Thomas Vaughan

J. Thomas "Tommy" Vaughan, Jr.

Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Professor of Radiology (Physics)

J. Thomas "Tommy" Vaughan, Jr. joined Columbia as Director of the Magnetic Resonance Research Center in 2016 to launch a new university-wide initiative to develop and apply MR methods and technologies to advance biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. He is a leading pioneer in MR and its utility for science and medicine.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are used to noninvasively observe the human anatomy, metabolism, and mind in states of health, disease, and therapeutic intervention. These powerful new research tools will be developed in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and applied to basic research at the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute and to translational research at the Columbia University Medical Center.

Vaughan was recruited from the University of Minnesota where he held the Quist-Henline Chair in Biomedical Research and was Director of Engineering at the Center of Magnetic Resonance Research, with appointments in Radiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. Vaughan has enjoyed a forty-year career in academic research at UT Southwestern, U. Alabama Birmingham, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard, and U. Minnesota. In addition to the research centers he’s helped to found and build at these institutions, his achievements are recorded in 165 articles, three books twelve chapters, and 60 patents. Thomas Vaughan is a Fellow in IEEE, AIMBE, and ISMRM societies, on the editorial board of NMR in Biomedicine, active in the NIH, NSF, and journal peer review, and founder of two small biotech businesses, including MR Access, Inc.

Research Areas

  • Neuroengineering
  • Bioelectronics
  • Bioinstrumentation
  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Medical Devices and Systems
  • Analog Devices
  • Electromagnetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems and Applications

Additional information

  • Professional Experience
    • Principal Investigator, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, NY State
    • Principal Investigator, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, 2016-
    • Director, Columbia Magnetic Resonance Research Center, 2018-
    • Professor, Radiology, Columbia University, 2016-
    • Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2016–
    • Professor and Lillian Quist–Joyce Henline Chair, Biomedical Research, University of Minnesota, 1999–2016
    • Professor, Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 1999-2016
    • Professor, BME, ECE, University of Minnesota Engineering, 1999-2016
    • Director of Engineering, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1995-1999
    • Assistant Professor, Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 1995–1999
    • Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1989–1995
    • Lead Biomedical Engineer, Philips Research Labs Hamburg, 1989-1992
    • Research Engineer, UT Southwestern, 1984-1989
    • Electrical Design Engineer, Texas Instruments, 1982-1984
    • Co-op Engineer, Digital Electronics, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, 1979-1982
  • Professional Affiliations
    • Board Member, International Building Performance and Simulation
    • Association (IBPSA) England Chapter (2021-2022)
    • Conference Chair, Building Simulation and Optimisation Conference 2022, Loughborough, England
    • Co-opted Board Member, IBPSA England Chapter (2019-2021)
  • Honors & Awards
    • Quist-Henline Chair in Biomedical Research, University of Minnesota
    • Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
    • Fellow, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM)
    • Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE)
    • Elected Board of Trustees, ISMRM
    • Twice nominated ISMRM Gold Medal
    • 1993 Engineering and BME Outstanding Graduate Student awards, UAB
    • Phi Beta Pi, Arts and Sciences Honor Society
    • Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honor Society
    • Eta Kappa Nu, Electrical Engineering Honor Society
    • Pi Mu Epsilon, Mathematics Honor Society
  • Education
    • PhD, Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    • BS, Electrical Engineering, Auburn University
    • BS, Biology, Auburn University