John McMenamy, M.D., Associate Director of Radiology
Associate Professor of Clinical Practice, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Trauma, Emergency, and Acute Care Radiology
Dr. McMenamy joined Denver Health in 202-as the Associate Director of Service for Radiology at Denver Health, supporting the department’s clinical, research, and educational programs. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Dr. McMenamy earned his medical degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston where he was class president. After medical school, he completed his diagnostic radiology residency at The University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) in Dallas, during which he served as a chief resident. While at UTSW, he completed a neuroradiology fellowship, and he holds a Certificate of Additional Qualification (CAQ) in Neuroradiology; the highest level of certification offered by the American Board of Radiology in the subspecialty of Neuroradiology.
After completing neuroradiology fellowship, Dr. McMenamy joined NYU School of Medicine faculty, rising to the rank of Associate Professor and serving as Division Chief of Emergency Radiology where he oversaw the growth of the Emergency Radiology group from a single section of 6 members into a division with four sections comprised of 24 full-time faculty emergency radiologists covering multiple Level I trauma and stroke centers. He also served as the Director of Quality & Safety and Associate Director of High Reliability.
Dr. McMenamy is an experienced healthcare leader, educator, and mentor with an established track record of initiating and executing impactful quality, safety, and operational programs through robust performance improvement methodologies. Dr. McMenamy has a demonstrated ability to work effectively with leaders and physicians to create, engage, and lead diverse teams of front-line staff in accelerating achievement of institutional objectives. His training in these areas includes an MBA, a fellowship in Clinical Quality, Board Certification by the American Board of Medical Quality (CMQ), the highest level of lean training offered by NYC Health + Hospitals, and he has achieved Certified Physician Executive (CPE) status by the American Association for Physician Leadership.
Dr. McMenamy's academic interests focus on developing and executing programs to enhance quality, safety, and improvement education. While at NYU, he developed and led the radiology quality improvement curriculum and redesigned the NYC Health + Hospital clinician lean training program. His educational efforts involve all levels of experience, including medical students, residents, fellows, practicing physicians, NPs, PAs, RNs, and leaders throughout all areas of medicine. Dr. McMenamy has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, presented dozens of quality- and safety-improvement project poster presentations, and was the recent recipient of 2020 American Society of Emergency Radiology - Neiman Health Policy Institute (ASER - NHPI) grant to improve healthcare system response to Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs).
Mithun Diwakar, M.D., PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Neuroradiology
Mithun Diwakar, MD, PhD is a Diagnostic Radiologist with an expertise in the area of Neuroradiology. Particular areas of clinical focus include traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and functional neuroimaging (MEG).
Dr. Diwakar earned his Bachelor's of Science with honors from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2006. At Caltech, Dr. Diwakar was awarded the Stuart Foundation Upper Class Merit Award, the Carnation Merit Scholarship, and the Arie J. Haagen-Smit Memorial Award. Dr. Diwakar earned his Doctorate of Philosophy with honors in Bioengineering from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in 2011. He earned his Doctorate of Medicine from UCSD in 2015 as well, after completion of the Medical Scientist Training Program. At UCSD, Dr. Diwakar was awarded the Department of Radiology Senior Student Award, the Dietschman Scholarship, and the Regent's Scholarship. Dr. Diwakar's transitional year internship was completed at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in 2016. Dr. Diwakar's residency was completed at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in 2020. Dr. Diwakar subsequently completed a fellowship in Diagnostic Neuroradiology at UCSF in 2021. During Dr. Diwakar's residency and fellowship, he was awarded a T32 research fellowship for pursuing research in the field of functional neuroimaging. Dr. Diwakar served as the residency program's webmaster from 2017-2019.
Dr. Diwakar holds the title of Assistant Professor at Denver Health’s academic affiliate, the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Diwakar particularly focuses on the education of residents in the area of emergency Neuroradiology.
He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Diwakar belongs to the Radiologic Society of North America and the American Society of Neuroradiology.
Dr. Diwakar has been actively interested in research throughout his professional career, with 18 peer reviewed publications and 2 poster presentations at national/international conferences.
Joseph Houkal, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Neuroradiology
Dr. Houkal has been a member of the Department of Radiology at Denver Health since 2018. He earned his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Amherst College in Amherst, MA during which he received the Phi Beta Kappa award for best performance in mathematics. Dr. Houkal’s medical degree was received from University of Colorado School of Medicine and his internship in general medicine was completed at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, CO. His fellowship training in neuroradiology occurred at University of California in San Diego, CA.
Dr. Houkal is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology, and he holds the title of Assistant Professor at Denver Health’s academic affiliate, the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Houkal has been the coauthor of a number of scientific papers concerning both clinical and health policy research.
Michael Mestek, M.D.
Associate Professor of Clinical Practice, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Neuroradiology
Dr. Michael Mestek earned his MD degree at the University of Colorado Medical School, which was followed by an internship at the University of New Mexico, a diagnostic radiology residency at the St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, and then a Neuroradiology fellowship at a Harvard-affiliated hospital.
Since training, Dr. Mestek has been serving thousands of radiology patients per year for over 40 years. While Dr. Mestek worked in a private practice briefly after his training, the majority of his career has been spent at Denver Health due to his keen interest in serving patients in need. When initially hired, Dr Mestek was the only fellowship-trained neuroradiologist at Denver Health, and a portion of his practice was neuroangiography. Dr Mestek has established expertise in all neuroradiology modalities, as well as in interventional radiology procedures and general diagnostic radiology examinations.
Over his career, Dr. Mestek served in a number of capacities including head of the Dept from 1989 to 1997. During his leadership, Denver Health established its first independent interventional radiology service. Dr. Mestek was awarded the prestigious Medical Staff Career Service Award.
Dr. Mestek holds the title of Associate Professor of Clinical Practice at Denver Health’s academic affiliate, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and has taught hundreds of residents over his career. Dr. Mestek continues to attend on an intermittent basis and remains a highly valued and productive member of the team!
David Symonds, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Neuroradiology
Dr. David Symonds is a Diagnostic Radiologist with expertise in the area of Neuroradiology. Particular areas of clinical focus include trauma, stroke, and demyelinating disease.
Dr. Symonds graduated from the University of Washington, where he played in the marching band and was rush chairman for his fraternity. Dr. Symonds earned his medical degree from Cornell University. His residency was completed at the University of Colorado after an internship at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Symonds completed a fellowship in Neuroradiology at the University of Colorado.
Dr. Symonds holds the title of Clinical Assistant Professor at Denver Health’s academic affiliate, the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology. Dr. Symonds belongs to the American Society of Neuroradiology.
He is an avid birdwatcher and sings in a local chorus.
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Scott D. Tomsick, M.D.
Senior Instructor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Musculoskeletal Imaging
Dr. Tomsick currently holds the title of Senior Instructor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Tomsick has coauthored various publications with a particular focus on musculoskeletal and spine disease/injury. In 2020, he was honored as a “Top Doc” in Denver by 5280 magazine. In his spare time, Dr. Tomsick enjoys skiing, running, and playing music
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Subspecialty Focus: Neuroradiology
Dr. Yuhasz graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Case Western University where she was elected as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She subsequently earned her medical degree from Yale University where she was awarded the Joseph Collins Memorial Scholarship and the Campbell Prize for academic excellence. She performed an extra year of research while in medical school as part of obtaining a Masters of Health Sciences.
Dr. Yuhasz’s residency was completed at NYU School of Medicine after an internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Yuhasz completed Fellowship in Neuroradiology at Emory University. During residency, Dr. Yuhasz was awarded the RSNA Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award and was elected to the NYU House Staff Leadership Committee. She was additionally elected as an RSNA Introduction to Academic Radiology Scholar. As a fellow, Dr. Yuhasz was awarded the ASHNR Research in Training Award for best oral scientific presentation.
As a fourth-year resident, Dr. Yuhasz was awarded the ASNR Trainee Research Award Grant to pursue high-resolution MR imaging through the brainstem in sensorineural hearing-loss patients.
Dr. Yuhasz holds the title of Assistant Professor at Denver Health’s academic affiliate, the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Yuhasz particularly focuses on the education of residents/fellows in the area of head and neck imaging.
Dr. Yuhasz belongs to RSNA, ASNR, and ASHNR societies and has participated at multiple national meetings, including as an invited guest speaker. She is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology.
Before Denver Health, Dr. Yuhasz practiced at NYU School of Medicine with a focus on emergency neuroradiology.
Dr. Yuhasz has been the author of numerous publications, book chapters, and oral presentations at RSNA, ASNR, and ASHNR national meetings throughout her training and education.
