Chun Yuan, Ph.D.

Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering
Vice Chair for Global Affairs

Biography

Dr. Chun Yuan received his B.S. in physics at Beijing Normal University and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Physics at the University of Utah.  He became Senior Research Analyst of GE Medical Systems immediately thereafter.  He has pioneered multiple high-resolution MRI techniques to detect vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and led numerous MRI studies examining carotid atherosclerosis.  He is a member of the editorial board for the following Journals: JACC CV imaging, Journal of Cardiovascular MR, and the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.  He also serves as manuscript reviewer for about 20 other peer-reviewed journals involving magnetic resonance, arteriosclerosis, stroke and cardiovascular sciences.

Through his stint in the University of Washington, he has mentored 32 postdocs who have moved on to become professors, chief research scientists, clinician-researchers, heads of departments and other positions of responsibility in both private and government or public institutions in the USA, China, Germany, and around the world. 

Because of his expertise in the field of cardiovascular imaging and magnetic resonance, he has been an invited speaker or keynote speaker, lecturer, moderator or faculty for many international and US meetings in the imaging field.  He has over 210 articles in peer-reviewed journals.  His research is supported by several NIH and private grants and currently supervises several postdoctoral fellows, research scientists and graduate students, as well as teaches courses in Bioengineering and Radiology.

Research Interests

Magnetic resonance imaging
Multi modal imaging techniques
Vulnerable carotid plaque
High risk plaque
Intraplaque hemorrhage
Atherosclerosis
Stroke
Coronary events
Cardiovascular disease

Education

PhD, Medical Biophysics and Computing, University of Utah, 1988
BS, Physics, 1979-1982, Beijing Nomal University, Beijing, China 1982

Awards and Honors

• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow, March 20, 2017
• Radiology Editor’s 2016 Recognition Award for Reviewing with Distinction, December 01, 2016

Recent Publications

See all publications on Scopus

Self-calibrating wave-encoded 3D turbo spin echo imaging using subspace model based autofocusing
Zhou Z., Yuan C., Börnert P.
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2020 Apr:1250-1262

Characterization of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques Using 3-Dimensional MERGE Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Correlation With Stroke Risk Factors
Murata K., Murata N., Chu B., Watase H., Hippe D., Balu N., Sun J., Zhao X., Hatsukami T., Yuan C.
Stroke. 2020 Feb:475-480

Comparison of Carotid Atherosclerosis between Patients at High Altitude and Sea Level: A Chinese Atherosclerosis Risk Evaluation Study
Cao Y., Zhao X., Watase H., Hippe D., Wu Y., Zhang H., Yue L., Canto G., Song Y., Shi H., Wang G., Li R., Bao H., Yuan C.
Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases. 2020 Feb

Imaging of Carotid Plaque Neovascularization by Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Cattaneo M., Sun J., Staub D., Xu D., Gallino J., Santini P., Porretta A., Yuan C., Balu N., Arnold M., Froio A., Limoni C., Wyttenbach R., Gallino A.
Cerebrovascular Diseases. 2020 Jan:140-148

The study on the segmentation of carotid vessel wall in multicontrast MR images based on U-Net neural network
Li J., Chen S., Zhang Q., Song Y., Canton G., Sun J., Xu D., Zhao X., Yuan C., Li R.
Chinese Journal of Radiology (China). 2019 Dec:1091-1095

Deep morphology aided diagnosis network for segmentation of carotid artery vessel wall and diagnosis of carotid atherosclerosis on black-blood vessel wall MRI
Wu J., Xin J., Yang X., Sun J., Xu D., Zheng N., Yuan C.
Medical Physics. 2019 Dec:5544-5561

Four different carotid atherosclerotic behaviors based on luminal stenosis and plaque characteristics in symptomatic patients: An in vivo study
Watase H., Canton G., Sun J., Zhao X., Hatsukami T., Yuan C.
Diagnostics. 2019 Dec

Identification of carotid non-hemorrhagic lipid-rich necrotic core by magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo imaging: Validation by contrast-enhanced T1 weighted imaging
Wang T., Qiao H., Xu H., Xu D., Liu G., Yuan C., Zhao X.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2019 Nov:155-158

Carotid artery segmentation using level set method with double adaptive threshold (DATLS) on TOF-MRA images
Luo L., Liu S., Tong X., Jiang P., Yuan C., Zhao X., Shang F.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2019 Nov:123-130

Combining morphological and biomechanical factors for optimal carotid plaque progression prediction: An MRI-based follow-up study using 3D thin-layer models
Wang Q., Tang D., Wang L., Canton G., Wu Z., Hatsukami T., Billiar K., Yuan C.
International Journal of Cardiology. 2019 Oct:266-271