including 14 full-time diagnostic neuroradiologists.
Facilities
Mayo Clinic in Florida houses the most state-of-the-art diagnostic systems across all imaging modalities. Our fellows gain experience in cutting-edge applications in head-and-neck imaging and cerebrovascular imaging on the Siemens NAEOTOM Alpha Photon Counting CT, one of the highest volume clinical 7T MRI practices, high-volume functional and connectomic MRI imaging, and more.
The department's equipment includes:
- 14 clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, including ten 3-tesla scanners and a 3T Siemens Vida intra-operative MRI (iMRI) suite
- Clinical 7 Tesla Siemens Terra
- Seven clinical computerized tomography (CT) scanners, including three dual-source scanners and one photon-counting scanner
- 34 ultrasound machines.
- Five interventional suites and two neurointerventional suites
The nuclear radiology practice includes:
- Six nuclear medicine cameras
- Three positron emission computerized tomography (PET/CT) scanners
- One 3T PET/MRI scanner
- On-site cyclotron
From the program director
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the Neuroradiology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Across Mayo Clinic, we take considerable pride in placing the needs of our patient first by providing timely and exceptional quality care to those we serve.
Mayo Clinic specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of complex medical conditions providing you with an exceptional experience and high volume of complex and rare diseases of the brain, spine, and head and neck. Our training program provides an outstanding opportunity for you to master the skills you need for an advanced neuroradiology practice.
Our fellowship experience focuses on excellence in Mayo Clinic’s three shields: patient care, education, and research, and we take great pride in clinical excellence through our collegial environment and multidisciplinary approach to patient care. The strong collaborative nature of Mayo Clinic Florida’s neuroradiology division with colleagues in neurosurgery, neurology, otolaryngology, and radiation oncology, amongst others, fosters a unique and excellent educational environment.
Through these interactions, you will learn the skills necessary to be a well-rounded physician and position yourself as a vital member of the patient care team. Training with Mayo Clinic will be the pinnacle of your radiology education.
Alok Bhatt, M.D.
Program Director
Faculty
In addition to caring for patients in their clinical practices, Mayo Clinic's faculty is committed to teaching and facilitating the growth of medical knowledge. Faculty members have published and lectured extensively and are highly regarded in their fields. Fellows have direct access to these individuals throughout the Neuroradiology Fellowship. Meet some of our faculty:
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Amit Agarwal, M.D.Associate Professor, Radiology
Recently, Dr. Agarwal moved from the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, where he served as the Program Director for Neuroradiology and Advanced Neuroradiology fellowships. He has around 17 years of teaching experience at major academic programs, served as the Associate Residency Program Director, and started the first radiology residency program in the state of Nevada.
Dr. Agarwal is a senior member of ASNR, a committee member at ASFNR and ASHNR, and has served on the Program Committee for the 2022 ASHNR annual meeting. He has a strong interest in head and neck imaging and advanced neuroimaging with over 80 publications, and numerous awards at major national and international societies including RSNA, ASNR, and ECR. Dr. Agarwal was awarded the prestigious Anne Osborn ASNR Visiting Professorship in 2018 by the University of Sao Paulo. He is on numerous national committees including the ABR Question Writing Committee for Neuroradiology.
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Alok Bhatt, M.D.Professor, Radiology; Neuroradiology Program Director
Currently, Dr. Bhatt serves as the Program Director of the Neuroradiology Fellowship program. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in Florida, he served as the Neuroradiology Fellowship Program Director for three years at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where he revamped the curriculum and gained widespread interest in the program from residents.
Dr. Bhatt’s expertise is in head and neck radiology, publishing numerous articles in the field. He is passionate about resident/fellow education as evidenced by the success of his mentees. Dr. Bhatt is a frequently invited speaker on head and neck topics at ASHNR, RSNA, ASNR, and ARRS. He has won multiple coveted awards for dedication to trainee education, as well as excellence in clinical/patient care, one of the more notable is the A3CR2 Outstanding Teacher Award. Dr. Bhatt also served on the ACGME Neuroradiology 2.0 milestones Committee.
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Amit Desai, M.D.Assistant Professor, Radiology; Neuroradiology Associate Program Director
Dr. Desai has passions for medical education, advanced imaging, technology, and enhancing the workplace environment. While in medical school, he developed and distributed condensed knowledge charts to enhance the medical school syllabus. During his residency training at the University of Rochester, Dr. Desai continued his educational pursuits, giving lectures to medical students and residents, building an accessible inventory of teaching cases, and spearheading a QI initiative focused on a novel radiology lecture curriculum for residents consisting of pre-learning activities, interactive case conferences with audience response, and lecture interweaving.
Dr. Desai received fellowship training in diagnostic neuroradiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. His research interests include cinematic rendering, stereoscopic imaging, and augmented reality as diagnostic and teaching tools, brain tumor perfusion imaging, and PET-MR imaging in dementia. Additionally, Dr. Desai continues to pursue new methods to enhance medical education as well as workplace efficiency and happiness.
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Vivek Gupta, M.D.Associate Professor, Radiology
Dr. Gupta graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and completed a diagnostic radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship at Yale University. He has over 22 years of clinical experience in neuroradiology and was the previous Chief of Neuroradiology at Mayo Clinic in Florida. He leads the clinical neuroimaging program at Mayo Clinic in Florida and is an integral member of the Epilepsy, Stroke, Head and Neck, and Brain Tumor multidisciplinary teams.
Dr. Gupta was recently awarded the Mayo Clinic Radiology Clinician of the Year. His research focuses on applications of CT and MR in stroke, epilepsy, vessel-wall imaging; functional and surgical neuroanatomy, and image-guided interventions. He has a passion for education and mentorship and has been recognized as an outstanding radiology educator with citations including “Teacher of the Year” and the “Rad Award.” Dr. Gupta has mentored numerous research students, fellows, residents, and young faculty members. His education methodology uniquely focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to neuroradiology and evidence-based imaging.
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Erik Middlebrooks, M.D.Professor, Associate Chair of Radiology
Dr. Middlebrooks joined Mayo Clinic in 2017 and is a Professor and Associate Chair of Radiology. He is a recognized leader in ultra-high field MRI, functional neuroimaging, and epilepsy with over 170 peer-reviewed publications. He is the head of the 7T MRI program at Mayo Clinic in Florida, which is one of the highest-volume clinical 7T centers in the world. Dr. Middlebrooks is an accomplished educator, having won numerous prestigious teaching awards. He is also the founder and former Program Director of the Neuroradiology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Florida.
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John Murray, Jr., M.D.Assistant Professor, Radiology
Dr. Murray joined Mayo Clinic faculty in 2021 and brings years of experience in one of the highest-volume epilepsy and head and neck practices in the southeast. He has a particular interest in head and neck imaging, having trained with Dr. Tony Mancuso at the University of Florida. He also has substantial expertise in dual-energy CT and its application to head and neck imaging. He is active in protocol development for both CT and MRI. Dr. Murray is interested in quality improvement projects, particularly in collaborating with the Neuro fellow in administering the Neuroradiology Peer Learning program. In addition, he is a frequent presenter at the Mayo Clinic epilepsy multidisciplinary conference. Dr. Murray is a popular teacher amongst the trainees and frequently serves as faculty for the fellow on the head and neck service. |
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Vishal Patel, M.D., Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Radiology
After training at UCLA, Dr. Patel worked in academia as a tenure-track faculty member at the University of Southern California and Medical Director of the Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute before joining Mayo Clinic in 2022. He has published multiple peer-reviewed papers and presented at local and national radiology meetings. He is board-certified in clinical informatics and diagnostic radiology with a subspecialty certificate in neuroradiology. His academic interests include ultra-high field MRI, machine learning, and medical imaging informatics. Dr. Patel is also active in the education of Mayo Clinic’s radiology residents and neuroradiology fellows and has served as a faculty mentor to previous fellows.
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Pat Rhyner, M.D.Professor, Radiology
Dr. Rhyner has over 30 years of experience in clinical neuroradiology, and resident and neuroradiology fellow education. She was the Neuroradiology Fellowship Director for 17 years at Emory University and introduced innovative and contemporary educational tools. In 2017 she received a Teacher of the Year award from the Radiology residents.
Dr. Rhyner’s area of expertise, other than neuroradiology, includes all facets of head and neck Imaging. Her educational emphasis stresses a strong infrastructure of head and neck anatomy, in depth knowledge of diseases of the skull base, sinuses, and upper aerodigestive tract, and the radiologist’s need to understand the surgical and clinical practices to be a valuable part of the Head and Neck and Neurosurgical teams.
Dr. Rhyner is the Past President of the ASNR, ASHNR, and the SENRS. She received the Gold Medal from the ASNR and ASHNR in honor of her years of service to the Society. She has over 140 publications, is a popular Radiology Visiting Professor, and has given hundreds of invited lectures. Dr. Rhyner is passionate about Radiology education, head and neck research, and modeling how to build a radiology practice. |
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Johnny Sandu, M.D.Assistant Professor, Radiology and Division Chief, Neuroradiology
Currently, Dr. Sandhu is the Chief of Neuroradiology at Mayo Clinic in Florida. He joined the faculty at Mayo Clinic in Florida, in the fall of 2018 and was previously the Associate Chair of Clinical Operations for the Department of Radiology and the Chief of Neuroradiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. His areas of interest include imaging of cerebrovascular disease, as well as trauma and critical care. He is researching the feasibility of a new subspecialty within neuroradiology designed to provide real-time neuroradiology consultative services in the intensive care unit.
Dr. Sandhu is one of the Co-Directors of the Mayo Clinic Neuro and Intensive Care Course. He has been recognized for his teaching efforts with the Radiology Faculty Teacher of the Year Award at UF Jacksonville. He is an exam item writer on the ABR Neuroradiology Core Examination Committee. He is active in the Florida Radiological Society serving as a Councilor on the Board of Directors. Dr. Sandhu has been honored with awards for clinical care including the Top Team Effort Award at the UF Cancer Center. In 2018, he was one of the Honored Guests at the Night for Heroes at the UF Health TraumaOne Gala.
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Prasanna Vibhute, M.D.Assistant Professor, Radiology
Dr. Vibhute has over 25 years of experience in neuroradiology and has been part of Mayo Clinic for last 10 years. Although he enjoys all facets of neuroradiology, he is most passionate about clinical applications and innovation. He has been actively involved in the implementation of clinical functional MRI and BOLD cerebrovascular reactivity techniques.
Also, Dr. Vibhute previously served as the chair of MR safety committee for over eight years. His other interests include radiation brain injury, neuro-applications of MR elastography, 3D printing, and contrast agent development. He is an active member of several interdisciplinary collaborations and loves sharing his knowledge of functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.
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Advisers and mentors
You are assigned a dedicated faculty adviser who can provide comprehensive educational advice and personal support. Trainees meet with their advisers periodically throughout the program to review their progress and career goals and ensure that their educational needs are being met. Your adviser also serves as a contact point for introducing you and your family to Jacksonville, Florida, and the Mayo Clinic system.
Visiting professors
Many prominent professors visit Mayo Clinic each year. They present their work during lectures, participate in hospital rounds, and have informal discussions with trainees. You are encouraged to take full advantage of these educational opportunities.