Biography
Dr. Nissman is a musculoskeletal radiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with clinical interests in orthopedic oncology, trauma, sports medicine, and diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound. He interprets the full gamut of musculoskeletal imaging studies including radiographs, MRI, CT, and ultrasound and performs a variety of image-guided procedures, including joint/bursa aspirations/injections, soft tissue and bone biopsies, and ultrasound-guided tendon sheath and perineural injections. As an academic radiologist, he is primarily involved in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows and currently serves as the course director for the medical student Bone and Joint Imaging elective as well as the Fellowship Program Director. He is also a fellow of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Academy of Educators.
Academically, he is particularly interested in diagnostic testing theory and critical review of the literature; he serves as a regular reviewer for the journals Radiology, Radiology: Artificial Intelligence, and the Journal for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He collaborates with the Department of Exercise and Sports Science on the imaging detection/evaluation of early onset osteoarthritis in the post-ACL injured knee using biochemical MRI and ultrasonography. He has additional interests in pattern recognition theory/machine learning and forensic imaging.
Dr. Nissman was an electrical and biomedical engineer specializing in signal processing and pattern recognition for 10 years prior to medical school. As an engineer, he considered whether he wanted to pursue a PhD in engineering or go to medical school. Since he was primarily drawn to the biomedical applications of engineering, he decided to pursue a career in medicine. He considered many specialties before he decided to pursue radiology, but, in the end, radiology ended up being the ideal match, given his physics and engineering background.
Research
Dr. Nissman has been involved in team science at the University of North Carolina since he started nearly 12 years ago. Broadly, he provides imaging consultation, interpretation, and study-level segmentation and/or grading according to standardized scoring instruments. He is currently involved with 3 separate large multidisciplinary research teams that study post-traumatic knee osteoarthrosis in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed knees (Departments of Exercise and Sports Science, Orthopedics, and Rheumatology), analyze the Osteoarthritis Initiative knee imaging data set (Computer Science, Biostatistics, and Rheumatology), and evaluate muscle quality in sarcopenia/frailty (Geriatrics, Biomedical Engineering, Nutrition). These teams all study problems with broad public health implications (e.g., osteoarthritis and sarcopenia/frailty) with the goals of improved disease characterization and, ultimately, the identification of effective interventions.
Philosophy of Care
I interpret all my cases knowing that behind every image is a human being.
Honors and Awards
- 2022 Radiology: Artificial Intelligence Editor’s Recognition Award with Special Distinction
- 2021 Radiology: Artificial Intelligence Editor’s Recognition Award with Special Distinction
- 2020 Radiology: Artificial Intelligence Editor’s Recognition Award with Distinction
Education
- Master of Science: North Carolina State University (Electrical Engineering)
- Master of Public Health: University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- Medical School: University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- Residency: Medical University of South Carolina
- Fellowship: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Publications
To view a list of Dr. Nissman’s publications, click here.
