Events Calendar

Medical Imaging Seminar Series

Speaker: Prof. Simon Cherry, University of California, Davis

Abstract: Highly sophisticated hybrid imaging systems that integrate positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging systems (MRI) have recently emerged with astonishing speed, building on many years of technical development and catalyzed by advances in photodetector technology as well as the success of hybrid imaging with PET/CT. This presentation will trace some of the early developments in PET/MRI instrumentation, as well show results from a selection of state-of-the-art systems and their initial preclinical applications. Approaches to PET/MRI based on photomultiplier tubes, avalanche photodiodes and silicon photomultipliers will be contrasted, and trade-offs in using each technology discussed. The recent emergence of clinical PET/MRI scanners, challenges with respect to quantification, and their potential applications will be reviewed. The remaining limitations of current generation clinical and preclinical PET/MRI systems will be identified and a view on the future needs and possible trends for instrumentation in PET/MRI presented.



Biography: Simon R. Cherry, Ph.D. received his B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics with Astronomy from University College London in 1986 and a Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London in 1989. After a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Edward Hoffman at UCLA, he joined the faculty in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at UCLA in 1993. From 1998-2001 he was Associate Director of the UCLA Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging. In 2001, Dr. Cherry joined UC Davis as a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging. Dr. Cherry was Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis from 2007-2009.

Dr. Cherry’s research interests center around in vivo molecular imaging systems. A focus of his research is the development of very high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) systems for preclinical imaging, in particular the development of the microPET scanner that was subsequently widely adopted in academia and industry. Additional interests include Cerenkov luminescence imaging and multi-modality imaging, especially the integration of PET MRI. Dr. Cherry is a founding member of the Society of Molecular Imaging and a fellow of the IEEE, BMES and AIMBE. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Physics in Medicine and Biology and serves on the Editorial Board of Molecular Imaging and Biology. In 2006, Dr. Cherry was invited to give the Henry Wagner Distinguished Lectureship at the Society of Nuclear Medicine annual meeting and in 2007, Dr. Cherry received the Academy of Molecular Imaging Distinguished Basic Scientist Award. In 2011 Dr. Cherry received the Imaging Achievement Award from the Society for Molecular Imaging. Dr. Cherry is the author of more than 170 peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters in the field of biomedical imaging. He is also co-author of the textbook “Physics in Nuclear Medicine”.


Host: Prof. Krishna Nayak

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Talyia Veal