Principal Investigator
Jaewon Yang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Yang began his research career in Radiation Oncology at Stanford University before moving to Radiology at UCSF. At Stanford, supported by a grant from RefleXion Medical, he demonstrated proof-of-principle for PET-guided lung tumor tracking, which later contributed to the commercialization of the world’s first emission-guided radiotherapy system. At UCSF, in collaboration with GE Healthcare, he advanced quantitative PET techniques for clinical use, emphasizing attenuation correction and motion management with PET/MR data. He has pioneered deep learning (DL) approaches for deriving attenuation/scatter-corrected images directly from non-corrected image in PET and SPECT.
Dr. Yang's hobby is reading the Bible. His favorite verses are 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: "16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord!"
Robert Carson Sibley, M.D. (Co-Investigator)
Assistant Professor
Dr. Sibley is an Assistant Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern, dual board certified by the American Board of Radiology and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine. His clinical expertise spans nuclear medicine, body magnetic resonance imaging (MR), and abdominal imaging, with a particular focus on advanced lymphatic imaging. He completed my medical training at UT Southwestern, followed by residency in diagnostic and nuclear radiology, and advanced fellowship training at Stanford, where he gained additional experience in cancer imaging and biodesign innovation.
Dr. Sibley’s clinical workflow integrates a broad spectrum of imaging modalities, including PET/CT and SPECT/CT, general nuclear medicine, body MR, and specialized lymphatic imaging. He routinely interprets complex oncologic and non-oncologic PET/CT and SPECT/CT studies, perform quantitative and qualitative assessments in body MR, and provide advanced diagnostic services for lymphatic disorders. His work has contributed to the development and clinical translation of novel imaging techniques for lymphatic diseases, and he actively participate in multidisciplinary tumor boards and imaging conferences to optimize patient care. In support of Dr. Yang’s research, Dr. Sibley will provide guidance and oversight based on his clinical expertise in PET/CT and SPECT/CT.
Lab Memebers
Hamidreza Rashidykanan, Ph.D. (Research Associate)
Dr. Hamidreza Rashidykanan is an Associate Researcher in the Department of Radiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Prior to joining UTSW, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Division of Biomedical Imaging at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.
His research focuses on developing and advancing innovative deep learning-based image reconstruction techniques for nuclear medicine imaging, with a particular emphasis on PET and SPECT. Currently, his work is dedicated to advancing quantitative lymphoscintigraphy (LSG) for the assessment and management of lymphedema using deep learning approaches. By integrating his expertise in medical imaging with his research in lymphoscintigraphy, Dr. Rashidykanan aims to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and clinical utility of lymphatic disease management.
Sina Oh, M.D. (Postdocoral Fellow)
Sina Oh, M.D. is a physician with clinical experience in primary care, dermatology, and infectious diseases. She completed her medical degree at Chungnam National University in South Korea and has practiced in both Korean and U.S. healthcare settings.
As a postdoctoral researcher, her research interests center on nuclear medicine, particularly lymphatic imaging and functional diagnostics. Her publication in Medicine (Baltimore) focused on a rare case involving lymphatic and renal manifestations in a patient with lupus, reinforcing her interest in lymphatic imaging and translational research. She is especially interested in PET and SPECT imaging for early disease detection and its impact on patient-centered care.
Joseph Choi (Student Intern)
Joseph is a senior undergraduate student in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). His interests include the application of deep learning and partial differential equations to PET and SPECT imaging. He has been developing a deep learning model to predict brain metabolism at the voxel level for early prediction of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
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Alumni
Hussein Akafzade, Ph.D.
Medical Physics Resident in Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Akafzade completed his postdoctoral training in SPIL from 2022 to 2025. During his time as a postdoctoral researcher, he developed deep learning algorithms for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using SPECT/CT and PET/CT data.