November 2025 - School or Medicine Research Rock Star Awards for Kevin Chung and Phu Huynh

We are thrilled to share that the UC Davis School of Medicine Office of Research honored two outstanding members of our EMIC team at the recent University of California, Davis - School of Medicine Research Celebration. Two of the five Research Rock Star Awards were awarded to Phu Huynh – Nuclear Medicine Technologist Supervisor II and Kevin Chung, Postdoctoral Fellow with the Wang Lab. 

Phu Huynh oversees all studies using the EXPLORER Total-Body PET/CT scanner – supporting more than 30 research programs spanning cancer, autoimmune, neurologic, and metabolic diseases. He is at the operational center of clinical research at EMIC, developing and implementing advanced imaging protocols, to ensuring regulatory compliance, equipment procurement/maintenance. He embodies reliability, adaptability, technical acumen and a deep commitment to the science and the people behind it. 

Dr. Kevin Chung’s groundbreaking work leverages the EXPLORER total-body PET/CT system to study how the blood–brain barrier (BBB) changes in early disease. By developing new imaging techniques to quantify BBB permeability, his research provides crucial insights into how systemic and neurologic processes interact long before symptoms appear. His findings are helping to redefine how we detect, monitor, and understand neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders at their earliest stages. This research has gained international recognition, earning Dr. Chung several prestigious awards and positioning him as a rising leader in molecular imaging. 

Congratulations again, Phu and Kevin!