Edward J. Hoffman 2002 Medical Imaging Scientist Award

Edward J. Hoffman is a Professor of Pharmacology and Radiological Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he is Director of the Biomedical Physics Graduate Program in the School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from Washington University, St. Louis, in 1971. Following two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in nuclear physics, he received an NIH Fellowship to refocus his research efforts on the field of medical physics. During this period, with Drs. Phelps, Mullani and Ter-Pogossian, he developed the first imaging system designed specifically for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which was the prototype for the first commercial PET system.
In 1976, Dr. Hoffman moved to UCLA, where his primary research interest was in the instrumentation and physics of PET. His current expanded research includes NIH and DOE funded endeavors in the development of miniature imaging probes and compact cameras useful in animal research and in the identification of human disease. Many portions of his research efforts have resulted in inception of and improvements to commercial/clinical versions of the devices developed in his lab. He has had a significant impact in the primary training and education of more than 20 graduate students and post-docs who have come through his lab, and on the many students enrolled in the Graduate Program he directs, acting as mentor and friend. In addition to the serious objectives of education, he actively organizes and hosts holiday, beach and other parties and events for the students and faculty.
He has been actively involved in the IEEE NPSS since 1977, and he currently edits the IEEE Medical Imaging Conference (MIC) issues of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. Professor Hoffman is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is the current President of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society.
The citation was “For important and sustained contributions to the development of positron emission tomography and for dedication to graduate level education in the nuclear medical imaging sciences.”
Dr. Hoffman was nominated by Simon Cherry of UC-Davis (srcherry@ucdavis) and Martin Tornai (martin.tornai@duke.edu) of Duke University who also provided this article.