UC Irvine radiology leader named a distinguished investigator

UC Irvine radiology leader named a distinguished investigator

Dr. Vahid Yaghmai, who leads radiology services for UCI Health and the UC Irvine School of Medicine, has been selected by the Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research to receive its 2024 Distinguished Investigator Award. This prestigious honor recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the field of medical imaging research.

Yaghmai, the Hasso Brothers endowed chair of the Department of Radiological Sciences, is among 42 distinguished recipients who will be inducted into the academy's Council of Distinguished Investigators during a ceremony at the 2024 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in December. He also serves as interim chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and leads radiation oncology services for UCI Health.

He has published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers, 250 scientific abstracts, 20 book chapters and has received several national and international awards for his research, which is focused on oncologic imaging biomarkers and image processing. His efforts have also helped pave the way for leading-edge methods that reduce radiation dosing with computed tomography (CT).

Under Yaghmai's leadership, UCI Health became the first Southern California health system to offer advanced photon-counting CT scanning, which produces higher resolution scans in a fraction of the time needed for traditional CT imaging. The first patients were scanned in July at the new Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building on the UCI Health ― Irvine medical campus.

The Distinguished Investigator award underscores Yaghmai's significant impact on, and his dedication to, the field of medical imaging research. It further reinforces UCI Health and the UC Irvine School of Medicine as innovators in radiological sciences.

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About UCI Health

UCI Health, one of California's largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in Orange, Calif., four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Recognized as a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About UCI Health - Irvine

UCI Health - Irvine, a new medical complex at the north end of the UC Irvine campus, is bringing unparalleled expertise and the finest evidence-based care that only an academic health system can offer to the communities of coastal and south Orange County. As part of UCI Health - which includes the flagship UCI Medical Center in Orange, Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and multiple outpatient care locations - the new 1.2 million-square-foot campus will offer key clinical programs in oncology, digestive health, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and spine surgery. The nation's first medical center powered by an all-electric central utilities plant, UCI Health - Irvine is home to the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, a five-story, 168,000-square-foot medical facility offering multidisciplinary specialty care for children and adults, urgent care services, the Center for Children's Health and the UCI Health Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, a five-story, 225,000-square-foot structure. Coming in 2025: a seven-story, 350,000-square-foot, acute care hospital and emergency department.