Richard Ellis Carson PhD

Since his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1983 in Biomathematics, Dr. Carson has focused on the development and application of mathematical techniques for clinical and preclinical imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a noninvasive technology that uses radiopharmaceuticals to trace in vivo physiology and pharmacology. From 1983 until 2005, Dr. Carson was in the PET program at NIH, rising to the rank of Senior Scientist. In 2005, Dr. Carson joined the faculty of Yale University as Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. He is the Director of the Yale PET Center and the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Carson’s research interests include: 1) New algorithms for image reconstruction, including early work with the EM algorithm, 2) Mathematical models for novel radiopharmaceuticals to produce physiological images, 3) Use of receptor-binding ligands to measure drug occupancy and dynamic changes in neurotransmitters by analysis of PET tracer signals, and 4) applications of PET tracers in clinical populations and preclinical models of disease.

Dr. Carson has published over 225 papers in peer-reviewed journals, given over 100 invited lectures, and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine and the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. Dr. Carson was awarded the Kuhl-Lassen award from the Brain Imaging Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) in 2007. He was named a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2008 and was awarded the Sheffield Distinguished Teaching Award from Yale. In 2009, he was named the winner of the Ed Hoffman Memorial Award from the Computer and Instrumentation Council of SNM and was named as one of the 25 most influential in the field of Radiology by RT-Image. In 2010, Dr. Carson was named a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.