Stanford University
Showing 1-50 of 537 Results
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Yonatan Winetraub
Instructor, Structural Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy interests span non-invasive imaging for early cancer diagnosis and space exploration.
I'm focusing on utilizing Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and machine learning to create virtual histology tools to image cancer non invasively at a single cell resolution, allowing physicians to skip biopsy (read more about the research). Prior to my PhD at Stanford, I co-founded SpaceIL, a non-profit organization that launched the first private interplanetary robotic mission to the Moon launched 2019. -
John Wachtel
Clinical Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology - General
BioDr. Wachtel has been practicing general obstetrics and gynecology for 38 years and has personally delivered over 6,000 babies. He continues to have an active practice in general ob/gyn, serving as a Clinical Professor. He is a nationally recognized expert in patient safety, peer review and data driven quality improvement and has served numerous roles in the field and lectured nationally and internationally. Dr. Wachtel is the Assistant Secretary for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and currently serves on the ACOG National Executive Board and Executive Committee. He is the immediate Past Chair for ACOG District IX (the state of California) and also previously served for three years on the ACOG national Executive Board. He also serves on the Executive Committee for the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative and is an Expert Medical Reviewer for the Medical Board of California.
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Masataka Wada
Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry
BioDr. Masataka (he/him/his) is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a board-certified psychiatrist and holds a PhD in neuroscience.
His clinical and research interests center on psychiatric disorders in treatment-resistant conditions. To address these challenges, Dr. Masataka is engaged in exploring electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and neuromodulation techniques, including repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). He spearheaded a significant Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) that involved 180 patients with treatment-resistant depression, aiming to develop an innovative rTMS-based treatment. His efforts have led to him receiving awards at international conferences on three occasions for his significant contributions.
Dr. Masataka's scholarly work includes publications on the electrophysiological characteristics of psychiatric disorders and the effects of neuromodulation on clinical symptoms and neuroimaging features. Additionally, he has been the recipient of two scholarships and three grants, further highlighting his contributions to the field. -
Lynn C. Waelde, Ph.D.
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioLynn C. Waelde, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at Palo Alto University. Dr. Waelde’s many collaborative publications address the impacts of traumatic events and ways to use mindfulness and meditation to promote resilience and recovery from stress and trauma. She founded and directed the Inner Resources Center which offered intervention groups and trainings to thousands of participants, clients, and therapists over the past 15 years. Dr. Waelde is the author of Mindfulness and Meditation in Trauma Treatment: The Inner Resources for Stress Program, published in 2022. She has taken a special interest in family caregivers and the Inner Resources for Stress program has been named a Best Practice by the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. She recently coauthored Family Caregiver Distress, which is forthcoming in 2023. She is on the editorial board of Journal of Traumatic Stress and an Associate Editor of Mindfulness.
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Todd Wagner, PhD
Professor (Research) of Surgery (Surgery Policy Improvement Research and Education Center) and, by courtesy, of Health Policy
BioTodd Wagner, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University. He studies health information, efficiency and value, and health care access. He is particularly interested in developing learning health care systems that provide high value care. In addition to his role at Stanford, he Directs the Health Economics Resource Center at the Palo Alto VA and co-directs the VA Center for Policy Evaluation. At VA, he is funded as a Research Career Scientist and he co-directs the VA/NCI Big Data Fellowship.
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Karen Wai, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Wai is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained vitreoretinal surgeon with Stanford Health Care Byers Eye Institute. She is also a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Wai is a retina specialist who diagnoses and treats retinal and macular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusions (blockages), and retinal tears/detachments. The retina is a tissue layer in the back of the eye. It converts light into signals that the brain then interprets as images. The macula is the part of the retina responsible for central (straight ahead) vision. Diseases of the retina and macula can cause low vision and vision loss.
Dr. Wai’s research interests include working with data from electronic health record databases to improve patient outcomes. She has researched morbidity and mortality (illness and death) rates in patients with retinal vein occlusions and retinal artery occlusions. A retinal vein occlusion is a blocked vein to the retina that can cause vision loss. A retinal artery occlusion is when an artery to the retina is blocked, which is also sometimes referred to as eye stroke. Dr. Wai has also examined the effects of systemic medications on the retina. She has won several ophthalmology awards, including the Heed Fellowship and Harvard Medical School’s Excellence in Clinical Instruction Resident Award.
Dr. Wai has published in more than 40 peer-reviewed journals, including Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, and JAMA Ophthalmology. She has presented research at meetings and conferences around the United States.
Dr. Wai is a member of the American Board of Ophthalmology. -
Soichi Wakatsuki
Professor of Photon Science and of Structural Biology
On Leave from 05/01/2026 To 01/31/2027Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUbiquitin signaling: structure, function, and therapeutics
Ubiquitin is a small protein modifier that is ubiquitously produced in the cells and takes part in the regulation of a wide range of cellular activities such as gene transcription and protein turnover. The key to the diversity of the ubiquitin roles in cells is that it is capable of interacting with other cellular proteins either as a single molecule or as different types of chains. Ubiquitin chains are produced through polymerization of ubiquitin molecules via any of their seven internal lysine residues or the N-terminal methionine residue. Covalent interaction of ubiquitin with other proteins is known as ubiquitination which is carried out through an enzymatic cascade composed of the ubiquitin-activating (E1), ubiquitin-conjugating (E2), and ubiquitin ligase (E3) enzymes. The ubiquitin signals are decoded by the ubiquitin-binding domains (UBDs). These domains often specifically recognize and non-covalently bind to the different ubiquitin species, resulting in distinct signaling outcomes.
We apply a combination of the structural (including protein crystallography, small angle x-ray scattering, cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) etc.), biocomputational and biochemical techniques to study the ubiquitylation and deubiquitination processes, and recognition of the ubiquitin chains by the proteins harboring ubiquitin-binding domains. Current research interests including SARS-COV2 proteases and their interactions with polyubiquitin chains and ubiquitin pathways in host cell responses, with an ultimate goal of providing strategies for effective therapeutics with reduced levels of side effects.
Protein self-assembly processes and applications.
The Surface layers (S-layers) are crystalline protein coats surrounding microbial cells. S-layer proteins (SLPs) regulate their extracellular, self-assembly by crystallizing when exposed to an environmental trigger. We have demonstrated that the Caulobacter crescentus SLP readily crystallizes into sheets both in vivo and in vitro via a calcium-triggered multistep assembly pathway. Observing crystallization using a time course of Cryo-EM imaging has revealed a crystalline intermediate wherein N-terminal nucleation domains exhibit motional dynamics with respect to rigid lattice-forming crystallization domains. Rate enhancement of protein crystallization by a discrete nucleation domain may enable engineering of kinetically controllable self-assembling 2D macromolecular nanomaterials. In particular, this is inspiring designing robust novel platform for nano-scale protein scaffolds for structure-based drug design and nano-bioreactor design for the carbon-cycling enzyme pathway enzymes. Current research focuses on development of nano-scaffolds for high throughput in vitro assays and structure determination of small and flexible proteins and their interaction partners using Cryo-EM, and applying them to cancer and anti-viral therapeutics.
Multiscale imaging and technology developments.
Multimodal, multiscale imaging modalities will be developed and integrated to understand how molecular level events of key enzymes and protein network are connected to cellular and multi-cellular functions through intra-cellular organization and interactions of the key machineries in the cell. Larger scale organization of these proteins will be studied by solution X-ray scattering and Cryo-EM. Their spatio-temporal arrangements in the cell organelles, membranes, and cytosol will be further studied by X-ray fluorescence imaging and correlated with cryoEM and super-resolution optical microscopy. We apply these multiscale integrative imaging approaches to biomedical, and environmental and bioenergy research questions with Stanford, DOE national labs, and other domestic and international collaborators. -
Claire E Wakefield
Professor of Pediatrics (Quality of Life and Palliative Care)
BioI am a medical psychologist and researcher dedicated to improving quality of life for children affected by serious illness, as well as their families. My research spans pediatric palliative care, precision medicine, psycho-oncology, and global health, and is grounded in a deep commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care. I have published more than 340 journal articles and am named as Chief Investigator on competitive research grants totaling more than $55M.
I served as Continental President of SIOP Oceania and as a Director on the Board of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP), advocating for children with cancer across 14 countries. I advise the World Health Organization on global childhood cancer initiatives and am a proud member of the Presidential Task Force on Advocacy for the Society of Pediatric Psychology. I am passionate about building national and global capacity in pediatric palliative care and ensuring that every child and family receives not only the best medical treatment, but also the emotional and psychological support they need. -
Diane Elizabeth Wakeham
Clinical Research Coordinator Associate, Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult)
Current Role at StanfordClinical Research Coordinator Associate, INSPIRE Clinic, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
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Heather Wakelee
Winston Chen and Phyllis Huang Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Wakelee's research is focused on clinical trials and translational efforts in patients with lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies such as thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Other interests include translation projects in thoracic malignancies and collaborations with population scientists regarding lung cancer questions.
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Rebecca D. Walker
Clinical Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsInterests include international development in emergency care, healthcare disparities, wilderness medicine, human rights, administration
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Grzegorz Walkiewicz
Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology
BioGrzegorz (Greg) Walkiewicz, PhD, is a neuroscientist with a strong background in retinal and neurodegenerative disease research. He completed his PhD at KU Leuven (Belgium), focusing on tau pathology and Alzheimer’s disease. His research explores the connection between brain and eye pathology, with particular interest in pTau, Aβ, and microglial activation. He has worked extensively with transgenic mouse models as well as human brain and retinal tissues. He recently joined Stanford University to investigate INPP5K-related mechanisms in retinal ganglion cell degeneration.
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Dennis Wall
Professor of Pediatrics (Clinical Informatics), of Biomedical Data Science and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSystems biology for design of clinical solutions that detect and treat disease
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James Wall
Clinical Professor, Surgery - Pediatric Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHealth Technology Innovation
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Jessica Falco-Walter
Clinical Associate Professor, Adult Neurology
BioJessica Falco-Walter, MD is board certified in Neurology as well as in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology and practices as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Walter received her BA in Cognitive Science with distinction from Yale University. She received her MD and completed her internship at Georgetown University School of Medicine and then completed her neurology residency at the Mount Sinai Medical Center of the Icahn School of Medicine. She then went on to pursue fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy at Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago, IL. She is board certified by the ABPN in Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, and Epilepsy. She was one of the first ABPN Epilepsy fellows in the country. Her clinical focus is diagnosis and treatment of seizure disorders and epilepsy, with commitment to treating complex patients and improving quality of life as well as seizure control.
She has a particular interest in dietary treatments for epilepsy and has created a clinic to better manage ketogenic diet treatments for adults with epilepsy. She has published research on ketogenic dietary treatments and continues to work on research related to Vitamin D and epilepsy. While she has particular interest in dietary treatments in epilepsy she is well versed in all currently available medications and surgical treatments for epilepsy and works with patients to treat epilepsy medically, surgically, and wholistically. She is involved in research on new treatments for epilepsy as well.
Dr. Falco-Walter is the Students Interested in Neurology (SIGN) faculty lead for the Department of Neurology and really enjoys working with undergraduates and medical students at the beginning of their careers. She is the course instructor for the Introduction to Neurology Seminar that runs in the fall for medical students that introduces students to all the subspecialty areas within Neurology. -
Shannon Walters
Executive Technical Director, Radiology - Diagnostic Radiology
Current Role at StanfordI consider myself an innovation enabler and workflow optimization enthusiast. At Stanford 3D and Quantitative Imaging Lab, I work closely with healthcare providers, researchers, and educators to enable effective health visualization. Recent innovations are of particular interest to me; such as 3D Printing, immersive volumetric visualization, clinical implementation of validated AI algorithms, and the general concept of reporting concise changes over time.
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Nneoma S. Wamkpah, MD MSCI
Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
BioDr. Nneoma Stephanie Wamkpah is a board-certified, fellowship-trained facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Stanford Health Care Ear, Nose, and Throat. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Division of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Wamkpah cares for patients with facial paralysis, nasal problems, and facial injuries. She performs both functional and cosmetic surgery, including rhinoplasty, facial trauma repair, and procedures to restore movement after nerve damage. Her approach focuses on improving how patients look and function while tailoring care to their individual needs and goals.
As a physician-researcher, Dr. Wamkpah explores how facial plastic and reconstructive surgery affects patients’ quality of life and functional outcomes. She studies patient-reported measures to improve surgical quality, shared decision-making between patients and surgeons, and ways to ensure equitable access to reconstructive care. She is also interested in innovations in facial reanimation, evidence-based approaches to facial trauma management, and the impact of medical education on surgical planning and execution.
Dr. Wamkpah has authored several book chapters as well as articles in peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine, and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. She has presented her work at national conferences, including the annual meetings of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), and the Rhinoplasty Society.
Dr. Wamkpah is a member of AAO-HNS, AAFPRS, and the Sir Charles Bell Society. She also volunteers her skills internationally, providing surgery for children and adults in resource-limited countries. -
Brian A. Wandell
Isaac and Madeline Stein Family Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering, of Ophthalmology and of Education
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsModels and measures of the human visual system. The brain pathways essential for reading development. Diffusion tensor imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational modeling of visual perception and brain processes. Image systems simulations of optics and sensors and image processing. Data and computation management for reproducible research.
