The UF Department of Radiation Oncology was pleased to welcome five new residents on July 1, 2025: Physician Residents Nicholas Gutsche, MD; Melisa Pasli, MD; Rami Shaker, MD; and Kristin Walker, MD; and Medical Physics Resident Song Yue, PhD.
Nicholas Gutsche joins the department from the University of Michigan Medical School, where he spearheaded a novel project evaluating the factors influencing patient participation in clinical trials. Dr. Gutsche’s background includes molecular imaging, radiopharmaceutical research, and health equity advocacy. Prior to medical school, he conducted translational research at the NIH’s Molecular Imaging Program, contributing to multiple peer-reviewed publications on radiolabeled probes and immunoPET imaging.
Melisa Pasli, a 2024 graduate of The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (ECU), has conducted AI research at Duke, gamma knife research at MD Anderson, and projects related to access to care for pediatric patients, gamma tile brachytherapy, the abscopal effect in melanoma patients treated with combination immunotherapy and radiotherapy at ECU. Her work has contributed to six posters being presented at ASTRO in 2023. As a research intern at St. Jude’s, her work in palliative care resulted in publications featured in the Frontiers in Oncology and the Journal of Palliative Medicine. Dr. Pasli is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASRO), and is the recipient of the 2019 National Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry.
Rami Shaker joins the department from University of Minnesota Medical School, where he researched a computational model predicting weight loss during head and neck radiotherapy; he presented his findings at the 2023 American Head and Neck Society international meeting in Montreal. Through involvement in labs focusing on 3D printing and prostate cancer genomics, Dr. Shaker has also contributed to multiple publications and national presentations. He was competitively selected as a Sarcoma Scholar with Rein in Sarcoma, where he engaged in patient advocacy and education. Dr. Shaker is BLS certified, an AOA research fellow, and an active member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Kristin Walker, a 2021 graduate of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Women Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology. She has served on the executive board of the American Medical Women’s Association and was commissioned in 2017 as 2nd Lieutenant in the Georgia Army National Guard. Dr. Walker’s previous research focused on gold nanorod technology, neuroradiology, public health in emergency medicine, ventilatory parameters in otolaryngology, and narcotics and surgical outcomes in plastic surgery; her current interests include global health, health equity and disparities, proton therapy, and brachytherapy.
Song Yue received his PhD in Medical Physics from Purdue University, where he specialized in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) for sodium quantification and its implications for hypertension research. With a background in nuclear engineering from Lanzhou University and the University of Science and Technology of China, he has conducted extensive research on radiation particle simulation, neutron transport, and sodium biokinetics in both preclinical and clinical settings. He is a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and is currently interested in applying computer technology to radiation oncology and medical imaging. He enjoys reading, gym workouts, running and cooking in his spare time.
