WELCOME TO OUR 2026 FELLOWS

Baris Alten, MD

Baris attended medical school at Hacettepe University. He completed his neurology residency at Harvard.  Baris is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow. 

Shervin Badihian, MD

Shervin attended medical school at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. He completed his neurology residency at Cleveland Clinic.  Shervin is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow. 

Daniel Lee, MD

Daniel attended medical school at University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.  He completed his neurology residency at University of South Alabama Health System.  Daniel is joining us this year as a neuro-hospitalist fellow.

Grant Meeks, MD

Grant attended medical school at University of Texas Health Science Center.  He completed his neurology residency at University of Texas Health Science Center.  Grant is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow.

Noor Shaik, MD

Noor attended medical school at Sidney Kimmel Medical College/Thomas Jefferson.  She completed her neurology residency at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  Noor is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow. 

Fellow presentations at ISC February 2026

Congratulations to our fellows presenting at the upcoming International Stroke Conference – great work! Here is a schedule of their presentations. We encourage everyone to attend their oral abstracts or swing by their posters to take a look.

Wednesday, February 4

  • 12:30-2:30pm (CT): Poster:  Dr. Sonya Zhou’s poster is on “Impact of Time on Thrombectomy Utilization in Patients with Acute Stroke Due To Large Vessel Occlusion”.

  • 4:12pm-4:18pm (CT): Oral Abstract: Dr. Pargol Balali will be discussing Morphologic Features of Carotid Webs and Risk of Ischemic Stroke.              

  • 5:40pm-5:50pm (CT): Oral Abstract: Dr. Pargol Balali will be discussing “Carotid Web Morphology Over Time: A Longitudinal Imaging Study”.

Thursday, February 5th

  • 12:00pm-2:30pm (CT): Poster: Dr. Baris Alten’s poster is on “Comparative Risk of Recurrent Stroke in Stroke-Causing and Asymptomatic Carotid Webs”. 

  • 12:00pm-2:30pm (CT): Poster: Dr. Jessica Little’s poster is on “An Intervention to Improve Blood Pressure Lowering Times in Patients Presenting with Intracerebral Hemorrhage”.

  • 2:30pm-2:36pm (CT): Oral Abstract: Dr. Sonya Zhou will be discussing “Association Between Time to Thrombectomy and Functional Outcomes Up To 24 Hours After Last Known Well”.

  • 4:00pm-4:06pm (CT): Oral Abstract: Dr. Sonya Zhou will be discussing “Thrombectomy Utilization and Outcomes for Patients with Large Vessel Occlusions Presenting After 24 Hours”. 

Farewell to Dr. Scott Kasner

Dr. Scott Kasner has formally retired from Penn to assume a new role as Neuroscience Clinical Development Lead at Bayer. In this new role, Dr. Kasner will be responsible for developing a global portfolio of potential new neurologic treatments. Dr. Kasner is now an Emeritus professor at Penn. While he will be greatly missed, we are happy to report he will continue to reside in Philadelphia and remain involved in the Stroke division as a trusted advisor and mentor.

Welcome to our 2025 fellows

Baris Alten, MD

Baris attended medical school at Hacettepe University. He completed his neurology residency at Harvard. Baris is joining us this year as a StrokeNet research fellow.

Samuel Jacobson, MD

Samuel attended medical school and completed his neurology residency at Columbia University. Samuel is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow.

Jessica Little, MD, PhD

Jessica attended medical school at the University of Virginia. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Jessica is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow.

Ryan McNulty, MD

Ryan attended medical school at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Michigan. Ryan is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow.

Thomas Pisano, MD, PhD

Tom attended medical school at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Tom is joining us this year as a neurohospitalist fellow.

Sonya Zhou, MD, MPH

Sonya attended medical school at the Yale School of Medicine. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Sonya is joining us this year as a vascular neurology fellow.

Cover image of Stroke Journal

Check out this paper resulting from a collaboration between Dr. Jae Song in Neuroradiology and several members of the Stroke division. An illustration from the paper is featured on the cover of the journal Stroke this month.