Congratulations to Ehsan Abadi, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, on receiving the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) John S. Laughlin Early-Career Scientist Award!
The award is presented annually to a member of the AAPM who has shown outstanding scientific achievement in the early years of their career.
Dr. Abadi received this prestigious distinction during the 67th AAPM Annual Meeting and Exhibition, held on July 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The award is named after the late John Laughlin and honors his many efforts at encouraging the development of young scientists in medical physics research.
Dr. Ehsan’s research integrates engineering, physics, and clinical sciences to advance quantitative imaging techniques, with a primary focus on computed tomography (CT). He has served as Principal Investigator or co-Investigator on several federally and industry-funded projects. He has authored over 230 publications, including over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles. His work has contributed to the development of advanced computational phantoms, task-based image quality metrics, and harmonization strategies for quantitative CT imaging. He is the main developer of several state-of-the-art anthropomorphic phantoms and scanner-specific imaging models, including the advanced XCAT phantoms with intra-organ structures and pathologies, and the DukeSim CT simulation platform. Dr. Abadi has mentored over 15 trainees including PhD and MS students, postdoctoral researchers, and research staff. Ehsan has served as a Study Section Member for NIH grant review panels and served as a Reviewer for European Research Council. He chairs the AAPM Task Group 387 on virtual imaging trials and has served on scientific program committees for national and international conferences.
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine is an organization of over 9,700 medical physicists, in 90 countries. It supports the Medical Physics community with a focus on advancing patient care through education, improving safety and efficacy of radiation oncology and medical imaging procedures through research, and the maintenance of professional standards.