Dehdashti Honored by Radiological Society

Award recognizes her career contributions in research

Physician-scientist Farrokh Dehdashti, MD, the Drs. Barry A. and Marilyn J. Siegel Professor of Radiology and senior vice-chair and director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine at WashU Medicine, is being recognized by the Radiological Society of North America for advancing the radiologic sciences throughout her career in research.

For her scientific accomplishments, she will receive the 2025 Outstanding Researcher award at the society’s annual meeting, Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in Chicago.

The Radiological Society of North America represents professionals spanning the full breadth of radiologic subspecialties in more than 160 countries around the world and publishes six peer-reviewed journals.

Dehdashti is credited with expanding the role of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the field of oncology. She conducted some of the first studies in people of several novel PET diagnostic compounds related to several types of cancers, including cervical, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. Her other research interests include imaging estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors in breast cancer; Chemokine receptor imaging, such as CCR2 imaging in pancreatic and head and neck cancers; PARP imaging of solid tumors; and imaging tumor proliferation. See her research profile here.

Dehdashti also is co-leader of the Oncologic Imaging Program at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, medical director of PET imaging at the Center for Clinical Imaging Research and a member of the leadership team at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.

She earned her medical degree from Pahlavi University School of Medicine in Iran in 1977 and completed her radiology residency in 1980 at the same institution. She served as chief resident and then research fellow in PET imaging in the Division of Nuclear Medicine at WashU Medicine before joining the faculty in 1990.