Chris Hemond, MD, is a board-certified, practicing neurologist with clinical subspecialty training in neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis. His research expertise is in the use of structural MRI to develop and translate new imaging biomarkers into use as pragmatic tools for both patient care and clinical trials. The development of these new imaging markers is based upon the parallel investigation of MS biology and disease mechanisms — ultimately parsing apart complex, interlinked inflammatory and degenerative processes.
Dr. Hemond's belief is that many neurodegenerative diseases are highly influenced by the immune system, and that there may be a common set of features that could be targeted for treatment. As a safe and non-invasive tool, MRI is a powerful ally to investigate and identify early markers of diagnosis and prognosis — markers which can then be explored at a biological level. This process aims to find new treatment targets that will improve or even shut down smoldering disease targets.
Dr. Hemond receives current research funding from the NIH (K23NS126718), the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, and the MS Foundation.
In his free time, he enjoys building furniture from recycled wood, playing guitar and keyboard, searching for the best nachos (a delicious pursuit), hanging out with Waffles, and finding new hiking spots.
Mugdha Deshpande, MS, is an engineer and clinical research coordinator at UMass Chan since 2021. She runs the day-to-day operations of the lab, including subject recruitment, biospecimen collection/processing, regulatory processes and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning.
Mugdha's expertise is in clinical study regulation; she has an advanced certification in clinical research coordination and is the lead in several ongoing trials at the UMass Mutliple Sclerosis (MS) Center. She also works on independent projects in clinical data science.
Mugdha is passionate about contributing to health and wellness through research and community engagement.
Shridhar Singh, BS, is a third-year medical student at UMass Chan. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018 and previously did research at the NEI into the neural substrates of color vision. He brings with him experience with both neuroimaging tools and data science.
Shridhar is working on imaging segmentation of neuro-immune interfaces in the brain, using deep learning tools to extend and accelerate this process to a large multiple sclerosis (MS) dataset.
Outside of lab, Shridhar enjoys piano, digital creation, and ultimate frisbee.
Bianca Trombetta is a medical student and CTRP scholar at UMass, class of 2027. She graduated from Harvard University in 2015 and has prior experience with biomarker design in Alzheimer’s.
Bianca is interested in the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and links with neuroinflammation. She works in Jean Pierre Peron’s Lab at UMass with astrocyte cultures and collaborates with the Hemond and Ionete labs to develop and clinically translate blood markers of oxidative stress in MS.
Outside of lab, Bianca enjoys playing the flute in the Seven Hills Symphony Orchestra, knitting and crochet crafts, board games, and experimenting with cooking recipes.
Nikhil Lele, BS, is a medical student at UMass, class of 2027. He grew up in Sudbury, MA and attended Dartmouth as an undergraduate. He previously worked as a clinical research associate at Yale’s MS center on projects with their biorepository.
Nikhil is currently doing imaging segmentation and analysis of the cervical lymph node drainage system in MS, and how this may change in the context of highly-effective disease modifying therapies.
Outside of lab, Nikhil enjoys playing soccer, basketball, tutoring math, and exploring the greater Worcester area.
Maria Garcia-Dominguez, M.D., M.S. is a fourth-year neurology resident at at UMass.
Maria has a masters in epidemiology, and is applying these skills to assess the interactions between brain atrophy and clinical deterioration in MS.
Outside of work, Maria is keen on hiking, doing sudokus, crossfit and salsa dancing
Avinash Bissoondial, B.S., is a master's candidate at Worcester Polytechnical Institute and working double-duty as a research assistant in the lab.
His experience with Python and informatics is a boon for his work on multiparametric radiomics to deeply phenotype and prognosticate MS outcomes.
Outside of lab, Avi enjoys running, climbing, hiking and reading.
Faheem is a medical student at UMass who is currently working on structural analysis of the cervicomedullary junction in MS, and how these changes may influence MS symptom presentation and lesion distribution. He grew up in San Jose, CA and attended Northeastern University as an Undergraduate. He previously worked at Harvard Medical School's Department of Neurobiology studying Blood-Brain-Barrier mechanisms in mice.
Outside of the lab, Faheem enjoys cooking, snowboarding and spending time with his cat.
(Cat Tax)