Courtney Lawhn Heath, MD

Courtney Lawhn Heath, MD

Assistant Professor, Section of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF

Cancer Center Program Membership

Breast Oncology

400 Parnassus Avenue, #C-09L
San Francisco, CA 94117

UCSF Profiles

Research Summary

Dr. Courtney Lawhn Heath is a radiologist who specializes in nuclear radiology, in which small amounts of radioactive materials, called radiopharmaceuticals, are used to diagnose and treat disease. She uses molecular imaging to diagnose a wide range of diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease and cancer. Using radionuclide therapy (tumor-targeting radiopharmaceuticals), she cares for patients with thyroid, neuroendocrine and prostate cancers, as well as benign thyroid disorders, such as Graves' disease.

Lawhn Heath's research interests include molecular imaging of breast cancer and prostate cancer. She is also interested in applications of the technology for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Lawhn Heath earned her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She completed a dual-pathway diagnostic radiology residency and nuclear medicine fellowship at UCSF.

Education

Residency, 2019 - Diagnostic Radiology, UCSF
Fellowship, 2019 - Nuclear Medicine, UCSF
MD, 2014 - , Pritzker School of Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 2022    
    Future Leaders Academy, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
  • 2021    
    Named “One to Watch” by Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
  • 2020    
    Elected to Board of Directors for Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging PET Center of Excellence
  • 2018 - 2019    
    Robert E. Henkin Government Relations Fellowship, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
     

Selected Publications

  1. Lawhn-Heath C. Editorial Comment: Closing the Gap-Emerging Role of Estrogen Receptor-Targeted PET in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2023 08; 221(2):239.  View on PubMed
  2. Lawhn-Heath C, Fidelman N, Chee B, Jivan S, Armstrong E, Zhang L, Lindsay S, Bergsland EK, Hope TA. Intraarterial Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy Using 90Y-DOTATOC for Hepatic Metastases of Neuroendocrine Tumors. J Nucl Med. 2021 02; 62(2):221-227.  View on PubMed
  3. Fendler WP, Ferdinandus J, Czernin J, Eiber M, Flavell RR, Behr SC, Wu IK, Lawhn-Heath C, Pampaloni MH, Reiter RE, Rettig MB, Gartmann J, Murthy V, Slavik R, Carroll PR, Herrmann K, Calais J, Hope TA. Impact of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET on the Management of Recurrent Prostate Cancer in a Prospective Single-Arm Clinical Trial. J Nucl Med. 2020 12; 61(12):1793-1799.  View on PubMed
  4. Chiu LW, Lawhn-Heath C, Behr SC, Juarez R, Perez PM, Lobach I, Bucknor MD, Hope TA, Flavell RR. Factors Predicting Metastatic Disease in 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-Positive Osseous Lesions in Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med. 2020 12; 61(12):1779-1785.  View on PubMed
  5. Lawhn-Heath C, Flavell RR, Chuang EY, Liu C. Failure of iodine uptake in microscopic pulmonary metastases after recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulation. World J Nucl Med. 2020 Jan-Mar; 19(1):61-64.  View on PubMed
  6. Lawhn-Heath C, Flavell RR, Behr SC, Yohannan T, Greene KL, Feng F, Carroll PR, Hope TA. Single-Center Prospective Evaluation of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET in Biochemical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2019 08; 213(2):266-274.  View on PubMed
  7. Hope TA, Afshar-Oromieh A, Eiber M, Emmett L, Fendler WP, Lawhn-Heath C, Rowe SP. Imaging Prostate Cancer With Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET/CT and PET/MRI: Current and Future Applications. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2018 08; 211(2):286-294.  View on PubMed
  8. Cheung H, Lawhn-Heath C, Lopez G, Vella M, Aparici CM. Metastatic cervical paravertebral solitary fibrous tumor detected by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography. Radiol Case Rep. 2018 Apr; 13(2):464-467.  View on PubMed
  9. Lawhn-Heath C, Flavell RR, Korenchan DE, Deller T, Lake S, Carroll PR, Hope TA. Scatter Artifact with Ga-68-PSMA-11 PET: Severity Reduced With Furosemide Diuresis and Improved Scatter Correction. Mol Imaging. 2018 Jan-Dec; 17:1536012118811741.  View on PubMed
  10. Lawhn-Heath C, Flavell RR, Glastonbury C, Hope TA, Behr SC. Incidental Detection of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma on 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT. Clin Nucl Med. 2017 Apr; 42(4):e218-e220.  View on PubMed
  11. Lawhn-Heath C, Buckle C, Christoforidis G, Straus C. Utility of head CT in the evaluation of vertigo/dizziness in the emergency department. Emerg Radiol. 2013 Jan; 20(1):45-9.  View on PubMed
  12. Rangarajan KV, Lawhn-Heath C, Feng L, Kim TS, Cang J, Liu X. Detection of visual deficits in aging DBA/2J mice by two behavioral assays. Curr Eye Res. 2011 May; 36(5):481-91.  View on PubMed
  13. Wang L, Rangarajan KV, Lawhn-Heath CA, Sarnaik R, Wang BS, Liu X, Cang J. Direction-specific disruption of subcortical visual behavior and receptive fields in mice lacking the beta2 subunit of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. J Neurosci. 2009 Oct 14; 29(41):12909-18.  View on PubMed

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