Abass Alavi

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, birth_place = Tabriz, Iran
, nationality = American
, field = Molecular imaging
, work_institutions = University of Pennsylvania
Department of Radiology
, alma_mater = Tehran University of Medical Sciences (M.D., 1964)
University of Bologna (Honorary M.D., 2007)
Shiraz University (Honorary Ph.D, 2007)
University of the Sciences (Honorary D.Sc, 2008)
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Honorary M.D., 2015)
Gdańsk Medical University (Honorary M.D., 2016)
, prizes = Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award (2004)
Benedict Cassen Prize (2012)

Abass Alavi ( fa, عباس علوی) is an Iranian-American physician-scientist specializing in the field of molecular imaging, most notably in the imaging modality of positron emission tomography (PET). In August 1976, he was part of the team that performed the first human PET studies of the brain and whole body using the radiotracer 8Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Alavi holds the position of Professor of Radiology and Neurology, as well as Director of Research Education in the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Over a career spanning five decades, he has amassed over 2,300 publications and 60,000 citations, earning an h-index of 125 and placing his publication record in the top percentile of scientists.

Early life and education

Abass Alavi was born in Tabriz, the largest city in northwestern Iran. After graduating from high school in Tabriz, Alavi moved to Tehran and received his medical degree from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 1964. He began his training in internal medicine at the Albert Einstein Medical Center and the Philadelphia VA Hospital in 1966. Following subspecialization in hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania, Alavi started his education in medical imaging by enrolling in the radiology department at the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He joined the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1971 as a research fellow in nuclear medicine, and was soon appointed to the faculty. He currently holds appointments as Professor and Director of Research Education in the Department of Radiology.

* 1964: Medical doctorate(MD), University of Tehran, School of Medicine
* 1966: Intern, Rotating Internal Medicine, A. Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia
* 1968: Resident, Internal Medicine, VA Medical Center
* 1969: Fellow, Hematology- Oncology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
* 1970: Resident, Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston

Later life and career

Alavi began his work in tomographic imaging under the guidance of Dr. David Kuhl. He and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania were pioneers in performing modern tomographic imaging by utilizing single gamma emitting radionuclides (Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography/SPECT). In 1973, he—along with his colleagues Dr. Kuhl and Dr. Martin Reivich—were the first scientists to conceive the idea of labeling deoxyglucose