– Medical Director
– Board Certified in Nuclear Medicine
Dr. Almeida graduated top of his class and with honors from The Chicago Medical School in 1991. He completed a residency and fellowship in Nuclear Medicine at the University of San Francisco and is certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine and the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology. He was in academic practice at the University of San Francisco and private practice until 2005.
Dr. Almeida is one of the pioneers in the development and implementation of cross modality fusion for cancer imaging (SPECT, PET, CT and MRI) and PET/CT. He also worked for the Centers for Disease Control after 9/11 for several years as a physician and informatics specialist consultant.
In 2005, Dr. Almeida joined the University of Arizona, where he was Assistant Professor of Radiology & Radiation Oncology, and subsequently served as the Director of Nuclear Medicine for the UofA Medical Center in Tucson until 2010. While at the UofA, Dr. Almeida lead the creation of the first combined PET/CT imaging program in southern Arizona and established the routine integration of PET/CT imaging into radiation oncology planning. He expanded the program through advanced telemedicine PACs systems to other Arizona and California cities. He has authored and participated in several publications in radiology, oncology and information science.
Now, as medical director of the Southwest PET/CT Institute and Arizona Molecular Imaging Center, Dr. Almeida oversees clinics in Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma and Indian Wells, providing his extensive clinical expertise in PET/CT imaging. He continues his research, focused on applied medical informatics with emphasis on imaging and networking systems, optimization of fusion technology and volumetric tumor assessment for radiation therapy planning. He actively participates in several oncology and neurologic clinical trials and is the principal investigator for a novel Carbon-11 PET agent for prostate cancer imaging.