William M. Whalen, M.D.

Blake Christianson, M.D. is a radiologist specializing in Breast Imaging. He is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Radiologist at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Campus.Dr. Christianson graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned his Bachelor of Science in 2014. He then received his M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia in 2018, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.Following an transitional internship at Gwinnett Medical Center from 2018 to 2019, Dr. Christianson completed residency training in Diagnostic Radiology from 2019 to 2023 at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine. He then completed a one-year fellowship in Breast and Oncologic Imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 2023 to 2024. Dr. Christianson joined the faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine in August 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology.Dr. Christianson’s clinical expertise is within Breast and Body Imaging. He interprets a variety of studies, including mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, and body CT. He performs interventional breast procedures guided with imaging, including stereotactic biopsies, ultrasound-guided biopsies, MRI-guided biopsies, and preoperative radioactive seed localization.His research interests include resident and fellow education and optimizing breast screening within our diverse population. He is a reviewer for the journal of Clinical Imaging and is actively involved with the education ormedical students, residents, and fellows.Dr. Christianson is a member of the following radiological societies:• Radiologic Society of North America• Society of Breast Imaging• American Roentgen Ray Society• America College of Radiology• New York Roentgen Society

JoAnn Difede, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Medicine, an Attending Psychologist at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Director of the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies (PATSS). She is internationally recognized for her pioneering work using virtual reality technology in the treatment of PTSD consequent to the WTC attack of September 11, 2001, and more recently in the treatment of combat-related PTSD. Dr. JoAnn Difede is currently serving as the lead PI of a large multi-site Department of Defense funded clinical trial contract entitled, "Enhancing Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Virtual Reality and Imaginal Exposure with a Cognitive Enhancer," which is investigating how the use of virtual reality and the pharmacologic agent, D-Cycloserine, may help accelerate recovery from combat-related PTSD among U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Difede has served as the PI of several NIH-funded treatment studies concerning the development of innovative treatments for PTSD. She is also the recipient of many grants and corporate medical contracts for projects concerning the delivery of optimal care for trauma survivors and their families, both from private foundations and publicly held Fortune 500 corporations. Her treatment research spans survivors of burn injuries, terrorism, and occupations at-risk for PTSD, including U.S. soldiers deployed to OIF/OEF/OND, firefighters, police officers, and disaster rescue and recovery workers.Dr. Difede has advised many corporations, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies in the U.S. and internationally regarding the implementation of best practices for the screening, evaluation, and treatment of trauma and PTSD. Dr. Difede has served on NIH special emphasis review panels on occupations at-risk for trauma and PTSD and CDMRP review panels, among others. She currently serves on the scientific advisory board of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) and the advisory board of the Jericho Project, a non-profit foundation serving homeless veterans. She recently completed a four-year term on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Traumatic Stress.Dr. Difede received the 2010 Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma. In addition to her scholarly endeavors, her work has been featured in many popular media venues including the New Yorker, the NY Times, Newsweek, the Washington Post, Scientific American, and many television programs, including a recent appearance on Charlie Rose: The Brain Series’ episode on PTSD, CNN, NBC, and ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Notably, she was featured in New York magazine’s Best Doctors issue in 2005 for her work developing a virtual reality-based treatment for WTC related-PTSD, and was profiled in The Lancet in September 2011, for the tenth anniversary of the WTC attacks, for her work developing innovative treatments for PTSD.To schedule appointments:Call (212) 821-0783

Dr. Podolanczuk is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in interstitial lung disease. She received her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Brown University. She earned her MD from NYU School of Medicine. She completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Columbia University. She received additional training in advanced pulmonary diseases at Columbia University. She also earned a Masters of Science in Patient-Oriented Research from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, with a focus on epidemiology and biostatistics.Dr. Podolanczuk is an NIH-funded investigator studying novel risk factors for pulmonary fibrosis in humans. Her research program focuses on understanding early or subclinical interstitial lung disease, characterizing imaging and blood biomarkers of pulmonary fibrosis, the role of environmental exposures, and the connection between cardiovascular disease and pulmonary fibrosis. She is also a site investigator for several multi-center clinical trials of new therapies for pulmonary fibrosis.