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

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.

Dr. Niederman's career is dedicated to the care of patients with complex lung diseases, with a particular focus on respiratory tract infections including pneumonia, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), sepsis and respiratory failure. He is an expert in the management of patients with pneumonia, has written national and international pneumonia guidelines, and researches new therapies for pneumonia that can optimize treatment of patients infected with antibiotic-resistant pathogens.Dr. Niederman has published over 350 articles and book chapters related to these efforts and is active in national pulmonary and critical organizations. He received the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians. He is currently on the editorial boards of CHEST, Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care, and Intensive Care Medicine. Click here to listen to Dr. Niederman speak about cardiac complications in community-acquired pneumonia.