About
Dr. Jingwen Yao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiological Sciences at UCLA and a faculty member of the Physics & Biology in Medicine graduate program. She earned her M.B.B.S. in China and completed her Ph.D. in Bioengineering at UCLA, followed by postdoctoral training at UCSF. Dr. Yao's research is centered on developing advanced MRI techniques for applications in brain tumors and other neurological diseases. She is particularly interested in developing and validating MRI biomarkers that reflect physiological and pathological tissue properties for disease progression monitoring and treatment effect assessment.
Dr. Yao’s current research includes (1) developing and validating imaging biomarkers sensitive to the brain tumor microenvironment, such as tissue acidity, immune infiltration, and tumor vasculature, (2) developing and applying advanced imaging for pathophysiological characterization and treatment targeting in movement disorders. Her research encompasses various aspects of biomarker development, including sequence development, image acquisition and reconstruction, post-processing, quantitative image analysis, and clinical translation and evaluation.
Education and Degree(s)
- Ph.D. in Bioengineering
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA
- M.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA
- M.B.B.S. in Clinical Medicine
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Publications
- Raymond C, Yao J, Clifford B, Feiweier T, Oshima S, Telesca D, Zhong X, Meyer H, Everson RG, Salamon N, Cloughesy TF, Ellingson BM. Leveraging Physics-Based Synthetic MR Images and Deep Transfer Learning for Artifact Reduction in Echo-Planar Imaging.. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 2025.
- Lopez Kolkovsky AL, Wang C, Yao J, Ellingson BM. Multinuclear Interleaving of 1H CEST, Water T2*, and 23Na MRI at 3 T.. NMR in biomedicine, 2025.
- Sanvito F, Yao J, Cho NS, Raymond C, Telesca D, Pope WB, Everson RG, Salamon N, Boxerman JL, Cloughesy TF, Ellingson BM. "Synthetic" DSC Perfusion MRI with Adjustable Acquisition Parameters in Brain Tumors Using Dynamic Spin-and-Gradient-Echo Echoplanar Imaging.. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 2025.
- Oshima S, Kim A, Sun XR, Rifi Z, Cross KA, Fu KA, Salamon N, Ellingson BM, Bari AA, Yao J. Predicting Post-Operative Side Effects in VIM MRgFUS Based on THalamus Optimized Multi Atlas Segmentation (THOMAS) on White-Matter-Nulled MRI: A Retrospective Study.. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 2025.
- Morrison MA, Yao J, Bhalerao R, Jakary A, Glueck J, Driscoll T, Geschwind MD, Nelson AB, Possin KL, Hess CP, Lupo JM. TRANSIENT ALTERATIONS IN THALAMO-CEREBELLAR FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN PREMANIFEST HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE.. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2025.
- Oshima S, Yao J, Bobholz S, Nagaraj R, Raymond C, Teraishi A, Guenther AM, Kim A, Sanvito F, Cho NS, Eldred BSC, Connelly JM, Nghiemphu PL, Lai A, Salamon N, Cloughesy TF, LaViolette PS, Ellingson BM. Radio-pathomic estimates of cellular growth kinetics predict survival in recurrent glioblastoma.. CNS oncology, 2024.
Honors and Awards
- UC Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California, 2022.