ABOUT ME
A physicist who, from being initially based at the UK’s Medical Research Council’s Cyclotron Unit at Hammersmith Hospital, London, has, since 1968, been involved in the development of the clinical research applications of cyclotron produced, positron emitting radio nuclides.
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Using the positron emitting radio nuclide oxygen-15 undertook the World’s first imaging of human brain metabolism in 1973 at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA when supported by a Medical Research Council's Travelling Fellowship.
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Pioneered brain functional imaging in the UK. See "a career in neuroimaging research" in the Wellcome Trust video series of Today’s Neuroscience…Tomorrow’s History
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Explored pre-PET, clinical research studies in the brain, heart, lungs and cancers which provided the case for initiating Positron Emission Tomography in the UK
Led on the introduction of PET in the UK in 1979 at the Medical Research Council’s Cyclotron Unit at Hammersmith Hospital, London.
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Together with medical colleagues at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, fostered research applications of PET in Neurology, Psychiatry, Oncology, Cardiology and Pulmonary Medicine.
In 1983/84 initiated the case for the EEC funding an across Europe programme of concerted action in PET which was subsequently supported for a total of 10 years. It covered: scanner and data analysis methodology, radiochemistry, and applications in Neurology, Psychiatry, Oncology, and Cardiology.
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In the Fall of 1984, when exposed by Ron Nutt to CTI’s new detector development, was the first to coin it as a “BLOCK” of detectors.
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Introduced advanced PET methodology especially in collaboration with industry, on scanner performance, including the introduction of septa-less 3D data collection.
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Establishing one of the World’s first dedicated small-animal PET scanner in 1992.
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Published in 1996, the concept of the “Imaging Science of PET” as an inter-disciplinary activity in which was he was the first to coin the term “Molecular Imaging”. (Jones T. Eur J Nucl Med 1996;23(7):807-813)
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Rose to become Acting Director of the MRC Cyclotron Unit, and Professor of Medical Physics at Imperial College.
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Co-established with Professor Pat Price, the state-of-the-art PET based Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre at the University of Manchester where he was Professor of Molecular Imaging 2000-2007.
Co-established with Professor Pat Price, the PET Research Advisory Company in 2010.
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Visiting Professor at The University of California, Davis School of Medicine since September 2013 as a collaborator in the USA EXPLORER Total Body PET Scanner consortium.
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Consultant on the 2015 USA NIH funded program to build the World’s first Total Body PET Scanner, and the undertaking of early human proof of concept human application studies at the University of California, Davis.
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He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and in 1999, was elected a fellow of the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences.
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In 2019 awarded Honorary Fellowship of the UK's Royal College of Radiologists.
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Delivered the 2019 biannual Hal Anger Lecturer at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Meeting.
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Received the 2019 IEEE NPSS 2029 Edward J Hoffman Medical imaging Scientist Award for contributions to the development of PET methodology and its applications in clinical research . Presentation delivered: The Development of PET Methodology & its Applications in Clinical Research; the Legacy of Edward J Hoffman.
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Currently developing the case for establishing a Total Body PET scanning research facility in the UK.
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300 scientific publications with 31K+ citations, and a h-index of 82.
Co-authored a number of recent PET reviews -an opinion leader on the future challenges and opportunities facing PET.
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Presented the 2013 TED Talk “Seeing Inside the Human Brain”.
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