Benjamin Lopez, PhD
Department of Imaging Physics, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
His research interests revolve around quantitative imaging in Nuclear Medicine and SPECT/CT, with the goal of providing clinicians with improved and/or novel tools to aid in patient diagnosis, problem-solving, treatment planning, and post-therapy evaluations.
Clinical Interests
SPECT/CT, Nuclear Medicine, Quantitative Imaging
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2022 | UT Health GSBS, Houston, TX, US, Medical Physics, Ph.D |
| 2015 | Rice University, Houston, TX, US, Bioengineering, B.S |
Postgraduate Training
| 2022-2025 | Medical Physics Fellow, Nuclear Medicine Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| null | Texas Medical Board |
| null | Nuclear Medical Physics |
Honors & Awards
| 2026 | 2026 SNMMI Ones to Watch, SNMMI |
| 2025 - Present | Future Leaders Academy, SNMMI Mid-Winter Meeting / ACNM Annual Meeting |
| 2024 - Present | 1st Place Division of Diagnostic Imaging Trainee Research Symposium, MDACC |
| 2023 - Present | Best in Physics(Imaging), AAPM |
| 2018 - Present | John R. Cameron Young Investigator Finalist, AAPM |
| 2018 - Present | 1st Place Instrumentation and Data Analysis Track, SNMMI |
| 2011 - 2015 | Allen Trustee Distinguished Scholarship, Rice University |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2024. Introduction to Quantitative SPECT. Invited. Medical Technology and Management Institute (MTMI), US.
- 2024. Peak Skin Dose (PSD) Calculation. Invited. Joint IAEA-Argonne National Laboratory, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2025 - 2026 |
| Title: | QIAC MedTech: Standardizing Clinical Deployment of Task-Driven Quantitative SPECT Imaging Protocols |
| Funding Source: | MDACC QIAC |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Date: | 2024 - 2025 |
| Title: | Lung shunt and dose verification following 90Y-microsphere radioembolization treatments |
| Funding Source: | American Association of Physicists in Medicine |
| Role: | PI |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Patel, MM, Adrada, BE, Kappadath, SC, Lopez, B, Sun, J, Moseley, T, Whitman, GJ, Rauch, GM. Quantitative molecular breast imaging for early prediction of neoadjuvant systemic therapy response in locally advanced breast cancer patients. Clinical Imaging 137, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42330712.
- Henry, EC, Lopez, B, Kappadath, SC. The impact of microsphere deposition algorithm complexity on microdosimetry following Yttrium-90 radioembolization. Biomedical Physics and Engineering Express 12(2), 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41916326.
- Lopez, B, Rauch, GM, Kappadath, SC. Quantifying molecular breast imaging uptake variability and changes in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. Nucl Med Commun Publish Ahead of Print, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41340399.
- Lopez BP, Kappadath SC. (90)Y SIR-Spheres Activity Measurement with New SIROS D-Vial Delivery Kit. J Nucl Med Technol 52(3):256-260, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39019573.
- Kappadath SC, Henry EC, Lopez BP, Mahvash A. Quantitative evaluation of (90)Y-PET/CT and (90)Y-SPECT/CT-based dosimetry following Yttrium-90 radioembolization. Med Phys 51(9):6061-6074, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38781554.
- Henry EC, Mahvash A, Lopez BP, Kappadath SC. A comparison of methods for in vivo activity and absorbed dose quantification with PET/CT following yttrium-90 radioembolization. Med Phys 51(9):6034-6045, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38772046.
- Henry EC, Lopez BP, Mahvash A, Thomas MA, Kappadath SC. Predicting the net administered activity in (90) Y-radioembolization patients from post-procedure (90) Y-SPECT/CT. Med Phys 50(11):7003-7015, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37272198.
- Lopez BP, Kappadath SC. Monte Carlo-derived (99m) Tc uptake quantification with commercial planar MBI: Tumor and breast activity concentrations. Med Phys 50(7):4388-4398, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36625713.
- Kappadath SC, Lopez BP. Single-Compartment Dose Prescriptions for Ablative (90)Y-Radioembolization Segmentectomy. Life (Basel) 13(6), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37374021.
- Lopez BP, Kappadath SC. Monte Carlo-derived (99m) Tc uptake quantification with commercial planar MBI: Absolute tumor activity. Med Phys 50(5):2985-2997, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36583691.
- Lopez BP, Mahvash A, Long JP, Lam MGEH, Kappadath SC. Factors modulating (99m) Tc-MAA planar lung dosimetry for (90) Y radioembolization. J Appl Clin Med Phys 23(12):e13734, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35906892.
- Lopez BP, Rauch GM, Adrada B, Kappadath SC. Functional tumor diameter measurement with molecular breast imaging: development and clinical application. Biomed Phys Eng Express 8(5), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35917778.
- Kappadath SC, Lopez BP. Organ-level internal dosimetry for intra-hepatic-arterial administration of (99m) Tc-macroaggregated albumin. Med Phys 49(8):5504-5512, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35612924.
- Kappadath SC, Lopez BP, Salem R, Lam MGEH. Reassessment of the lung dose limits for radioembolization. Nucl Med Commun 42(10):1064-1075, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34347658.
- Lopez BP, Guan F, Rauch GM, Kappadath SC. Monte Carlo simulation of pixelated CZT detector with Geant4: validation of clinical molecular breast imaging system. Phys Med Biol 66(12), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34038878.
- Lopez BP, Jordan DW, Kemp BJ, Kinahan PE, Schmidtlein CR, Mawlawi OR. PET/CT acceptance testing and quality assurance: Executive summary of AAPM Task Group 126 Report. Med Phys 48(2):e31-e35, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33320364.
Review Articles
- Kappadath SC, Lopez BP, Salem R, Lam MG. Lung shunt and lung dose calculation methods for radioembolization treatment planning. Q J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 65(1):32-42, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33393753.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 27, 2026