Biography

Dr. Udayakumar graduated from Medical College of Georgia, (Georgia Health Sciences University) Augusta GA in 2005 with a PhD in Molecular Medicine with emphasis on biochemical signaling in DNA damage and repair under the mentorship of Dr. William S. Dynan. She then completed her post-doctoral trainings at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Department of Pathology on Tumor Vascular Biology and at Massachusetts General Hospital in Department of Dermatology on Melanoma tumorigenesis, both affiliated with Harvard Medical School. In 2011 she held an Instructor appointment at MGH, Harvard Medical School with research focused on Genetic determinants of UV induced skin cancers. In 2012, she joined University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as an Instructor in the Department of Radiation Oncology. Since 2015, she has been appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center with a secondary appointment in the Advanced Imaging Research Center. 

Dr. Udayakumar's research interests are focused on Radiogenomics with emphasis on identifying quantitative imaging measures as a noninvasive tool to predict alterations in molecular and metabolic characteristics in kidney and breast cancers. Her research interests also include deciphering molecular drivers of breast cancer bone metastasis with the goal of identifying and targeting specific orthotropic factors. Her work spans from tissue characterization, preclinical animal models, preclinical imaging, to human imaging. She utilizes advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emisson tomography (PET) methods to answer these questions. 

Dr. Udayakumar's research has been funded through Dermatology Foundation, Amerian Skin Association, Charles Y. C. Pak foundation and UT Southwestern Circle of Friends. She serves as a co-investigator on multiple grants from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). She has co-authored more than 30 scientific manuscripts, review articles, and more than 25 conference abstracts. She serves as a scientific reviewer for several journals including Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, BMC Medical Imaging, and Clinical Radiology. She also serves as an Editorial board member for the journal, Frontiers in Medicine

Dr. Udayakumar is also a member of Biomedical Engineering and Cancer Biology graduate programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She actively participates in mentoring activities including summer students and post-doctoral researcher. 

Education

Undergraduate
Anna University - India (2000), Biotechnology
Graduate School
Augusta University (2005), Molecular Medicine

Research Interest

  • Cancer Biology, Quantitative Imaging, Molecular Imaging, Metastatic Mechanisms

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Honors & Awards

  • Lauterbur Award
    Best Oral Presentation in Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Main Scientific Session (2021)