Brendon J. Villegas, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Division of Physics and Engineering bjvillegas@uabmc.edu 205-975-5012 |  GSB315-H

Brendon Villegas attended the University of California, Riverside, to obtain his Bachelor’s of Science in General Physics. After spending a couple of years working in finance, he returned to school to earn his master’s degree in applied physics from the California State University of Long Beach (CSULB). While at CSULB, Brendon had the opportunity to work with fabricating thin film superconductors. It was at Long Beach while investigating thin film nanoscale surfaces using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) that he discovered his passion for research.

In 2010, Brendon began his doctoral studies in Biomedical Physics at the University of Los Angeles, California. After his general studies and successfully passing the American Board of Radiology part one exam for medical physics, he subsequently joined the lab of Dr. Jorge Barrio. The Barrio Lab synthesized Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracers and focused their research on molecular imaging. It was during Brendon’s dissertation work studying tau and amyloid in neurodegenerative disease that he became passionate about both PET imaging and investigating the etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease. After receiving his Ph.D. from UCLA, Dr. Villegas continued research as a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA in the Scafoglio Lab, focused on studying glucose transport in lung cancer.

In 2021, Dr. Villegas began his diagnostic imaging medical physics residency at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. His two years spent in residency were clinically focused to prepare for his ABR certification in Diagnostic Imaging.  On July 1^st, 2023, Dr. Villegas joined the faculty in the Department of Radiology as an assistant professor and is excited to be a part of UAB. Dr. Villegas has research interests in a multitude of areas but remains passionate and enthusiastic about molecular imaging and the impact it can make in medicine.

Contact Information

Administrative Support:
Teresa Worden
P: 205-934-0071