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Ehsan Samei

Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology
Radiology
DUMC Box 2731, Durham, NC 27710
2424 Erwin Road, Suite 302, Ravin Advanced Imaging Labs, Durham, NC 27705

Overview


Dr. Ehsan Samei, PhD, DABR, FAAPM, FSPIE, FAIMBE, FIOMP, FACR is a Persian-American medical physicist. He is the Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology, and Professor of Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Physics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. He serves as the Chief Imaging Physicist for Duke University Health System, the Director of the Carl E Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories and the Center for Virtual Imaging Trials (CVIT), and co-PI of one the five Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI), Triangle CERSI. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology, recognized as a Distinguished Investigator by the Academy of Radiology Research, and awarded Fellow by five professional organization. He founded/co-founded the Duke Medical Physics Program, the Duke Imaging Physics Residency Program, the Duke Clinical Imaging Physics Group, the Center for Virtual Imaging Trials, and the Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs (SDAMPP). He has held senior leadership positions in the AAPM, SPIE, SDAMPP, and RSNA, including election to the presidency of the SEAAPM (2010-2011), SDAMPP (2011), and AAPM (2023).

Dr. Samei's scientific expertise include x-ray imaging, theoretical imaging models, simulation methods, and experimental techniques in medical image formation, quantification, and perception. His research aims to bridge the gap between scientific scholarship and clinical practice, in the meaningful realization of translational research, and in clinical processes that are informed by scientific evidence. He has advanced image quality and safety metrics and radiometrics that are clinically relevant and that can be used to design, optimize, and monitor interpretive and quantitative performance of imaging techniques. These have been implemented in advanced imaging performance characterization, procedural optimization, and clinical dose and quality analytics. His most recent research interests have been virtual clinical trial across a broad spectrum of oncologic, pulmonary, cardiac, and vascular diseases, and developing methodological advances that provide smart fusions of principle-informed and AI-based, data-informed approaches to scientific inquiry.

Dr. Samei has mentored over 140 trainees (graduate and postgraduate). He has more than 1400 scientific publications including more than 360 referred journal articles, 600 conference presentations, and 4 books. Citations to his work is reflected in an h-index of 74 and a Weighted Relative Citation Ratio of 613. His laboratory of over 20 researchers has been supported continuously over two decades by 44 extramural grants, culminating in a NIH Program Project grant in 2021 to establish the national Center for Virtual Imaging Trials (CVIT), joining a small number of prominent Biomedical Technology Research Centers across the nation. In 2023, he, along with 3 other PIs, was awarded to lead one of five national Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (Triangle CERSI) by the FDA.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology · 2022 - Present Radiology, Clinical Science Departments
Professor in Radiology · 2018 - Present Radiology, Clinical Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2000 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers
Professor of Biomedical Engineering · 2015 - Present Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering · 2018 - Present Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Physics · 2023 - Present Physics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published July 11, 2023
FDA Awards $50 Million to Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill for New Research Center
Published November 16, 2022
Artemis Launches With Two Duke Experiments
Published September 7, 2022
Meet Helga and Zohar, Duke's Space Pioneers

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Recent Publications


Reproducibility of Lung Density Quantification across Photon-counting and Conventional Energy-integrating CT: A Comparative Study.

Journal Article Br J Radiol · May 10, 2025 OBJECTIVES: To evaluate how photon-counting CT (PCCT) reproducibly quantifies lung density compared to conventional CT (energy-integrating CT or EICT) and assess the relevance of image quality. METHODS: In this retrospective analysis of a prospective study ... Full text Link to item Cite

Preoperative planning for shoulder arthroplasty is feasible with computed tomography at lower-than-conventional radiation doses.

Journal Article J Shoulder Elbow Surg · May 2025 BACKGROUND: Computed tomography (CT) offers a detailed assessment of the shoulder for preoperative shoulder arthroplasty planning; however, this technique exposes the patient to ionizing radiation. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate th ... Full text Link to item Cite

The future of in silico trials and digital twins in medicine.

Journal Article PNAS Nexus · May 2025 In silico trials and digital twins are emerging as transformative medical technologies, as they offer a unique way to design medical innovations, optimize their application, and evaluate their utility. Their use spans from individual care-appropriating the ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Research Triangle Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2023 - 2028

Accuracy and Precision in CT Quantification of COPD Through Virtual Imaging Trials

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · 2021 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Michigan, Ann Arbor · 1997 Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor · 1995 M.E.