Scientific Advisory Board

The Verasonics Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of ultrasound research scientists who have a wide range of expertise in the fields of biomedical ultrasound and materials science/non-destructive evaluation. The SAB assists Verasonics’ leadership team in gaining expert insights into the current state of the art and emerging trends, informing the creation of future product development efforts.

Dr. Pierre Belanger picture

Pierre Bélanger has been a Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montreal, QC, Canada, since 2013.

His current research interest focuses on novel applications of ultrasonic bulk and guided waves, as well as the development of innovative transducers. He collaborates with a wide range of companies, including equipment manufacturers, service providers, and large original equipment manufacturers in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering – École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS)

Dr. Benjamín Castañeda picture

Dr. Benjamín Castañeda is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester, specializing in biomedical ultrasound and point-of-care medical imaging.

His research focuses on developing advanced ultrasound-based diagnostic techniques, combined with telemedicine, signal processing, and artificial intelligence, to expand access to healthcare in low-resource settings and address several clinical challenges, including cancer, NAFLD, pneumonia, diabetic foot, and dermatological conditions. Dr. Castañeda has contributed to innovations such as reverberant shear wave imaging and ultrasound-based tele-diagnostics.

Professor of Biomedical Engineering – University of Rochester

Dr. Frederic Cegla picture

Dr. Frederic Cegla’s research focuses on advancing ultrasonic sensing, non‑destructive evaluation, and structural health monitoring, with particular emphasis on solving real‑world industrial inspection and infrastructure monitoring challenges.

He has led major activities within Imperial College London’s NDE group, contributed to robotics‑enabled inspection through initiatives such as the ORCA Hub, and pioneered high‑impact technologies that resulted in successful spin‑outs, including Permasense Ltd and Sonobotics Ltd. His work spans from fundamental acoustics to applied monitoring systems, establishing him as a leading figure in ultrasonic measurement science and its industrial translation.

Lecturer – Imperial College London

Dr. Hong Chen picture

Hong Chen is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

Since joining Washington University in St. Louis in 2015, her research has been focused on developing ultrasound-brain interfacing techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases and understanding brain functions. Dr. Chen is a world-leading scientist in developing innovative therapeutic ultrasound technologies.

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering – Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Jeremy Dahl picture

Jeremy Dahl is a professor in the Department of Radiology at Stanford University in the School of Medicine, affiliated with the divisions of Pediatric Radiology, the Radiological Sciences Laboratory, and the Diagnostic Sciences Laboratory.

His laboratory focuses on beamforming and image reconstruction problems in diagnostic ultrasound. Techniques developed in his laboratory include distributed aberration correction via sound speed estimation and reverberation noise suppression, with application to the difficult-to-image patient, and non-destructive real-time ultrasound molecular imaging, with application to cancer imaging.

Professor in the Department of Radiology – Stanford University

Dr. Caterina Gallippi picture

Caterina leads the Gallippi Laboratory at UNC. She is a Professor in the Joint UNC, NCSU Department of Biomedical Engineering, Affiliated Professor in the NCSU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Adjunct Professor in the UNC Department of Radiology.

Her research interests include interrogation of the mechanical properties of tissue, adaptive signal filtering, and multi-dimensional motion estimation.

Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Jørgen Arendt Jensen picture

Since 1993, he has been a Full Professor of Biomedical Signal Processing with the Department of Health Technology at the Technical University of Denmark. He has been head of the Center for Fast Ultrasound Imaging since its inauguration in 1998.

His research is centered around simulation of ultrasound imaging, synthetic aperture imaging, vector blood flow estimation, construction of ultrasound research systems, and 3-D super-resolution imaging.

Professor at the Department of Health Technology – Head of the Center for Fast Ultrasound Imaging- Technical University of Denmark

Dr. Elisa Konofagou picture

The Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Radiology, as well as Director of the Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory at Columbia University in New York City.

Her main interests are in the development of novel elasticity imaging techniques and therapeutic ultrasound methods, and more notably, focused ultrasound in the brain for drug delivery and stimulation, myocardial elastography, electromechanical and pulse wave imaging, and harmonic motion imaging, with several clinical collaborations in the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and elsewhere.

Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology – Director of the Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory – Columbia University

Dr. Wei-Ning Lee picture

Wei-Ning Lee is an Associate Professor and Associate Head (Research) in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Hong Kong.

Her research focuses on developing ultrafast ultrasound imaging methods to investigate the microstructure, mechanics, and hemodynamics of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal tissues. Dr. Lee has received several awards, including the AIUM New Investigator Award in 2009, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Early Career Award in 2013, and the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Award in 2022.

Associate Professor – Associate Head (Research) in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering – University of Hong Kong.

Dr. David Maresca picture

Dr. Maresca heads the Maresca Laboratory at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Dr. Maresca is an associate professor of Imaging Physics at TU Delft.

The Maresca Lab develops ultrasound imaging methods to reveal biological processes across space and time. An illustrative example is the invention of nonlinear sound-sheet microscopy, a method to visualize capillaries and cells inside living organs. His published scientific work spans the fields of physical acoustics, neuroscience, bioengineering, and medical imaging.

Associate Professor of Imaging Physics – Head of the Maresca Laboratory – TU Delft

Dr. Matthew O'Donnell picture

Dr. O’Donnell is Frank and Julie Jungers Dean Emeritus and a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington.

His most recent research has explored new imaging modalities, including elasticity imaging, in vivo microscopy, optoacoustic devices, photoacoustic contrast agents for molecular imaging and therapy, laser ultrasound systems, and catheter-based devices.

Dean Emeritus and Professor of Bioengineering – University of Washington.

Dr. Jean Provost picture

Jean Provost is the IVADO professor of engineering physics and biomedical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, Canada.

His research focuses on the development of novel ultrasound technologies, from the design of ultrasound probes, sequences, and processing pipelines toward validation in animal models and feasibility studies in humans, with a focus on neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases using 3D ultrafast ultrasound imaging and dynamic ultrasound localization microscopy.

VADO professor of engineering physics and biomedical engineering – Polytechnique Montréal

Dr. Mikhail Shapiro picture

Dr. Shapiro heads the Shapiro Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Shapiro is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engineering, an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine at Caltech.

The Shapiro Lab develops bimolecular contrast agents, sensors, and actuators to enable non-invasive imaging and control of cellular function for basic biology and cell-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

Professor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engineering – Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine – California Institute of Technology

Dr. Himanshu Shekhar picture

Himanshu Shekhar is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, where he co-leads the Medical Ultrasound Engineering (MUSE) Laboratory.

Dr. Shekhar’s research focuses on image-guided therapy, sonodynamic therapy, contrast-enhanced imaging, beamforming, and sensing.

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering – Co-leads the Medical Ultrasound Engineering (MUSE) Laboratory – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar

Dr. Pengfei Song picture

Dr. Pengfei Song is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University.

His current research interests include ultrafast ultrasound imaging, super-resolution ultrasound, functional ultrasound, 3D ultrasound imaging, deep learning applied to ultrasound imaging, and ultrasound shear wave elastography.

Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering – Duke University

Dr. Mengxing Tang picture

Dr. Mengxing Tang is a Professor of Biomedical Imaging in the Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London.

He founded and currently leads the Ultrasound Laboratory for Imaging and Sensing (ULIS). His main research interest is in developing highly accessible and affordable in vivo techniques using ultrasound for imaging tissue structure, blood flow, including macro- and micro-circulation, and cellular and molecular activities. The ULIS lab currently develops techniques for contrast-enhanced ultrasound, super-resolution ultrasound, ultrafast volumetric/4D imaging, and image analysis techniques.

Professor of Biomedical Imaging in the Department of Bioengineering – Leads the Ultrasound Laboratory for Imaging and Sensing (ULIS) – Imperial College London.

Dr. Mickael Tanter picture

Mickael Tanter is the Director at Physics for Medicine in Paris, France, a world-leading academic laboratory in biomedical ultrasound.

Professor Tanter and his team are pioneers of ultrafast ultrasound, and have developed many medical applications – including shear wave elastography, functional ultrasound imaging, and ultrasound localization microscopy – from proof-of-concept studies to clinical translation. His laboratory develops new technologies for imaging and therapeutic purposes, addressing three major fields of medicine: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neuroscience.

Director at Physics for Medicine – Paris, France

Dr. Shin-ichiro Umemura picture

Dr. Umemura is Professor Emeritus, as well as a Research Scientist of Biomedical Engineering at Tohoku University.

His research interests are in biomedical ultrasonics, especially therapeutic ultrasound enhanced by cavitation and microbubbles, including sonodynamic therapy. They are extended to ultrasonic imaging with emphasis on monitoring the non-invasive therapeutic processes.

Professor Emeritus – Research Scientist of Biomedical Engineering – Tohoku University

Dr. Paul Wilcox picture

Professor of Dynamics and Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering (2015-2018) at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Wilcox’s research includes elastodynamic wave propagation and scattering, ultrasonic arrays, imaging, signal processing, structural health monitoring, and non-destructive testing. Dr. Wilcox led the development of the University of Bristol’s BRAIN software for advanced NDE ultrasonic post-processing analysis.

Professor of Dynamics – Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering – University of Bristol 

Dr. Shin-Yoshizawa picture

Shin Yoshizawa was an Assistant Professor at Tohoku University from 2007 to 2013 and an Associate Professor from 2013 to 2021. Since 2021, he has been a Professor in the Department of Communications Engineering at Tohoku University.

In 2020, he co-founded SONIRE Therapeutics, where he serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). His current research interests include high-intensity focused ultrasound, acoustic cavitation, and ultrasound imaging

Professor in the Department of Communications Engineering – Tohoku University
CTO – SONIRE Therapeutics

Dr. Qifa Zhou picture

Dr. Qifa Zhou is a Zohrab A. Kaprielian Fellow and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California (USC). He also serves as the Director of Translational Studies at USC’s Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics.

Dr. Zhou’s research focuses on the development of novel piezoelectric materials for high-frequency ultrasonic transducers and 2D arrays for vision restoration, as well as for applications in optical coherence tomography (OCT)/ultrasound for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), high-resolution elastography imaging, photoacoustic imaging, and multimodal imaging.

Fellow and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology – Director of Translational Studies at USC’s Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics – University of Southern California