Timour Baslan, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. He received his PhD from Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He then completed postdoctoral training at Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His current research seeks to further an understanding of cancer genetics and biology in an effort to advance early-stage intervention/diagnostic tools as well as therapeutic targeting of cancer cells. To do so, his lab employs a multidisciplinary approach that integrates sequencing-based computational method development and analytics (ex: long and short read sequencing, statistics, unsupervised learning/ML) with experimental perturbation approaches in cancer models systems (ex: shRNA, CRISPR, and chemical screens in in vitro cell lines, organoids, and mouse models). Pancreatic and breast cancers, as well as acute leukemias and sarcomas, are areas of focus.
Alessia Cordella, DVM, MSc, PhD, DECVDI (SA), is an assistant professor of radiology in the Department of Clinical Sciences & Advanced Medicine. She received her veterinary degree from the University of Bologna (Italy) in 2013. After graduation, she finished a master’s degree in ultrasonography in small animals at the same institution. She completed a combined residency-PhD program in small animal radiology (European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging) at the University of Ghent (Belgium), achieving both titles in 2023. Before moving to the University of Pennsylvania in her current role, she worked as staff clinician at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London (UK). Her main research interests include the use of advanced computed tomographic and ultrasonographic techniques, such as multiphase CT, contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) and elastosonography for the diagnosis of thoracic and abdominal diseases in small animals, with a particular focus on urinary, lymphatic and gastrointestinal systems.
Valérie L. Dufour, DVM, MSc, dip. ECVO, is an assistant professor of small animal ophthalmology in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine. She received her veterinary degree from the University of Liège, Belgium, in 2012. After graduation, she completed a small animal rotating internship combined with a master’s program at the same institution. After a brief period as a general practitioner in the UK, she moved to the US to start a fellowship in retinal diseases with Drs. Aguirre and Beltran at Penn Vet’s Retinal Disease Studies Facility in 2014. In 2020, she started her ophthalmology residency at Ryan Veterinary Hospital and achieved board certification in 2024. Following her residency, she transitioned to an assistant professor position supported by an NIH K-12 grant that allows her to further explore canine retinal degenerative diseases. She is currently developing a retina-oriented sub-specialty clinic within Penn Vet in order to offer state-of-the-art technologies to client-owned dogs affected with progressive retinal atrophy.
Tereza Stastny, DVM, DACVECC, is an assistant professor of emergency and critical care medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Calgary and completed a rotating small animal internship at Texas A&M University, followed by an emergency and critical care residency at Michigan State University. After residency, she served as a critical care specialist at the Arizona Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Center in the Phoenix metropolitan area before joining Penn Vet as an Assistant Professor of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. Dr. Stastny's research focuses on optimizing mechanical ventilation for patients with acute respiratory failure by assessing respiratory mechanics and exploring new ventilation modes. She is currently investigating Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) in dogs, a novel mode used in human neonates and adults. NAVA monitors the diaphragm's electrical signal (Edi) via a specialized feeding tube (Edi catheter) to synchronize the ventilator with the patient's breathing efforts, potentially reducing lung and diaphragm injury. Her ongoing research also includes assessing respiratory mechanics parameters, such as driving pressure and mechanical power, to guide lung-protective ventilation, prevent alveolar overdistention, and improve ventilatory strategies in veterinary medicine.