Principal Investigator
Jaewon Yang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern
Email
UT Southwestern Profile
Dr. Yang's professional research career started in the department of radiation oncology at Stanford University and transferred to the radiology department at UCSF. Throughout his professional research career, Dr. Yang has worked extensively in developing novel and clinically applicable radionuclide (PET and SPECT) imaging techniques. At Stanford, he demonstrated the proof-of-principle for PET-guided lung tumor tracking, supported by an initial research grant from RefleXion Medical that commercialized the world first emission-guided radiotherapy system recently. At UCSF, he developed quantitative PET imaging techniques readily applicable to daily clinics and extensively experienced quantitative data analysis using PET/MR data based on collaborations with GE Healthcare, focusing on attenuation correction and motion management.
His experience and expertise in oncological application of PET combined with CT and MRI have proven a strong asset to perform data acquisition and preprocessing for deep learning (DL) technology development. For the first time, he developed the key enabling technology of deriving attenuation and scatter corrected PET images directly from noncorrected PET images using a DL algorithm; furthermore, he demonstrated the potential of the DL algorithm for transforming noncorrected SPECT images to attenuation corrected SPECT images in the image space, as an important application for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in stand-alone SPECT systems not combined with a CT.
Co-Investigator
Robert Carson Sibley, M.D.
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 Members
Hamidreza Rashidykanan, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Dr. Hamidreza is preparing his biosket.
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.