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Meet Your Team

Fetal Imaging

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Telephone: 602-933-4411
Fax: 602-933-4268
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Our world-renowned fetal radiology team includes board-certified pediatric body and/or neuroradiologists with expertise in fetal imaging. Your team includes:

Luis F. Gonçalves MD

Dr. Gonçalves brings to Phoenix Children’s Hospital 30 years of experience in fetal imaging, including obstetrical ultrasonography, Doppler velocimetry, fetal echocardiography, 3D ultrasound and fetal MRI.

He received his medical degree from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1987. After residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he received training in fetal medicine in Brazil and completed two research fellowships, the first in obstetrical ultrasonography at the Radiology Department of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and the second in maternal-fetal medicine at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Dr. Gonçalves practiced fetal medicine in Brazil from 1995 to 2002 with a focus on prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies and antenatal testing. He returned to the United States in 2003 to head the fetal imaging division of the Perinatology Research Branch of the NICHD. In 2007, he pursued additional residency training in diagnostic radiology at Wayne State University followed by fellowship in pediatric radiology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Dr. Gonçalves subsequently served as co-director of Fetal Imaging at Beaumont Hospital, in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he led the hospital’s fetal MRI program until 2017.

He currently directs the Division of Fetal Imaging at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and is a professor in the departments of Child Health and Radiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as Mayo Clinic and Creighton University in Phoenix.

Dr. Gonçalves’ main areas of interest are prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies by ultrasonography and fetal MRI, fetal cardiology and 3D imaging. Dr. Gonçalves has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

Patricia Cornejo, MD

Dr. Cornejo is the director of MRI and has been working as pediatric neuroradiologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital since 2014. She graduated from medical school at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, with magna cum laude honors.

She moved to the United States after graduation to pursue residency in diagnostic radiology. She completed two years of clinical research in neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins University. During this time, she developed a special interest in inherited metabolic conditions and central nervous system malformations.

She completed a radiology residency at St. Joseph Medical Center in Pontiac, Michigan. Dr. Cornejo then completed a year-long fellowship in pediatric radiology followed by a year of sub specialization in pediatric neuroradiology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. During her residency and fellowship, she focused her work in developmental central nervous system anomalies and pursued additional extracurricular training in fetal imaging.

Soon after training, Dr. Cornejo joined the pediatric radiology division at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and after several months, dedicated herself full time to the pediatric neuroradiology section. In 2015, Dr. Cornejo joined a small group of pediatric subspecialists at Phoenix Children’s Hospital to develop a fetal-neonatal imaging and diagnosis center. Dr. Cornejo has led the Fetal Imaging Program, a subdivision of the Arizona Fetal Care Network.

Her passion and dedication to fetal MRI continue to expand the imaging program, offering the most innovative MR techniques for fetal evaluation. Dr. Cornejo and the fetal imaging team work closely in collaboration with other subspecialists to provide the most comprehensive fetal care in the Valley of the Sun.

Mittun C. Patel, MD

Dr. Patel graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with honors and earned his medical degree at Texas A&M College of Medicine. He graduated medical school with membership into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. He completed his diagnostic radiology residency at Texas A&M College of Medicine/Scott and White Memorial Hospital and went on to graduate from a pediatric radiology fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

During Dr. Patel’s time at Cincinnati Children’s hospital, he developed his skills in fetal imaging by working with leaders in the field. Dr. Patel brought back his skill to help develop fetal imaging services at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

In addition to fetal imaging, Dr. Patel has an interest in vascular malformations and musculoskeletal radiology. He is a board-certified radiologist with added CAQ certificate in pediatric radiology.

When he is not practicing radiology, Dr. Patel enjoys reading and spending time with this wife, twin girls and dogs, a Maltese and an Australian Shepherd.

Jennifer A. Vaughn, MD

Dr. Vaughn attended Wake Forest University for her undergraduate education, graduating summa cum laude with a BS in biology and subsequently completed her medical school at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine with membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

She completed both her diagnostic radiology residency and a neuroradiology fellowship at New York University and then completed a second fellowship in pediatric neuroradiology at Boston Children’s Hospital with focused training in fetal neuroradiology imaging. She also completed an imaging observership at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute with a specialized focus in pediatric head and neck imaging.

Dr. Vaughn joined the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Pediatric Neuroradiology Division in 2019. Prior to coming to Phoenix Children’s, she worked at Boston Children’s Hospital as a pediatric neuroradiologist since 2015, where she also interpreted fetal neurologic imaging exams.

Her main areas of interest are in pediatric and fetal head and neck imaging. She lectures both nationally and internationally and has authored several peer-reviewed manuscripts on the topics.

Outside of work, Dr. Vaughn enjoys hiking with her dog and traveling with her family.

More About the Fetal Imaging Team

Our fetal imaging team actively participates in academic organizations, including:

  • Society for Pediatric Radiology
  • Radiological Society of North America
  • American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
  • American Society of Pediatric Neuroradiology
  • North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging
  • International Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
  • Society of Cardiovascular MRI
  • Society of Cardiovascular CT

In addition to our fetal radiology team, the Division of Pediatric Radiology has many pediatric body imagers and neuroradiologists, each with expertise in a subspecialty area. This talented team is available when needed, for immediate consultation.

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