Joel Karp is a Professor of Radiologic Physics in Radiology and holds a secondary appointment in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. He leads the PET Imaging/Cyclotron Facility and directs the Nuclear Medicine Core in the Medical School's Small Animal Imaging Facility. His work focuses on advancing PET technology, including time-of-flight imaging, detector design, and 3D reconstruction algorithms. He has pioneered the Philips Gemini TF scanner and developed novel scintillator-based instruments. Dr. Karp has been instrumental in establishing imaging standards like the NEMA NU-2 protocol and has contributed to multi-center trial accuracy initiatives. Education: PhD in Nuclear Physics from MIT (1980) Affiliations: Penn Medicine, IEEE Nuclear Medical Imaging Sciences Council, SNM, and ACRIN PET Core Lab. His research interests span PET/SPECT instrumentation, quantitative imaging, and clinical translation. He has received the Ed Hoffman Memorial Award (2007) and led national committees, including the NAS Nuclear Medicine Science Committee. Dr. Karp's lab collaborates extensively on preclinical imaging, deep learning denoising, and low-dose protocols, advancing both clinical and research imaging capabilities. Notable contributions include the PennPET Explorer total-body PET system and collaborations on dedicated breast-PET/DBT systems. His work bridges physics, engineering, and medicine to enhance diagnostic precision and reduce radiation exposure.













