Savjani, Ricky R., PhD

About

About - I am thrilled to be in the field of radiation oncology. At UCLA, I clinically treat patients with Head & Neck cancers, as well as Brain and Spine metastases. I also have started a lab focusing on a combination of advanced imaging, clinical informatics, and AI. Please stay tuned for opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, and research assistants. We hope to translate the advances from neuroimaging to capture cancer tissue properties and help guide radiotherapy.

Education and Degree(s)

2009–2018
MD/PhD
Texas A&M College of Medicine

2005–2009
BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
BS, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Postdoctoral and Clinical Training

2020–2021
Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA and Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company
American Board of Radiology Holman Research Pathway

2019–2023
Residency, Radiation Oncology
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

2018–2019
Internship, Transitional Year
University of Chicago, NorthShore

Honors and Awards

2026
NIH Early Career Reviewer

2025
ARRO Educator of the Year Award

2024
UCLA Academic Senate Travel Award
Translational Science National Meeting – 1st Place Poster Award

2023
UCLA Symposium on Neurotechnology – Best Data Blitz Presentation
NIH Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (CTSA) – Best Poster Award
UCLA TDG Innovation Fund MedTech Team Winners
RSNA Roentgen Resident Research Award
ASCO/AACR Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop Fellow

2022
UCLA Resident Informaticist – Best Final Project
UCLA Training in Neurotechnology Translation Program T32 – Trainee
Google Cloud Research Innovator
Google Cloud Champion Innovator
Society for Neuro-Oncology Introduction to Clinical Trial Design Workshop

2021
American Society of Neuroradiology – Artificial Intelligence Workshop

2021–2022
Practical Radiation Oncology – Reviewer Apprenticeship Program
IJROBP Resident Peer Review Training Program (RePRT)

2020–2023
B. Leonard Holman Research Pathway

2020–2022
Radiology: Imaging Cancer (RSNA) – Editorial Trainee Board

2019
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) – Advocacy Travel Grant

2018
Open Access to Knowledge Fund (OAKFund) – Publication Award

2017
RSNA Introduction to Academic Radiology Award
American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) – Outstanding Presentation Award
Methodist Academy of Postdoctoral and Trainee Association – Top Poster Award

2016
Society for Neuroscience (SfN) – Professional Development Award for Trainees
NINDS/AUPN/ANA/CNS – Combining Clinical & Research Careers Awardee
Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) – Merit Abstract Award
Texas A&M University Imaging Spotlight Series – 1st Place Poster Competition

2015
VA Traumatic Brain Injury State of the Art Conference – Travel Award

2013
NIH AFNI Bootcamp – Trainee
Society for Neuroscience (SfN) – “Hot Topic” for Neuroscience Award
Brainhack Hackathon – Travel Award

2012–2016
Montgomery County Medical Society (Texas) – Scholar Award

2012
NIDA/UCLA Neuroimaging Training Program (NITP) – Training Fellow

2011
Geriatric Mental Health Foundation Scholar

2006
Society for Technical Communication (STC) – 1st Place National Writing Award

2004
Siemens Westinghouse Competition – Regional Finalist