Brendon J. Villegas, Ph.D.
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Brendon J. Villegas, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Division of Physics and Engineeringbjvillegas@uabmc.edu 205-975-5012 | GSB 315-H |
Brendon Villegas attended the University of California, Riverside, to obtain his Bachelor’s of Science in General Physics. After spending a couple of years working in finance, he returned to school to earn his master’s degree in applied physics from the California State University of Long Beach (CSULB). While at CSULB, Brendon had the opportunity to work with fabricating thin film superconductors. It was at Long Beach while investigating thin film nanoscale surfaces using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) that he discovered his passion for research.
In 2010, Brendon began his doctoral studies in Biomedical Physics at the University of Los Angeles, California. After his general studies and successfully passing the American Board of Radiology part one exam for medical physics, he subsequently joined the lab of Dr. Jorge Barrio. The Barrio Lab synthesized Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracers and focused their research on molecular imaging. It was during Brendon’s dissertation work studying tau and amyloid in neurodegenerative disease that he became passionate about both PET imaging and investigating the etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease. After receiving his Ph.D. from UCLA, Dr. Villegas continued research as a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA in the Scafoglio Lab, focused on studying glucose transport in lung cancer.
In 2021, Dr. Villegas began his diagnostic imaging medical physics residency at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. His two years spent in residency were clinically focused to prepare for his ABR certification in Diagnostic Imaging. On July 1st, 2023, Dr. Villegas joined the faculty in the Department of Radiology as an assistant professor and is excited to be a part of UAB. Dr. Villegas has research interests in a multitude of areas but remains passionate and enthusiastic about molecular imaging and the impact it can make in medicine.
Contact Information
Administrative Support:
Teresa Worden
P: 205-934-0071
Kyle DePew, Ph.D.
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Kyle DePew, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Division of Physics and Engineering |
Kyle DePew, Ph.D., received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Missouri in Columbia. His research there focused on modeling the mineral composition of dust around asymptotic giant branch stars. He subsequently was offered a Ph.D. scholarship in Physics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, where he completed his doctoral dissertation on the evolution of Wolf-Rayet central stars of planetary nebulae.
Afterwards, Dr. DePew relocated to Oklahoma City to pursue another master’s degree in Medical Physics from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. During this time he conducted research in proton therapy planning and dosimetry. Upon graduation, he worked in health physics for two years in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, overseeing hospital staff dosimetry and performing radioactive materials inspections.
In 2020, Dr. DePew took up a medical physics residency position in the Department of Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He then assumed an assistant professorship in the same department in 2022, where he will support the clinical and educational efforts of the faculty in x-ray imaging modalities. His current research interests concern CT dosimetry.
Contact Information
Administrative Support:
Teresa Worden
P: 205-934-0071
Robert C. Boggs, Ph.D.
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Robert C. Boggs, Ph.D.,
rboggs@uabmc.edu |
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Robert C. Boggs, Ph.D., earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Austin Peay State University from his hometown in Clarksville, TN, followed by a Ph.D. in Diagnostic Medical Physics from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He spent two years as a medical physics resident at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Contact InformationAdministrative Support: |
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Daniel Goldberg-Zimring, Ph.D., M.B.A.
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Daniel Goldberg-Zimring, Ph.D., M.B.A.Assistant Professor, Division of Physics and Engineeringdgoldberg@uabmc.edu 205-996-0829 | GSB 308-D |
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Daniel Goldberg-Zimring earned a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, followed by a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He spent two years as a Research Fellow in Medical Image Analysis at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School before becoming a faculty member. He is currently pursuing an MBA degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. During eight years at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School, the primary focus of his research was in the area of medical image analysis with special interest in the identification of early disease biomarkers in multiple sclerosis and their association with clinical progression. He served as co-investigator in several NIH grants and as a principal investigator in a grant awarded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Goldberg-Zimring has also worked as a Clinical Project Manager, Quality Assurance and Data Manager in the pharmaceutical industry, and has consulted start-up companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. In 2016 he joined the faculty of UAB Radiology as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Physics and Engineering, where he will be supporting the clinical, instructional and research activities in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. His interests include the development and implementation of MRI acquisition techniques to improve the identification of early disease biomarkers. Contact InformationAdministrative Support: |
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