Michael Kwon, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Neuroradiology, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
About Dr. Kwon
My primary interest is in the diagnosis of head and neck neoplasms utilizing ultrasound, MRI , and CT imaging. I have expertise in evaluating thyroid cancers, parathyroid adenomas, cancers of the oropharynx and larynx, cervical lymphomas, and skin cancer metastases to the neck. I have extensive experience in ultrasound-guided biopsies of head and neck cancers and neoplasms.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Neuroradiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
My research interest is utilizing ultrasound for early detection of primary oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and lymph node metastasis in patients who have been exposed to human papilloma virus (HPV 16 and 18). In addition, I have research interest in utilizing ultrasound for detecting intra-thyroid parathyroid adenoma
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2001 | University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, US, Medical Scientist Training Program, MD-PhD |
| 1998 | University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, US, Biological Sciences from Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Ph.D |
| 1990 | University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, California, US, Biological Sciences, BS |
| 1990 | University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, US, Chemistry, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2006-2007 | Clinical Fellowship, Neuroradiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2006-2007 | Clinical Fellowship, Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2005-2007 | Clinical Fellowship, Neuroradiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2002-2006 | Clinical Residency, Diagnostic Radiology Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2001-2002 | Clinical Internship, Preliminary Program Internal Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2017 | Florida |
| 2008 | Texas Medical Board |
| 2007 | Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
| 2006 | American Board of Radiology |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Physician Administrator for Advanced Practice Nurses, Ofc/VP, Chief Nursing Officer, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - Present
Physician Administrator for Registered Nurses, Ofc/VP, Chief Nursing Officer, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2001 | Golden Key Honor Society, University of California, Irvine |
| 2001 | Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, Irvine |
| 2000 | Internal Medicine and Radiology Clerkships, University of California, Irvine |
| 2000 | Jane Hill Scholar, University of California, Irvine |
| 1990 - 1999 | MD-PhD Scholarship and Fellowship Awards, University of California, Irvine |
| 1990 | Cum Laude, University of California, Irvine |
| 1985 - 1990 | Undergraduate Dean's Honor List for 12 out of 15 quarters, University of California, Irvine |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2012. Thyroid metastasis: spectrum of ultrasonographic imaging findings. Conference. American Society of Head and Neck Radiology 46th Annual Meeting. Miami Beach, FL, US.
International Presentations
- 2023. Fine Needle Aspiration and Core Needle Biopsy of Thyroid Nodules. Invited. 1st International Symposium on Thyroid Ablation. Dallas, US.
- 2014. Does the ‘taller-than-wide’ sign apply to intrathyroidal metastasis?. Conference. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting. Montreal, CA.
- 2014. Metastasis to the thyroid gland: spectrum of PET/CT imaging findings. Conference. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting. Montreal, CA.
- 2014. Ultrasound diagnosis of intrathyroid parathyroid adenoma: the importance of identification of the dominant polar vessel. Conference. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting. Montreal, CA.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2024 - Present |
| Title: | A Phase 3 Multicenter, Randomized, Open-label Study of ASP-1929 Photoimmunotherapy in Combination With Pembrolizumab Versus Standard of Care in the First-line Treatment of Patients With Locoregional Recurrence of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (HNSCC) With No Distant Metastases |
| Funding Source: | Rakuten Medical, Inc |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | 2024-1642 |
| Date: | 2017 - 2022 |
| Title: | HPV-related Oropharyngeal and Uncommon Cancers Screening Trial Of meN - HOUSTON Study |
| Funding Source: | Institutional Moon Shot Fund |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 2016-0109 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Maniakas, A, Wilde, DC, Fournier, I, Hyde, EK, Xu, L, Wang, RJ, Gross, N, Sturgis, EM, Banuchi, VE, Busaidy, NL, Cabanillas, ME, Iyer, PC, Dadu, R, Waguespack, SG, Hu, MI, Gunn, GB, Kwon, M, Ahmed, S, Williams, MD, Zafereo, M. Segmental Tracheal Resection for Thyroid Cancer. Head and Neck 48(3):644-649, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41059669.
- Cognetti, DM, Curry, J, Johnson, JM, Kwon, M, Su, SY, Civantos, F, Olazagasti, C, Valentino, J, Arnold, SM, Bell, R, Gibson, MK, Mannion, K, Van Abel, KM, Price, KA, Dong, H, Thorne, AH, Suzuki, T, Gillenwater, AM. Safety and Efficacy Findings From a Phase Ib/II Study of ASP-1929 Photoimmunotherapy With Pembrolizumab in Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Head and Neck 48(1):160-174, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 40852760.
- Contrera KJ, Gule-Monroe MK, Hu MI, Cabanillas ME, Busaidy NL, Dadu R, Waguespack SG, Wang JR, Maniakas A, Lai SY, Diersing J, Kwon M, Grubbs EG, Subbiah V, Williams MD, Zafereo ME. Neoadjuvant Selective RET Inhibitor for Medullary Thyroid Cancer: A Case Series. Thyroid 33(1):129-132, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36503246.
- Debnam JM, Chi TL, Kwon M, Sun J, Schellingerhout D, Golant BT, Ahmed S, Perrier ND, Vu T. Distinguishing Intrathyroid Parathyroid Adenoma from Colloid Nodules and Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas Using Multiphasic Multidetector Computed Tomography. J Comput Assist Tomogr 46(5):808-814, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36103680.
- Dahlstrom KR, Anderson KS, Guo M, Kwon MC, Messick CA, Pettaway CA, Asomaning N, Hopper M, Price A, Xu L, Day AT, Gillenwater AM, Sturgis EM. Screening for HPV-related oropharyngeal, anal, and penile cancers in middle-aged men: Initial report from the HOUSTON clinical trial. Oral Oncology 120:105397, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34182223.
- Vu TH, Kwon M, Ahmed S, Gule-Monroe M, Chen MM, Sun J, Fornage BD, Debnam JM, Edeiken-Monroe B. Diagnostic Accuracy and Scope of Intraoperative Transoral Ultrasound and Transoral Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration of Retropharyngeal Masses. American Journal of Neuroradiology 40(11):1960-1964, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31582388.
- Debnam JM, Kwon M, Fornage BD, Krishnamurthy S, Clayman GL, Edeiken-Monroe BS. Sonographic Evaluation of Intrathyroid Metastases. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 36(1):69-76, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 27925648.
- Millare GG, Kwon M, Edeiken-Monroe BS, Debnam JM. 18F-PET/CT imaging of metastasis to the thyroid gland: Imaging findings and effect on patient management. J Solid Tumors 7(2):7-13, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 30405862.
- Pemmaraju N, Sasaki K, Johnson D, Daver N, Afshar-Kharghan V, Chen M, Ahmed S, Colen RR, Kwon M, Huh Y, Borthakur G. Successful Treatment of Intracranial Hemorrhage with Recombinant Activated Factor VII in a Patient with Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Front Oncol 5:29, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25717439.
- Kwon MC, Shah SS, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Young KH. Unique presentation of immune reconstitution inflammatory response in AIDS patient with lymphoma. AJNR, American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Chen-Bee CH, Polley DB, Brett-Green B, Prakash N, Kwon MC, Frostig RD. Visualizing and quantifying evoked cortical activity assessed with intrinsic signal imaging. J Neurosci Methods 97(2):157-173, 2000. e-Pub 2000. PMID: 10788670.
- Kwon MC. Intra and intercolumnar processing in rat barrel cortex. Diss Abstr 202, 1998. e-Pub 1998.
- Bakin JS, Kwon MC, Masino SA, Weinberger NM, Frostig RD. Suprathreshold auditory cortex activation visualized by intrinsic signal optical imaging. Cereb Cortex 6(2):120-130, 1996. e-Pub 1996. PMID: 8670644.
- Chen-Bee CH, Kwon MC, Masino SA, Frostig RD. A real extent quantification of functional representations using intrinsic signal optical imaging. J Neurosci Methods 68(1):27-37, 1996. e-Pub 1996. PMID: 8884610.
- Frostig RD, Masino SA, Kwon MC, Chen CH. Using light to probe the brain: intrinsic signal optical imaging. International Journal of Imaging Systems and Technology 6:216-224, 1995. e-Pub 1995.
- Masino SA, Kwon MC, Dory Y, Frostig RD. Characterization of functional organization within rat barrel cortex using intrinsic signal optical imaging through a thinned skull. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90(21):9998-10002, 1993. e-Pub 1993. PMID: 8234348.
- Burdick D, Soreghan B, Kwon M, Kosmoski J, Knauer M, Henschen A, Yates J, Cotman C, Glabe C. Assembly and aggregation of properties of synthetic Alzheimer's A4/beta amyloid peptide analogs. J Biol Chem 267(1):546-554, 1992. e-Pub 1992. PMID: 1730616.
Other Articles
- Kwon MC, Debman M, Monroe B, Gule M, Ahmed S, Vu T, Shah K, Fornage L, Schellinghout D, Edeiken BS The combined role of ultrasound and ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules. Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormone Disorders Newletter 4(3):4-5, 2011.
Abstracts
- Vu T, Kwon M, Shah K, Clayman G, Perrier N, Fornage B, Edieken B. The role of intra-operative ultrasound in head and neck oncology. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology (#EE12), 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Kwon M, Debnam JM, Vu T, DiVito D, Grubbs E, Perrier N, Wei W, Fornage B, Edeiken-Monroe B. Ultrasound diagnosis of intrathyroid parathyroid adenoma: the importance of identification of the dominant polar vessel. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Debnam JM, Kwon M, Edeiken-Monroe BS, Fornage BD. Does the ‘taller-than-wide’ sign apply to intrathyroidal metastases?. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Millare G, Rohren E, Kwon M, Edeiken-Monroe BS, Fornage BD, Debnam JM. Metastasis to the thyroid gland: Spectrum of PET/CT imaging findings. American Society of Neuroradiology 52nd Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Debnam JM, Kwon M, Krishnamurthy S, Edeiken BS. Thyroid metastasis: spectrum of ultrasonographic imaging findings. American Society of Head and Neck Radiology 46th Annual Meeting Proceedings Book, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
- Andrews GA, Kwon M, Clayman G, Edeiken B, Kupferman ME. Technical refinement of ultrasound-guided transoral resection of parapharyngeal/retropharyngeal thyroid carcinoma metastases. Head Neck 33(2):166-70, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 20848435.
- Kwon MC. Effects of whisker coactivation revealed by simultaneous single unit recordings in rat barrel cortex. Abstr Soc Neurosci 21(1-3):121, 1995. e-Pub 1995.
- Frostig RD, Masino SA, Kwon MC. Characterization of a functional whisker representation in rat barrel cortex: optical imaging of intrinsic signals vs. single-unit recordings. Abstr Soc Neurosci 20(1-2):1384, 1994. e-Pub 1994.
- Bakin JS, Kwon MC, Masino SA, Weinberger NM, Frostig RD. Tonotopic organization of guinea pig auditory cortex demonstrated by intrinsic signal optical imaging through the skull. Abstr Soc Neurosci 19(1-3):1425, 1993. e-Pub 1993.
- Masino SA, Kwon MC, Dory Y, Frostig RD. Structure-function relationships examined in rat barrel cortex using intrinsic signal optical imaging through the skull. Abstr Soc Neurosci 19(1-3):1705, 1993. e-Pub 1993.
- Arpi-Palacios J, Fournier I, Zafereo M, Wang J, Lango M, Gross N, Goepfert R, Sturgis E, Gupta S, Cabanillas M, Busaidy N, Hu M, Dadu R, Iyer P, Hamidi S, Kwon M, Vu T, Williams M, Hosseini S, Maniakas A, Banuchi V. Evaluating Pathologic Characteristics in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Following Completion Thyroidectomy. American Head & Neck Society Annual Meeting.
- Abubaker, A, Maniakas, A, Zafereo, M, Fournier, I, Banuchi, V, Wang, R, Cabanillas, M, Busaidy, N, Dadu, R, Kwon M, Iyer, P, Hu, M, Waguespack, S, Sherman, S, Grubbs, E, Graham, P, Ahmed, S, Williams, M, Hosseini, S, Gupta, S, Hamidi, S. Isthmus confined PTC. American Thyroid Association.
Book Chapters
- Gule MK, Kwon M, Johnson JM, Shah K, Edeiken-Monroe BS. In: Ultrasound characteristics, and US-guided fine needle aspiration, of lymph nodes in the cervical soft tissues: A radiology perspective. Om: Advanced Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound, 227-239, 2017.
- Johnson JM, Gule-Monroe MK, Kwon M, Ahmed S, Schellingerhout D Kumar V, Edeiken-Monroe BS, Debnam JM. In: Ultrasound characteristics, and US-guided fine needle aspiration, of thyroid nodules, 179-194, 2017.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026