Meet our team

Dr. Bahktiar Yamini, a Professor of Neurosurgery at UChicago Medicine and Director of the Margaret Hackett Family Program, became involved with the Margaret Hackett Family Program in 2022. He provides insight and direction in developing the core program components including Patient Advocacy, Clinical Research and Translational Research. He also provides oversight for budget development and overall administration of the program.  Dr. Yamini is the director of Neurosurgical oncology at UChicago Medicine and as such he brings much knowledge and expertise to the Margaret Hackett Family Program.  Dr. Yamini provides comprehensive surgical care for adult and pediatric patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors, including the use of minimally invasive procedures and the latest image-guided techniques for maximal resection of tumors.

The Margaret Hackett Family Program was originally established by Dr. David Frim in 2019.  Dr. Frim developed a close relationship with the Hackett Family that allowed him to develop the initial vision for the Margaret Hackett Family Program.  Dr. Fim was instrumental in assembling the MHFP Research Consortium and the foundational components of the program.  Dr.  Yamini took over as Director of the Program when Dr. Frim stepped back from day-to-day engagement in 2022. Working with the Margaret Hackett Family Center Board, Dr. Yamini continues to provide leadership and strong guidance in executing the program and ensuring that all remain focused on delivering the Mission.

Julie began her career as an educator for students with special needs, including learning and behavior disorders earning a Masters in Teaching from Hamline University. Her primary focus at the time was working with students in elementary school. After teaching, she transitioned to a career in business where she utilized her Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Iowa.  She worked for a small tech firm and then went on to work at the American Medical Association. Julie has always remained passionate about helping youth and families, while pursuing a career in business over the years.

She worked with a variety of organizations that focus on the development of youth and families such as One Million Degrees, GRIP Outreach for Youth, and at City Church Chicago. Julie continues her passion for helping youth and families in her role as Senior Program Manager of the MHFP, where she develops advocacy resources, manages community outreach & support services, while also maintaining the overall program.

Dr. Seif Gholampour is a researcher in the Margaret Hackett Family Program (MHFP) within the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Chicago. With over 14 years of research experience, his expertise encompasses biomedical modeling and simulation of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, machine and deep learning in neuroscience, interactive artificial intelligence, machine survival analysis, neuroinformatics, and neuroimage processing. His research also extends to image-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations in neuroscience.

Dr. Gholampour specializes in neuroimaging, image processing, and morphometric analysis, as well as integrating convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and image-based artificial intelligence to enhance the automated diagnosis and treatment of CNS disorders. Beyond neuroimaging, he applies natural language processing (NLP) techniques in neuroinformatics to extract valuable insights for clinical decision-making. His current projects focus on leveraging artificial intelligence techniques to advance diagnosis and treatment evaluation for clinical decision-making in neurosurgery based on the MHFP database.

Judith (Judie) Holleman supports both research and clinical care for the Margaret Hackett Family Program. During her research activities, Judie helps develop clinical research protocols and clinical trials. While working with patients, she operates as an experienced clinician that helps interpret and navigate the pathway of care. She brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to caring for patients impacted by CNS anomalies.