Our Team | KHAVARI RESEARCH

Rose Khavari, MD

Surgeon Scientist

Dr. Rose Khavari is a Professor of Urology at Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Khavari received her M.D. at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and with an interest in functional urologic surgery, following her residency at Baylor College of Medicine she completed her fellowship in male and female continence, pelvic reconstructive surgery and neurourology at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Nathan Godinho, MD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nathan Godinho, MD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Urology at Houston Methodist Institute. He received his M.D. from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, in 2024. His research focuses on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, particularly in urology. At Houston Methodist, his work primarily involves clinical reasoning, data entry, data analysis, and scientific writing. He joined Houston Methodist in 2026 under the mentorship of Dr. Khavari.

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Betsy Salazar, PhD

Assistant Research Professor

Her role as Assistant Professor in the Khavari lab is focused on applying her extensive knowledge in electrophysiology and neuromodulation techniques to study the brain-bladder connection. Dr. Salazar received a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston in 2015. She then began postdoctoral training at the Houston Methodist Research Institute under the guidance of Dr. Alvaro Munoz and Dr. Timothy B. Boone, where she focused on the electromyographic characterization of the lower urinary tract in intact and spinal cord injury (SCI) rodent models. She continued her postdoctoral training by joining the Center for Neuroregeneration under the direction of Dr. Philip J. Horner, where she worked on the use of therapeutic agents to promote remyelination and motor recovery following SCI. She also has interest in functional neuroimaging and neuronavigation to develop noninvasive therapies for neurogenic bladder patients.

Salina Khan, PA-C, MSPA

Physician Assistant

Salina Khan, PA-C, MSPA, is a Clinical and Research Physician Assistant in the Department of Urology at Houston Methodist Hospital. She earned her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Michigan and brings a diverse clinical background spanning urology, orthopedic surgery, surgical critical care, and women’s health. Prior to becoming a Physician Assistant, she worked in medical writing and clinical research, with experience in pharmacovigilance, regulatory documentation, and clinical study reporting. At the Khavari Lab, Salina supports clinical trials in Neurourology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, with a focus on patient recruitment, study implementation, neuromodulation interventions, and longitudinal follow-up. Her work integrates clinical care and research to advance innovative treatments for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, urinary incontinence, and other complex bladder disorders.

Hamida Rajab, CCRP, MBA

Clinical Trial Manager

Hamida graduated with a B.S. in Biotechnology/Genetics from the University of Memphis. With many years of experience in clinical research, Hamida facilitates study recruitment and ensures all of our clinical trials and studies run smoothly and comply with good clinical practice.

Ilma Savul MD, MPH, CCRP

Clinical Research Coordinator

Dr. Ilma Savul holds an M.D. and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. With a background as a Research Fellow in Neurophysiology and extensive experience as a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator overseeing Urologic Oncology SWOG-NCTN trials at Baylor College of Medicine, she brings a wealth of knowledge in clinical research. At the Khavari Lab, Dr. Savul specializes in managing multi-phase clinical trials in Neuro-Urology, with a focus on protocol development, patient recruitment, and regulatory compliance. She is dedicated to advancing patient care through innovative research and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

Julu Benoy

Clinical Research Coordinator

Julu Bernoy graduated with M.B.B.S. degree and joined the Khavari Lab in 2023 to advance her career in clinical research. With a passion for bridging patient care and scientific discovery, she plays a key role in the lab’s operations, focusing on study recruitment and regulatory compliance.

Arda Bayer

Graduate Research Fellow

After graduating from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey with a degree in electrical and electronics engineering, Arda traveled to the US and began his graduate career at Rice University in Houston. At Rice, under the direction of Dr. Behnaam Aazhang, he wanted to find other areas to apply his skills and found the Khavari lab! While in the Khavari lab, Arda will help with analysis and statistics for various ongoing and completed projects involving medical imaging modalities.

Collaborators

Neurogenic Bladder Research Group (NBRG)

As an active member of the Neurogenic Bladder Research Group (NBRG), Dr. Khavari and her research team have been collaborating with NBRG on many projects to improve the quality of life, surgical outcomes, and clinical care of individuals living with neurogenic bladder.

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Timothy Boone, MD, PhD

As the Director of the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, Dr. Boone has been a mentor to Dr. Khavari since 2006. With over 25 years of professional and academic career focused on neurourology, Dr. Boone has been supporting and advising majority of our projects in the past decade. Dr. Boone’s unapparelled mentorship has been instrumental in shaping Dr. Khavari’s academic career.

Doroles Lamb, PhD

As the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Lamb has been a mentor to Dr. Khavari since her residency training. With an extensive background in both clinical diagnostic and basic science in the fields of urology, prostate cancer, and genitourinary birth defects, Dr. Lamb has been supporting many of our research projects and grant applications. Dr. Lamb is an excellent researcher with various funding mechanisms through NIDDK who has mentored Dr. Khavari for over a decade and has shaped her academic career into a rising surgeon-scientist.

Christof Karmonik, PhD

As the Scientific Director of the Houston Methodist Translational Imaging Center, Dr. Karmonik has been been working closely with us on numerous projects on the brain control of the bladder since 2013. With more than 20 years of experience in clinical and preclinical MRI research, Dr. Karmonik offers valuable insights on the planning, execution, and analysis in many of our studies.

John Lincoln, MD, PhD

Associate Professor in Neurology
Bartels Family Professorship in Neurology Director, MRI Analysis Center
McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)

Ricardo Gonzalez, MD

Dr. Gonzalez is an Associate Professor of Urology at Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine and Texas A&M University. With an expertise in minimally invasive treatments for voiding dysfunction, he has been a strong collaborator in many of our studies in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP). Many of his patients participate in our clinical trial.

Santosh Helekar, MD, PhD

Dr. Helekar is one of the inventors of the Transcranial Rotating Permanent Magnet Stimulator (TRPMS), a device used in one of our clinical trials. With many years of expertise, Dr. Helekar has been a consultant and collaborator supporting all our TRPMS-related studies.

Rachel High, DO

Dr. High, a skilled urogynecologist, is interested in evaluating the higher neural changes following the administration of overactive bladder (OAB) medications. We have been collaborating over the past two years to create the first multi-center human trial designed specifically to study cognitive effects of medications use in OAB.

Brian Miles, MD

Dr. Miles is a Professor of Urology at Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College. With and expertise in robotic surgery and a specialization in urologic oncology, especially cancer of the prostate, Dr. Miles has been a collaborator in many of our studies on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and male urinary incontinence. Additionally, Dr. Miles has been a mentor to Dr. Khavari over the past decade helping shape her academic urology career. Many of Dr. Miles patients participate in our clinical trials.

Argyrios (Argy) Stampas, MD

Dr. Stampas is a physiatrist at TIRR Memorial Hermann and has a few active trials evaluating transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation in acute and chronic spinal cord injury patients. With a clinical interest in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, Dr. Stampas has been a collaborator in many of our studies, especially on bladder and bowel management of neurogenic patients.

Ali Jalali, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor Department of Neurosurgery Baylor College of Medicine

Jiaqiong (Susan) Xu, PhD

Division Chief of Statistics & Research Design, Center for Outcomes Research
Associate Research Professor of Biostatistics, Academic Institute

Associate Research Member, Research Institute

Houston Methodist

Weill Cornell Medical College

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Kathleen Kobashi, MD

Kathleen Kobashi is Chair of the Department of Urology at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. Her area of interest includes treatment of urinary incontinence in men and women, overactive bladder (urgency and frequency), neuromodulation, and pelvic prolapse.

Julie Stewart, MD

Dr. Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Urology at Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College and specializes in treating men and women with urinary incontinence and voiding dysfunction. Dr. Stewart has been a collaborator in several of our studies and many of her patients participate in our clinical trials.

Yingchun Zhang, PhD

Dr. Zhang received his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Zhejiang University, China in 2004. After completing his postdoctoral training in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, he joined the University of Houston in Fall 2012 as an Associate Professor. Dr. Zhang has been collaborating with us on several projects using dynamic MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to explore the brain control of the bladder.