The team driving our mission forward

The UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT) is supported by a vast network of faculty, researchers, and industry partners, but at the heart of it all is our core team. These dedicated professionals drive our mission forward, leading key initiatives in surgical innovation, robotics, and interventional technology. 

While this page highlights our central team, our work is made possible through collaboration with numerous UCLA contributors and external partners who share our vision for the future of surgery.

Learn more about the core team shaping CASIT’s impact.


Leadership

Peyman Benharash, MD, FACS

Peyman Benharash, MD, FACS

Executive Director, CASIT
  • Professor, Department of Surgery
  • Professor, Department of Bioengineering
  • Director, UCLA Adult ECMO Program
  • Associate Program Director, UCLA Thoracic Surgery Residency Program
  • Director, UCLA Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Laboratories (CORELAB)

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Peyman Benharash is a distinguished expert in treating acquired cardiac diseases in adults, offering a comprehensive range of procedures from traditional surgeries to minimally invasive and catheter-based therapies. As the director of the ECMO Program at UCLA, he has significantly expanded access to this vital technology across Southern California. Recently, he introduced minimal access arrhythmia surgery at UCLA, effectively treating atrial fibrillation with reduced pain and blood loss. 

His research focuses on health services using national databases, particularly cardiovascular outcomes. Dr. Benharash’s laboratory pioneers the development of noninvasive physiologic sensors and physics-based models for virtual surgery. He is committed to advancing patient care through interdisciplinary innovations. 

Areti Tillou, MD

Areti Tillou, MD

Director, UCLA CASIT Accredited Education Institute & Chair of CASIT Education Committee
  • Chief of Trauma Surgery
  • Vice Chair of Education, Department of Surgery
  • Assistant Designated Institutional Official, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
  • Professor, Department of Surgery 

Email: [email protected] 

Dr. Areti Tillou is a full-time academic surgeon at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, board-certified in surgery and surgical critical care, with expertise in trauma and acute care surgery. Within the Department of Surgery, Dr. Tillou serves as Vice Chair for Education and is the founding Director of the UCLA Department of Surgery Accredited Education Institute (AEI), part of the Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT). 

Dr. Tillou earned her medical degree from the University of Athens Medical School in 1989. She completed her surgery residency and internships at Baylor College of Medicine, followed by fellowships in Surgical Critical Care at Tulane University School of Medicine (2001) and Trauma at LAC + USC Medical Center (2003). She has been board-certified in Surgery and Surgical Critical Care by the American Board of Surgery since 2003. 

In addition to these roles, Dr. Tillou serves as an Assistant Designated Institutional Official at the David Geffen School of Medicine and is the Southern California State Chair for the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. 

Headshot of Dr. Najafi

Bijan Najafi, PhD

Research Director, CASIT
  • Professor, Department of Surgery 

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Bijan Najafi is the Research Director at the UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT) and a tenured Professor of Surgery at UCLA. Renowned for his expertise in medical devices and digital health technologies, Dr. Najafi focuses on enhancing healthcare access and extending care beyond traditional hospital settings. His research spans aging, chronic disease management, and the development of innovative solutions for remote patient monitoring and decentralized clinical trials.  

Dr. Najafi has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized among the top 2% of scientists worldwide in the field of digital health, diabetic foot, and neuropathy. With a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, he is dedicated to translating the latest research into practical, impactful healthcare innovations. In recognition of his significant contributions to digital health technologies aimed at preventing falls and limb gangrene, he was inducted into the AIMBE College of Fellows in 2023. Throughout his career, he has mentored over 500 individuals. 


Special advisors

O. Joe Hines, MD

O. Joe Hines, MD

Executive Committee Member, CASIT
  • Chair, Department of Surgery
  • William P. Longmire, Jr., Chair in Surgery
  • Professor, Department of Surgery
Jacob Rosen headshot

Jacob Rosen, PhD

Director of Surgical Robotics Engineering, CASIT
  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Professor, Bioengineering

Faculty collaborators

Adam A. Abiri, PhD

Adam A. Abiri, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery

Expertise

  • Haptic feedback systems for minimally invasive surgery
  • Computer-assisted robotic surgery
  • Wireless implantable medical devices 

Email: [email protected] 

Dr. Wayne Brisbane

Wayne Brisbane, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Urology

Expertise

  • Prostate cancer imaging
  • Micro-ultrasound
  • MRI 

Email: [email protected] 

Robert Candler, PhD

Robert Candler, PhD

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Expertise

  • Medical sensors for robotic surgery
  • Miniature MRI coils for in vivo imaging
  • Medical devices 

Email: [email protected] 

Greg Carman, PhD

Greg Carman, PhD

Professor; Director of TANMS; Lockheed Martin Chair of Engineering

Expertise

  • Active/smart materials for biomedical applications
  • Multiferroic, magnetostrictive, piezoelectric, and shape memory alloys
  • Modeling structural response of multiphysics-based systems 

Email: [email protected] 

Leonard S. Marks, MD

Leonard S. Marks, MD

Professor, deKernion Endowed Chair in Urology

Expertise

  • MRI/ultrasound fusion for prostate biopsy
  • High-resolution ultrasound technology
  • Tumor ablation: Focused ultrasound (HIFU) and laser ablation 

Email: [email protected] 

Anand Santhanam, PhD

Anand Santhanam, PhD

Associate Professor, UCLA Radiation Oncology

Expertise

  • Algorithms and techniques for medical applications
  • Biomechanical modeling of lungs
  • Applications ranging from computer animation and virtual reality to radiation oncology 

Email: [email protected] 

Dr. Maie St. John, MD, PhD, FACS

Maie St. John, MD, PhD

Professor and Chair, Department of Head and Neck Surgery

Expertise

  • Translational investigation in head and neck cancer
  • Understanding mechanisms of tumor progression and metastasis
  • Investigating COX-2-dependent gene and protein expression 

Email: [email protected] 


Research specialists

Yazeed Alhiyari, PhD

Yazeed Alhiyari, PhD

Project Scientist, Department of Head and Neck Surgery

Expertise

  • Dynamic optical contrast imaging
  • Cancer margin detection
  • Translational medicine
  • Treatment de-escalation 

Email: [email protected] 

Rory Geoghegan

Rory Geoghegan, PhD

Project Scientist

Expertise

  • Focal laser ablation for the treatment of soft tissue tumors
  • High-resolution ultrasound for prostate cancer localization
  • Haptic feedback for robotic surgery 

Email: [email protected] 

Alan Priester, PhD

Alan Priester, PhD

Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Urology

Expertise

  • Minimally invasive prostate cancer therapy
  • Prostate radiologic and pathologic correlation
  • Prostate cancer imaging and diagnosis using MRI-ultrasound fusion 

Email: [email protected] 

Headshot of Mohammad Dehghan Rouzi

Mohammad Dehghan Rouzi

Software Engineer

Expertise

  • Artificial intelligence
  • Machine learning
  • Tele-medicine
  • Medical image processing 

Email: [email protected]


Research trainees

Myeounggon Lee headshot

Myeounggon Lee

Postdoctoral Fellow

Expertise

  • Medicine & statistics
  • Machine learning
  • Digital healthcare 

Email: [email protected]

Jake Pensa

Jake Pensa, MS

Graduate Student Researcher

Expertise

  • High-resolution ultrasound imaging for prostate cancer
  • Focal therapy treatment planning for prostate cancer
  • Haptic feedback for robotic surgery 

Email: [email protected] 

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Songping Sun

Graduate Student Researcher

Expertise

  • Haptic feedback in surgical robots
  • Pneumatic haptic feedback systems for minimally invasive surgery 

Email: [email protected] 


Administration

Chi Quach

Chi Quach

Director, Surgical Education

Oversees surgical education programs and supports the development of educational initiatives within CASIT. 

Email: [email protected]

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Crystal Edem

Administrative Specialist

Provides administrative support to CASIT, facilitating communication and coordination across various departments. 

Email: [email protected] 

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Marvin Ronquillo

Simulation Technician

Provides lab set-up support and facilitates communication and coordination across various departments.  

Email: [email protected]