Karen E. Sperling, MD

Karen E. Sperling, MD, is Medical Director, Outpatient Radiology at Montefiore and Assistant Professor of Radiology at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her clinical focus is on musculoskeletal imaging, including the interpretation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound of sports-related injuries, as well as other musculoskeletal disorders and tumor imaging. She has extensive experience in interventional musculoskeletal procedures, including image-guided therapeutic and diagnostic joint injection, arthrography and arthrocentesis, as well as CT- and ultrasound-guided bone and soft tissue biopsy.

In 1988, Dr. Sperling received her Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry at Barnard College of Columbia University. She continued her education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, earning her Doctor of Medicine in 1993. Her postdoctoral training began at Long Island Jewish Hospital with an internship in the Department of Pathology from 1993 to 1994. She then completed a 4-year residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in 1998, serving as Chief Resident in her final year. In 1999, she completed a fellowship in Musculoskeletal Radiology at Montefiore.

Dr. Sperling maintains a research focus in advanced biochemical MRI of cartilage. In an effort to establish a clinical imaging biomarker for the study of osteoarthritis, she has participated in a multicenter cross-vendor validation study of T1rho and T2 mapping. She also works with the Department of Orthopedics to implement these techniques in the evaluation and management of patients with cartilage injuries and surgical chodroplasty. She has contributed to work published in reviewed journals, scientific exhibits and abstracts.

Dr. Sperling is board certified in Diagnostic Radiology. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Skeletal Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America and the American College of Radiology.