About Us
- The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Imaging Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic is a one-year program running from July 1 through June 30, offering an exceptional advanced training experience in a nationally recognized academic and clinical environment.
- Each year, the fellowship offers six positions, including two ACGME-accredited positions and four clinical, non-accredited positions.
- The Cleveland Clinic Imaging Institute archives more than 3 million exams and procedures annually, reflecting the extraordinary scale and depth of its practice. Within this setting, the MSK section reads or performs more than 200,000 procedures each year, with particularly strong volume and expertise in sports medicine, orthopedic oncology, and rheumatology.
- The section is staffed by 16 MSK -trained faculty members who are deeply committed to education, represent diverse areas of clinical expertise, and are actively engaged in clinical research. This combination of academic strength, subspecialty depth, and dedicated mentorship creates a rich and highly supportive learning environment for fellows.
- Fellows receive comprehensive training in all aspects of diagnostic and interventional MSK imaging, with exposure to all major imaging modalities, including MRI, ultrasound, radiography, and nuclear medicine.
- Training is based at both Cleveland Clinic’s main campus and the Sports Health Center, a satellite facility, offering fellows a broad clinical experience across varied practice settings.
- A strong emphasis is placed on education and interdisciplinary collaboration. Fellows participate in and lead a range of didactic and interdisciplinary clinical conferences, including a year-long lecture series covering all major MSK imaging topics.
- The fellowship also features a year-long hands-on MSK ultrasound curriculum, providing focused experience in both diagnostic and procedural applications.
- In addition, fellows participate in research and quality projects and have access to the resources of the MSK Imaging Research Lab, further supporting scholarly development and academic growth.
Living in Cleveland
- Learn more about the city we call home.
Leadership
Jonathan Youngner, MD
Program Director
9500 Euclid Ave, A21
Cleveland, OH 44195
216.310.0145
youngnj@ccf.org
Fangbai Wu, MD
Associate Program Director
9500 Euclid Ave, A21
Cleveland, OH 44195
216.386.4908
Darlene Newton
Fellowship Coordinator
9500 Euclid Ave., L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
216.445.7110
newtond6@ccf.org
Curriculum
Clinical Responsibilities
- Fellows develop broad and advanced expertise in musculoskeletal imaging through the interpretation of a high volume and wide range of studies, including radiographs, MRI, CT, ultrasound, bone mineral density examinations, and nuclear medicine scans.
- Procedural training is a central component of the fellowship experience. Fellows perform a diverse spectrum of image-guided musculoskeletal interventions, including fluoroscopic- and ultrasound-guided therapeutic injections and diagnostic aspirations, as well as ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, hydrodissections, and percutaneous tenotomies.
- Fellows also gain valuable experience performing advanced procedures such as CT-, ultrasound-, and MR-guided bone and soft tissue biopsies, along with CT-guided radiofrequency ablations and cryoablations.
- Additional clinical responsibilities include protocoling and monitoring cross-sectional imaging studies and supervising residents and medical students, further strengthening fellows’ clinical judgment and teaching skills.
- Education and interdisciplinary collaboration are integral to the fellowship. Fellows participate in approximately one didactic or clinical conference each day and lead assigned conferences approximately three times per month. These include MSK Fellow Conference, MSK Interesting Case Conference, Sarcoma Conference, Sports Medicine Conference, MSK Infectious Disease Conference, Rheumatology Conference, and MSK Journal Club. To support preparation, one half-day is provided every five weeks for conference development.
- Home call is taken approximately once every five weeks.
Non-Clinical Responsibilities
- Scholarly activity is an important part of the fellowship experience. Fellows participate in at least one research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor, with the goal of submission to a national meeting for podium presentation and completion of a manuscript for publication.
- Fellows also participate in at least one quality improvement project, providing meaningful experience in systems-based practice and clinical excellence.
- In addition, fellows participate in CME conferences hosted by the section, further enriching their educational experience and professional development.
Benefits
Salary as of May 2026
| Clinical Fellow | $159,644 annual rate | $6,651 rate per pay period |
| ACGME Fellow PGY-6 | $84,180 annual rate* | $3,507 rate per pay period |
Clinical fellows are paid at the same PGY-6 rate as ACGME fellows for 4 days per week when working as a fellow in the MSK section and paid at an associate staff level for 1 day per week when working as a licensed independent practitioner (LIP) outside the MSK section.
Both clinical and ACGME fellows who are eligible to work as an LIP will have the opportunity for internal moonlighting at the same hourly rate as staff and on par or above with national standards. or external moonlighting.
*Reflect 2026 salary and is subject to change.
Academic Funding
- Up to 5 days for meetings per year
- Up to $5,000 for oral presentations
- Up to $1,000 for attendance only meetings
- $1000 GME discretionary funding
- $850 Imaging book fund
Vacation and Time Away
- 15 vacation days per year
- 5 personal days per year
Additional Benefits
- 3 weeks of rotations in other departments including Nuclear Medicine and Neuroradiology
- Cleveland Clinic iPhone for the year
- Comprehensive medical/dental/vision insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee wellness program including free gym membership
- Paid family leave: 12 weeks of paid leave after giving birth or 4 weeks of paid parental leave for a new child
Our Faculty
| Faculty | Clinical/Research Interests |
Faysal Altahawi, MD |
Machine learning/ Automated image processing, natural Language Processing, 3D imaging/ multiplanar reformations/ 3D printing, Accelerated and advanced imaging techniques, Tendon/bone attachments, tendonosis, enthesophyte/osteophyte fractures, Imaging outcomes and Quality Control. |
Howard Chen, MD MBA – Associate Chief Informatics Officer |
Clinical Imaging Informatics, Natural language processing in radiology analytics, Multimodality imaging of bone and soft tissue tumors, Imaging quality improvement. |
Michael Forney, MD - MSK Ultrasound Director; Associate Program Director DR Residency |
Musculoskeletal Ultrasound |
Maxime Freire, MD |
Emergency Radiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology |
 Steve Hatem, MD – Vice Chair of Education |
Sports Imaging, Emergency Radiology, Radiology Education |
 Lulu He, MD |
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Hakan Ilaslan, MD MBA - Section Head |
Bone tumors, MRI, radiofrequency of ablation of osteoid osteomas, cryoblation of tumors, cementoplasy |
Cameron Kortes, MD |
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Jonathan Pierce, MD |
Musculoskeletal Radiology and Interventions |
Joshua Polster, MD – Vice Chair of Innovations |
Sports Medicine Imaging, Image-guided procedures, Image processing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. |
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Daniel Schneider, MD |
Musculoskeletal Radiology and Interventions |
Claus Simpfendorfer, MD |
Musculoskeletal infections and procedures |
Naveen Subhas, MD, MPH – Vice Chair of Clinical Effectiveness & Efficiency |
Sports Medicine Imaging, MSK Outcomes Research, Accelerated MSK MRI Techniques, Metal Artifact Reduction CT and MRI Techniques and MSK AI Applications |
Carl Winalski, MD – MSK Research Lab Director |
Imaging of articular cartilage and cartilage repair |
Fangbai Wu, MD – Associate Program Director |
MSK ultrasound, sports imaging, and MSK tumor imaging |
Jonathan Youngner, MD – Program Director |
Musculoskeletal Nerve Imaging |
Our Fellows
2026-2027 Fellows
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Our Alumni
Class of 2026
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Amna Sadiq, MD | Internal Training, Diagnostic Radiology | |
| Samia Sayyid, MD | Rochester General Hospital, Diagnostic Radiology | Assistant Professor, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY |
| Sercan Tosun, MD | International Training, Diagnostic Radiology | Abdominal Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic 2026-2027 |
| Sonja Opper, DO | Allegheny General Hospital, Diagnostic Radiology | MSK Radiologist, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh , PA |
| Junaid Yasin, MD | Cleveland Clinic, Diagnostic Radiology | Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati, OH |
Class of 2025
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Leen Alkukhun MD | SUNY Upstate Medical University | Emory Healthcare, Atlanta Georgia |
| Cameron Kortes, MD | Cleveland Clinic | CCF REG & MSK |
| Charlie Maxfield, DO | Cleveland Clinic | Southwest Medical Imaging, Scottsdale AZ; (Private Practice) |
| Anand Rajan, MD | Allegheny Health Network, Department of Radiology | Consulting Radiologists Ltd in Minneapolis, MN. (Private Practice) |
| Basem Rashwan, MD | Cleveland Clinic | AdventHealth, Tampa, Florida |
Class of 2024
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Sergey Bondarev, MD | Cleveland Clinic | San Fransico Veterans Affairs |
| Kaushik Chagarlamudi, MD |
University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University |
Advent Health |
| Jonathan Pierce, MD | University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University |
Cleveland Clinic |
| Daniel Schnieder, MD |
University of Michigan Hospitals |
Cleveland Clinic |
| Shruthi Suresh, MD | Geisinger Medical Center |
University of Utah |
Class of 2023
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Mohammad Ansari, MD |
Rush University Medical Center | Houston Northwestern Radiology Association (Texas) |
| Ceylan Colak, MD | Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul Turkey | Mayo Clinic |
| Brian Corwin, MD | Cleveland Clinic | Mass General Brigham |
| Chih-Yang Juan, DO | Cleveland Clinic | University Hospitals |
| Eugen Lungu, MD | Université de Montréal | Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montréal Canada |
Class of 2022
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Zeeshan Baqui, MD | Rush Medical College | Rush University Medical Center |
| Stefan Johnson, MD | Rochester Regional Health | Rochester Regional Health Hospital |
| Christopher Lui, MD | Newark Beth Israel Medical Center | Peterborough Regional Health Center |
| Matthew Neill, MD | University of Arizona | Eastern Radiology |
| Cassandra Parrott, DO | Cleveland Clinic | Abdominal Imaging Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic |
Class of 2021
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Saeed Ahmed, MD | University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine - Norman, OK | Abercrombie Radiology - Knoxville, TN |
| Leomar Bautista, DO | Oklahoma State University Medical Center - Tulsa, OK | Advanced Diagnostic Imaging - Nashville, TN |
| Sean Gallagher, DO | Cleveland Clinic - Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Clinic - Cleveland, OH |
| Rod Momenian, MD | University Hospitals - Cleveland, OH | Fellowship at John Hopkins - Baltimore, MD |
| Amirtha Owens, DO | MetroHealth Medical Center - Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Clinic - Cleveland, OH |
Class of 2020
| Residency | Employment After Fellowship | |
| Furqan Baqui, DO | Diagnostic Radiology Cleveland Clinic - Cleveland OH | Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, OH |
| Kishore Chundru | Diagnostic Radiology St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital - New York, NY | VA Hospital - Philadelphia, PA |
| Collin Hull, DO | Diagnostic Radiology Hemet Valley Medical Center- Hemet, CA | United Imaging Consultants, LLC - Kansas City, KS |
| Parthiv Mehta, MD | Diagnostic Radiology Baystate Medical Center- Springfield, MA | Virtual Radiologic Inc - Eden Prairie, MN |
| Rashpal Sandhu, MD | St. Joseph Mercy Community Healthcare - Chelsea, MI | Great Lakes Medical Imaging – Buffalo, NY |
How to Apply
Application process
Thank you for your interest in the MSK Radiology Fellowship Program at Cleveland Clinic. We participate in the NRMP MATCH for MSK Radiology Fellowship and will be accepting the common application form provided on the Society for Skeletal Radiology (SSR) website. Applicants need to be enrolled in or have completed, an ACGME-accredited U.S. residency program or an RCPSC-accredited program or a CFPC-accredited Canadian residency program. Exceptional international candidates enrolled in or having completed a diagnostic radiology residency will also be considered. We will sponsor applicants with J and H visas. We will be following the NRMP timeline for interviewing and ranking.
2026 Musculoskeletal Radiology Fellowship cycle:
- Application submission opens: September 1, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET
- Programs begin reviewing applications: October 2026
- Interview season starts: January 12, 2027
To apply, please upload the following:
- SSR common application
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement
- Photo
- Medical school transcript
- Medical school diploma
- USMLE/COMLEX transcripts
- 3 Letters of Recommendation (1 must be from current program director)
- ECGMG certificate, if applicable
All application materials should be unlocked and available to open.
We look forward to reviewing your application.
Please take a moment to review a listing of all the requirements that must be met to train at Cleveland Clinic as well as the non-smoking policy.
Contact us
Darlene Newton
Fellowship Coordinator
9500 Euclid Ave., L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
216.445.7110
newtond6@ccf.org
