Education

1998-2007       M.D., Tehran University of Medical Sciences      

2020-2023       M.B.A., Healthcare Management, Innovation, and Technology, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School                                

Post Graduate Medical Training    

2009 - 2010     Internship, Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

2010 - 2014     Residency, Diagnostic Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital

2014 - 2016     Fellowship and Clinical Instructorship, Neuroradiology, Johns Hopkins University

Formal leadership training

2023-2024       Society of Chairs in Academic Radiology (SCARD)/GE Healthcare: Leading, Empowering, and Disrupting (LEAD)

2024                High-Reliability Organization Senior Leadership Academy: Vizient Safe and Reliable sponsored by University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS)

2024                American College of Radiology-Babson College, Radiology Leadership Institute Summit

2025                Developing Medical Leadership Program, Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park

2025-2026       Executive Leadership in Academic Health Care (ELH) Program, Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program

Dr. Noushin Yahyavi, MD, MBA, is an Associate Professor, Senior Vice Chair for Business Affairs, and Chief Operating Officer in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). She is a nationally and internationally recognized neuroradiologist and healthcare leader whose portfolio spans clinical excellence, academic innovation, strategic planning, financial and operational stewardship, and organizational transformation.

Dr. Yahyavi received her medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, followed by an internal medicine internship at the Cleveland Clinic and a diagnostic radiology residency at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her neuroradiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, where she later served on the faculty before being recruited to UMSOM. She holds an MBA with a specialization in Healthcare Management, Innovation, and Technology from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and is currently a fellow in the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program / Executive Leadership in Health Care track.

As Senior Vice Chair and COO, Dr. Yahyavi oversees clinical and academic operations, business development, faculty affairs, strategic planning, and financial management for the department. She has led high-impact initiatives that strengthened operational performance, improved financial sustainability, enhanced system-wide integration, and advanced the department’s strategic direction as an academic radiology program. Her leadership includes building strong partnerships with hospitals across the University of Maryland Medical System, negotiating key institutional and clinical service agreements, aligning radiology operations across multiple sites, and driving enterprise-level initiatives that support quality, access, efficiency, and long-term academic growth.

Dr. Yahyavi is an American Board of Radiology–certified diagnostic radiologist with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Diagnostic Neuroradiology and recognized expertise in complex brain, head and neck, and spine imaging. She is highly proficient in advanced neuroimaging techniques—including high-resolution vessel wall MRI, MR angiography, perfusion imaging, MR spectroscopy, and functional MRI.

Academically, Dr. Yahyavi is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in neuroimaging, artificial intelligence, and radiology practice leadership. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, numerous scientific abstracts, and multiple book chapters, with work appearing in leading journals such as Radiology, AJR, AJNR, and JACR. Her scholarship has been supported by national society grants, institutional awards, and competitive fellowships. She plays an active role in shaping national radiology practice standards through service on committees of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), American College of Radiology (ACR), Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and American Board of Radiology (ABR). She currently serves as Vice President and President-Elect of the ACR Washington, DC Metro Chapter, Chair of the ACR Engage Steering Committee, and Vice Chair of the ASNR International Collaboration Committee, and she contributes to the ACR Appropriateness Criteria Expert Panel on Neuroradiology. She is also a frequently invited speaker and course organizer at RSNA, ASNR, ACR, and ARRS, lecturing on artificial intelligence, imaging economics, and leadership in academic radiology.

In the realm of education, Dr. Yahyavi is a committed and innovative educator who has taught and mentored learners across all stages of training. She has mentored and sponsored numerous residents, fellows, and faculty—many of whom have gone on to competitive fellowships, faculty appointments, and leadership roles—helping cultivate a strong and diverse academic pipeline. Nationally, she supports radiology education through her work on the ABR Exam Writing Committees, the RSNA Education Exhibits Awards Committee, and the ACR Commission on Education. Internationally, she founded and continues to support Health4TheWorld initiatives and has significantly expanded the ASNR Anne Osborn Visiting Professor Program, broadening its global impact and reach.

1. Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N. Preserving the Academic Mission Amid Radiologist Shortages and Financial Pressures. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2025 May;224(5):e2432397. doi: 10.2214/AJR.24.32397. PMID: 39813607.
2. Expert Panel on Neurological Imaging; Eldaya RW, Parsons MS, Hutchins TA, Avery R, Burns J, Griffith B, Hassankhani A, Khan MA, Ng H, Raizman NM, Reitman C, Shah VN, Sliker C, Soliman H, Timpone VM, Tomaszewski CA, Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N, Policeni B. ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Cervical Pain or Cervical Radiculopathy: 2024 Update. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 May;22(5S):S136-S162. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.02.035. PMID: 40409873.
3. Expert Panel on Neurological Imaging; Hassankhani A, Freeman CW, Banks J, Parsons MS, Wessell DE, Hutchins TA, Lenchik L, Burns J, Eldaya RW, Griffith B, Hickey SM, Khan MA, Lawrence B, Paisley TS, Reitman C, Ropper AE, Shah VN, Steenburg SD, Timpone VM, Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N, Chang EY, Policeni B. ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Acute Spinal Trauma: 2024 Update. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 May;22(5S):S48-S66. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.02.013. PMID: 40409895.
4. Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N, Policeni BA, Juliano AF. ASNR International Collaboration Committee's Anne Osborn International Outreach Program: Tools and Barriers, Lessons Learned. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2025 Jul 24. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8762. PMID: 40707249.
5. Nghiem DX, Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N, Hwang GL, Zafari Z, Moy L, Carlos RC, Doo FX. The Iodine Opportunity for Sustainable Radiology: Quantifying Supply Chain Strategies to Cut Contrast's Carbon and Costs. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 Oct 3:S1546-1440(25)00573-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.09.027. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41046992.
6. Moonis G, Mohan S, Dubey P, Ginat DT, Kralt P, Utukuri PS, Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi N, Bruce JN, Hoang JK, Pandharipande PV, Kang SK. Management of Incidentally Discovered Pineal Cyst on CT and MRI: Recommendations from the ACR Incidental Findings Committee. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025 Nov 30:S1546-1440(25)00515-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2025.09.006. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41212135.