Added Richard L. Wahl, MD, the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Radiology and director of MIR: “Dr. Dehdashti is a world-class physician-scientist whose innovative research in PET imaging drives and informs precision cancer treatment. She is a gifted physician and educator, and plays a major departmental leadership role as a senior vice chair at MIR.”

Dehdashti earned her medical degree from Pahlavi University School of Medicine in Iran in 1977 and completed her radiology residency in 1980 at the same institution. She served as chief resident and then research fellow in PET imaging in the Division of Nuclear Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine before joining the faculty in 1990.


The endowed professorship honors the accomplishments of Barry A. Siegel, MD, and Marilyn J. Siegel, MD, longstanding faculty in the Department of Radiology. The two met and married while working at MIR. Marilyn Siegel, the first female professor of radiology and a professor of pediatrics, helped develop computed tomography (CT) into a tool that has changed patient treatment and outcomes. She has worked tirelessly to reduce children’s exposure to radiation during CT scans. An internationally recognized expert on diagnostic imaging of children, she has received invitations to speak all over the world. The Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging recognized her accomplishments with the Gold Medal, its highest award.

Barry Siegel, a professor of radiology and of medicine, is known for his groundbreaking contributions related to the diagnosis of blockages in lung arteries, the detection of blood clots, and using radioactive tracers to detect tumors. A former senior vice chair and director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, his research has focused on uses of PET for cancer diagnosis and staging, as well as predicting and monitoring tumor response to therapy. He played a leading role in working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to set up a national registry that allowed for expanded access to PET for clinical applications in oncology. In 2014, he was awarded the Benedict Cassen Prize, the highest honor in nuclear medicine.


Washington University School of Medicine’s 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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