Thomas Yankeelov, a distinguished senior cancer researcher with expertise in computational biology, advanced imaging, and mathematical modeling, will join The University of Texas at Austin as a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Dell Medical School. He will hold the W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr., Simulation-Based Engineering and Sciences Professorship II – Computational Oncology, and he will lead the Tumor Modeling Group in the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES).
The overall goal of Yankeelov's clinical research is to improve patient care by employing advanced imaging methods for the early identification, assessment, and prediction of tumors' response to therapy. He develops tumor forecasting methods by integrating advanced imaging technologies with patient-specific data and builds predictive, multi-scale biophysical models of tumor growth with the purpose of optimizing therapies for the individual cancer patient.
"Professor Yankeelov is a world renowned expert in cancer imaging and modeling. His expertise adds a new dimension to the Biomedical Engineering Department, and he will play a major role in further establishing ties between BME and the Dell Medical School," said Professor Andrew Dunn, Interim Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Indicative of his establishment in the field of cancer research, he is the recipient of a prestigious $6 million recruitment grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), as part of that organization's mission to attract top cancer research scientists to Texas. This marks the first time The University of Texas at Austin has received an Established Investigator award from CPRIT.
Yankeelov joins The University of Texas at Austin from Vanderbilt University, where he served as the Ingram Professor of Cancer Research; Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Cancer Biology; and Director of Cancer Imaging Research for both the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
He is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, and has served or is presently on the editorial boards of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Medical Physics, Tomography, and Breast Cancer Research, among other scientific publications.
Yankeelov received a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Louisville, an M.A. in applied mathematics and an M.S. in physics from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from SUNY at Stony Brook. He was a cancer imaging postdoctoral fellow with Drs. John C. Gore and Ronald R. Price at Vanderbilt University.
