Team
Whether working together as a team or partnering with some of the world’s leading researchers, we are dedicated to the idea that innovations don’t happen in a vacuum. We welcome any new ideas and approaches that will push MRI to its limits and move healthcare to the next leap forward. Meet the team making it happen.

E. Mark Haacke, PhD
Founder & Chief Science Officer
Dr. Haacke has spent decades researching and developing advanced MRI technology including the invention of MR angiography (MRA) and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). He has won 18 patents, published over 300 papers, and earned over 300,000 research references. Dr. Haacke has served as president of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and president of the International Society for NeuroVascular Disease.

Karen Holzberger
President & Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Holzberger is a 20 year seasoned leader in Enterprise Imaging and Radiology. Prior to being appointed as the President and CEO in January 2022 she was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Imaging at Nuance Healthcare (soon to be acquired by Microsoft) leading go to market, product development and product strategy for the $190M Business Unit. Key launches included AI workflow solutions for Radiologist documentation, communication and follow up solutions. She holds an Engineering degree from Steven’s Institute of Technology and many business and leadership certificates from Harvard University’s Business School and the Stern School of Business.

Ward Detwiler, MBA
Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer
Ward Detwiler is experienced in entrepreneurial leadership and the commercialization of advanced and healthcare technology from concept to market. Before joining SpinTech, Ward consulted and led commercialization strategies for Genus Technologies, Sextant Innovations and Henry Ford Health System Innovations. Ward earned his MBA from the University of Michigan – Ross School of Business and his bachelor’s in economics from Northwestern.

John Ciliberto
Senior Clinical Sales Executive
John Ciliberto is an accomplished sales executive with over 20+ years of experience in the radiology space. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Youngstown State University. Working in both a national and international capacity, John’s experiences have included all facets of radiology, from service to software. He is passionate about developing and maintaining strong relationships centered on trust with each of his customers.

Rana El Hachem
Operations & Regulatory Manager
The majority of Rana’s work at SpinTech relates to quality assurance and control, purchasing and inventory control, document control, HR, accounting and managing daily business operations. She earned her BBA in Hospitality Management from Notre Dame University in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon. She is currently a candidate at Davenport University, working towards her MBA in Healthcare Management.

Paul Kokeny, PhD
Director of Software Development
With his background in research and process engineering, Paul focuses his efforts on product development, algorithm development, project management, R&D, and software engineering. He earned his B.S. Electrical Engineering from Western Michigan University, as well as his Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering and Imaging from Wayne State University.

David Utriainen
Validation Engineer
David leads the design of SpinTech’s testing strategies, works with the rest of our team to determine passing criteria, and organizes the clinical trials for products and devices. He earned his B.A.&Sc. in Anthropology and Biological Sciences from Wayne State University. David is driven to advance neuroimaging and quantitative mapping, allowing medical professionals to better understand disease etiologies and branch therapeutic efficacy.

Sean Sethi, MS
Research Engineer
Sean is in his final year of study towards a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State University. His PhD focus in medical imaging builds on his expertise in susceptibility weighted imaging methods and pathology related to abnormal brain iron. Sean has published in the MRI field and has presented work to the International Society for Neurovascular Disease (ISNVD), where he currently serves as a Junior Board Member. For over 10 years, he has trained research collaborators in MR processing and analysis methods, both domestically and abroad. Most recently, he monitored the successful study to facilitate FDA approval of STAGE, a 5-minute MRI protocol.

Kiarash Ghassaban, PhD
Product Manager
At SpinTech, Kiarash is heavily involved with product development, R&D, MRI data management, and product management. He also helps to run our product verification, validation and testing. He’s earned several degrees, including a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology, plus an MS in Biomedical Engineering and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University.

Miller Fawaz, MS
Product Manager
At SpinTech, Miller is responsible for leading our CMB automatic detection team, alongside other smaller data processing and white paper-producing projects. He earned his MS in Biomedical Engineering and BS in Biomedical Physics from Wayne State University. Miller comes from a background studying Resting State fMRI, Stroke Bleeding Volume, TBI Quantification, Solid State Physics, Biocompatibility, and Human Development.

Sara Gharabaghi, PhD
Research Engineer
Sara earned her MS and PhD in Computer Science from Wright State University, as well as her BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the Sahand University of Technology. Before joining as a research engineer at SpinTech, Sara interned at the MRI Institute for Biomedical Research. She focused on image reconstruction related to limited data, like that collected through STAGE, while learning more about MRI and SWIM.

Emil Pacurar, MS
IT & Hardware Manager
Emil develops and maintains our IT infrastructure and process implementation to drive business software applications that align with critical business requirements. He earned his Bachelor’s in Computer Science Engineering from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, as well as an MS in Computer Science from Wayne State University. Emil is proficient with a wide range of programming languages including PHP, CSS, JavaScript, PowerShell, XML and more.

Ying Wang, MS
Research Engineer
Ying has over 15 years of experience in medical imaging algorithm and software development, specializing in Image Registration, Segmentation and Quantitative Analysis. She previously led a team in developing a mammography CAD product at Neusoft Medical Inc. Ying earned her BS in Automatic Control from Northeastern University, as well as an MS in Automatic Control from Shenyang University and an MS in Computer Science from Wayne State University.

Qiuyun Xu, PhD
Research Engineer
Qiuyun is currently involved in various STAGE software development projects while also conducting research around the detection of cerebral microbleeds in patients with traumatic brain injury, stroke, and dementia using susceptibility-weighted MR imaging. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, as well as an M.S. & Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University, where her research focus was on optical and ultrasound imaging.

Mojtaba Jokar, PhD
Software Engineer
Mojtaba, or Moji for short, earned his PhD in Chemical engineering from Wayne State University, focusing on computational biology. He also earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology. Moji spent his time before joining SpinTech developing computational models to create more efficient and practical solutions for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases.

Kyle Brunsman, MS|MBA
Market Development
Prior to SpinTech MRI, Kyle was a key engineer in commercialization efforts for NeuMoDx Molecular, an in-vitro diagnostic startup that was instrumental in providing international COVID-19 testing relief. Upon completion of his MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Kyle joined SpinTech MRI full-time to assist in market research and business development efforts. Kyle has also earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan State University and Wayne State University, respectively.
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