Rate My Professor Simon Cherry

Simon R. Cherry is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology at the University of California, Davis, making significant contributions to Medicine through pioneering advancements in medical imaging technologies. He earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics with Astronomy from University College London in 1986 and a Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London in 1989. In 1993, he joined the faculty in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at UCLA. Cherry moved to UC Davis in 2001, where he advanced to Distinguished Research Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Radiology. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Physics in Medicine & Biology from 2011 to 2020.

Cherry's research focuses on molecular imaging technology, particularly positron emission tomography (PET), multi-modality imaging systems including PET/MRI and PET/CT, gamma and x-ray detector technology, and 3D image reconstruction for applications in phenotyping and drug development. He co-leads the EXPLORER consortium, which developed the world’s first total-body PET/CT scanner, revolutionizing whole-body quantitative imaging. His laboratory has also pioneered early biomedical studies using Cerenkov luminescence, high-resolution small-animal PET scanners, and innovative detector modules. Cherry is the lead author of the textbook Physics in Nuclear Medicine and has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, review articles, and book chapters. His work has earned him election as a fellow of six professional societies, membership in the National Academy of Engineering (2016) and National Academy of Inventors (2017), the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award from IEEE (2016), the Aebersold Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (2018), the Marie Curie Lectureship from the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (2020), and the SNMMI Cassen Prize (2022).