S. Cheenu Kappadath, Ph.D.
Department of Imaging Physics, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
About Dr. Kappadath
S. Cheenu Kappadath, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Imaging Physics. He is a board-certified and licensed medical physicist with specialties in Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation (ABSNM) and Diagnostic Radiologic Physics (ABR). He provides clinical physics support for the Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Radiology in the Division of Diagnostic Imaging. He is the Program Director for Imaging Physics Network Services and oversees clinical Imaging Physics operations at institutions within the MD Anderson Cancer Network as well as other satellite and regional care facilities.
He is actively involved in a variety of funded research projects in SPECT/CT, PET/CT, and CT and is the recipient of grants from NIH and industry. Topics of research focus include liver-directed Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy, molecular breast imaging, quantitative imaging with SPECT, PET, and CT; and patient-specific voxel dosimetry. Dr. Kappadath also holds a joint Associate Faculty appointment at The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston where he serves as an instructor in various courses and advisor to medical physics graduate students. Dr. Kappadath is an active member of several professional medical physics societies such as the AAPM, SNMMI, and ACR. More recently, his research has received the Arthur Weis Award in Radiation Dosimetry and Safety from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Imaging Physics, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Faculty, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
Research Interests
His research interests are focused on Nuclear Medicine physics with specific emphasis on developing quantitative imaging to aid in the diagnosis and managements of cancer patients. Areas of specialization include:
· Liver-directed Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy
· Molecular breast imaging (MBI)
· Quantitative imaging with SPECT/CT, PET/CT, and DE-CT
· Novel algorithms for patient-specific voxel dosimetry
A strong interest lies in improving all aspects of liver-directed Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy from improving patient imaging for therapy planning to quantifying post-therapy imaging to measure tumor dose and evaluate response. His research lab is looking at novel algorithms for patient-specific voxel dosimetry and its application to determine the tumor dose-response and toxicities following Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy. Research is also conducted in quantifying radionuclide uptake in breast cancers with MBI and assessing its capability as an indicator to tumor response following chemotherapy.
Clinical Interests
· Work with radiologists to improve diagnostic image quality for routine clinical imaging
· Clinical implementation of innovations in data acquisition and image generation
· Manage clinical imaging physics activities at Partner Institutions and Regional Care Centers
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1998 | University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA, PhD, Physics |
| 1994 | University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA, MS, Physics |
| 1991 | Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL, USA, BA, Physics and Mathematics |
Postgraduate Training
| 2006-2007 | Clinical Residency, Medical Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 1998-2001 | Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA |
Board Certifications
| 2008 | American Board of Radiology, Diagnostic Radiologic Physics |
| 2007 | American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Professor, Department of Imaging Physics, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2021 - Present
Assistant Professor, Department of Imaging Physics, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2014
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Program Director, Imaging Physics Network Services, Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Member, Imaging Physics Clinical Operations Committee, Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Nuclear Medicine Research Peer-Review Committee, Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2009 - Present
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Coordinator, Outreach Clinical Physics Operations, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2015
Lead Imaging Physicist, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Phoenix, AZ, 2011 - 2013
Honors & Awards
| 2015 | Arthur Weis Award in Radiation Dosimetry and Safety, Mikell J. Mahvash A, Siman W, Mourtada F, Kappadath SC. Biases and variability in partition model absorbed doses following Y90 microsphere therapy, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting |
| 2015 | 3rd Place Award Oncology Clinical Diagnosis Track Poster Presentation, Mikell J, Mahvash A, Siman W, Mourtada F, Kappadath SC. Biases and variability in partition model absorbed doses following Y90 microsphere therapy, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting |
| 2014 | Volunteer Service Award, American Board of Radiology |
| 2012 | 2nd Place Award Radiopharmacy Track Poster Presentation, Maclellan C, Hobbs BP, Chasen B, Murthy R, Mahvash A, Kappadath SC. Absorbed dose differences in 90Y microsphere therapy between pre-treatment 99mTc-MAA and post-treatment 90Y scans, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting |
| 2012 | 2nd Place Award Technologist Oral Presentation, Gonzalez JA, McCoy AP, Mar MV, Kappadath SC. Identifying optimal SPECT acquisition for liver imaging using 99mTc-MAA, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting |
| 2007 | Reviewer's Choice Oral Presentation Award, Kappadath SC, Wendt RE. Assessment of the radiation shielding for a busy PET/CT facility, AAPM Annual Meeting, Washington, DC |
| 2007 | Trainee Travel Grant Recipient, IEEE Medical Imaging Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 2006 | Medical Physics Residency Award, Radiological Society of North America |
| 2004 | Honorable Mention Poster Award, Kappadath SC, Shaw C, Lai CJ, Liu X, Whitman G., Dual-energy digital mammography for calcification imaging: theory and implementation, SPIE Physics of Medical Imaging Symposium, San Diego, CA |
| 1991 | Meritorious Award, Mathematical Contest in Modeling, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois |
| 1991 | Cum laude, B.A, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Balagopal A, Kappadath SC. Characterization of 90Y-SPECT/CT self-calibration approaches on the quantification of voxel-level absorbed doses following 90Y-microsphere selective internal radiation therapy. Med Phys 45(2):875-83, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29172243.
- Pahlka RB, Kappadath SC, Mawlawi O. A Monte Carlo simulation of coincidence detection and imaging of gamma-ray cascades with a scintillation camera. Biomed Phys Eng Express 4, 055012, 2018.
- Braat AJAT, Kappadath SC, Bruijnen RCG, van den Hoven AF, Mahvash A, de Jong HWAM, Lam MGEH. Adequate SIRT activity dose is as important as adequate chemotherapy dose. Lancet Oncol 18(11):e636. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30811-2, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29208390.
- Bache ST, Kappadath SC. Quantitation of tumor uptake with molecular breast imaging. Med Phys 44(9)(9):4593-4607, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28600857.
- Siman W, Kappadath SC. Comparison of step-and-shoot and continuous-bed-motion positron emission tomography modes of acquisition for limited-view organ scans. J Nucl Med Technol 45(4):290-296, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29042468.
- Siman W, Mawlawi OR, Mikell JK, Mourtada F, Kappadath SC. Effects of image noise, respiratory motion, and motion compensation on 3D activity quantification in count-limited PET images. Phys Med Biol 62(2):448-464, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 28000618.
- Hulme KW, Kappadath SC. Implications of CT noise and artifacts for quantitative (99m)Tc SPECT/CT imaging. Med Phys 41(4):042502, 2014. PMID: 24694155.
- Silosky M, Johnson V, Beasley C, Kappadath SC. Characterization of the count rate performance of modern gamma cameras. Med Phys 40(3):032502, 2013. PMID: 23464339.
- Siman W, Kappadath SC. Performance characteristics of a new pixelated portable gamma camera. Med Phys 39(6):3435-3444, 2012. PMID: 22755723.
- Kappadath SC. Effects of voxel size and iterative reconstruction parameters on the spatial resolution of 99mTc SPECT/CT. J Appl Clin Med Phys 12(4):3459, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22089002.
- Mathieu KB, Kappadath SC, White RA, Atkinson EN, Cody DD. An empirical model of diagnostic x-ray attenuation under narrow-beam geometry. Med Phys 38(8):4546-4555, 2011. PMID: 21928626.
- Hulme KW, Rong J, Chasen B, Chuang HH, Cody DD, Wong FC, Kappadath SC. A CT acquisition technique to generate images at various dose levels for prospective dose reduction studies. Am J Roentgenol 196(2):W144-51, 2011. PMID: 21257855.
- Kappadath SC, Erwin WD, Wendt RE. A novel method to evaluate gamma camera rotational uniformity and sensitivity variation. Med Phys 36(6):1947-1955, 2009. PMID: 19610283.
- Mawlawi O, Kappadath SC, Pan T, Macapinlac H. Factors affecting quantification in PET/CT imaging. Current Medical Imaging Reviews 4, 2008.
- Kappadath SC, Shaw CC. Dual-energy digital mammography: noise reduction techniques. Phys Med Bio 53:5421-43, 2008.
- Kappadath SC, Erwin WD, Wendt RE. Observed intercamera variability in clinically relevant performance characteristics for Siemens Symbia gamma cameras. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 7(4), 2006. PMID: 17533358.
- Kappadath SC, Shaw CC. Dual-energy digital mammography for calcification imaging: scatter and nonuniformity corrections. Med Phys 32(11):3395-408, 2005. PMID: 18765887.
- Lai CJ, Shaw CC, Whitman GJ, Johnston DA, Yang WT, Selinko V, Arribas E, Dogan B, Kappadath SC. Visibility of simulated microcalcifications-a hardcopy-based comparison of three mammographic systems. Med Phys 32(1):182-94, 2005. PMID: 15719969.
- Kappadath SC, Shaw CC. Quantitative evaluation of dual-energy digital mammography for calcification imaging. Phys Med Biol 49:2563-76, 2004. PMID: 15272674.
- Kappadath SC, Shaw CC. Dual-energy digital mammography: calibration and inverse-mapping techniques to estimate calcification thickness and glandular-tissue ratio. Med Phys 30(6):1110-7, 2003. PMID: 12852535.
- Lemacks MR, Kappadath SC, Shaw CC, Liu X, Whitman GJ. A dual-energy subtraction technique for microcalcification imaging in digital mammography: a signal-to-noise analysis. Med Phys 29(8):1739-51, 2002. PMID: 12201421.
Abstracts
- Lopez B, Kappadath SC. Improving the sensitivity of Molecular Breast Imaging using a novel detector response function. J Nucl Med 59:581, 2018.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | aSi/CsI FP digital chest imaging with scatter rejection and exposure equalization |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIBIB |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Dual-Energy Digital Mammography |
| Funding Source: | United States Army Breast Cancer Research Program |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Multi-modal reconstruction and quantitative SPECT imaging |
| Funding Source: | Siemens Medical Solutions |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Develop methodology to separately compute the trabecular and cortical bone-mineral density using the GE Discovery CT 750HD scanner with GSI |
| Funding Source: | General Electric |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Radiation dose reduction by combining contrast-enhanced diagnostic CT examinations with 99mTc-MDP SPECT examinations using dual-modality SPECT/CT |
| Funding Source: | MDACC Institutional Research Grant |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Optimization of the Yttrium-90 bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT for SymbiaT SPECT/CT scanners |
| Funding Source: | Siemens Medical Solutions |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | In Vivo Molecular Breast Imaging with Tc‐99m Sestamibi for the Prediction of Multidrug Resistance in Triple Negative Breast Cancers |
| Funding Source: | MDACC/GE Healthcare CABI MI2 |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | NCT03028311 - Feasibility of Single Session In-Room Yttrium-90 Radioembolization Diagnostic Angiography and Treatment |
| Funding Source: | SIRTEX Medical Limited |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
| Title: | NCT03188328- A dose escalation study to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, dosimetry, maximum tolerated dose and preliminary efficacy of intra-lesionally injected AvidinOX, followed by systemic IV administration of escalating doses of [177Lu]DOTA-biotin in patients with solid tumors or lymphomas with injectable neoplastic lesions |
| Funding Source: | Sigma Tau |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | NCT03295006 - A TheraSphere Advanced Dosimetry Retrospective Global Evaluation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment (TARGET) |
| Funding Source: | BTG International Inc |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | A novel dose calculation method for targeted radionuclide therapy |
| Funding Source: | Christiana Care Health Services/NIH |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |