Javier Villanueva-Meyer, MD Appointed to 2018 Class of John A. Watson Faculty Scholars
The Dean’s Diversity Fund Committee has announced that Javier Villanueva-Meyer, MD, a neuroradiologist in the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging has been selected as a John A. Watson Faculty Scholar effective July 1, 2018. Supported through the Dean’s Diversity Fund, selected faculty are provided strategic funding to develop their academic career and pursue activities that contribute to the community. This distinction was named in honor of John A. Watson, PhD, an inspiring mentor, pioneer for diversity and tenacious scientist whose service to the UCSF School of Medicine spanned forty-six years.
“Javier is a role model for the next generation of academic radiologists,” commented Christopher Hess, MD, PhD, department chair. “He has a sharp clinical eye, is an insightful educator and is one of the most effective communicators that I know. His research in molecular imaging for infection and in brain tumors has tremendous potential for making significant contributions towards a key departmental strategic aim – to advance imaging as a tool for precision medicine.”
Dr. Villanueva-Meyer received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas. He completed a four-year diagnostic radiology residency at UCSF, serving as chief resident and as a NIH T32 Post-doctoral fellow. He was selected as the Elmer Ng Outstanding Resident in 2016. After completing his fellowship in Neuroradiology at UCSF, he joined the faculty of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging in 2017 as Assistant Professor.
In his research with David Wilson, MD, PhD, Dr. Villanueva-Meyer helped to identify a bacteria-specific pathway for metabolism and exploit its use as a new positron emission tomography tracer. In the area of brain tumors imaging, he has collaborated closely with partners in Neuro-Oncology, Neurological Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Neuropathology to develop and apply anatomic, physiologic and molecular imaging biomarkers that characterize the biological aggressiveness of brain tumors and predict the outcomes of treatment.