Cindy X. Yuan, MD, PhD

Cindy Yuan, MD, PhD, serves as assistant professor of clinical radiology and imaging sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she leads key clinical trials, multidisciplinary research partnerships, and medical education initiatives in nuclear radiology. 

Yuan joined IU School of Medicine in 2021 as the director of theranostics. In this role, she oversees industry-sponsored clinical trials and fosters strategic collaborations across specialties, including oncology and urology, to advance targeted therapy trials and innovative research projects. She leads a dedicated clinical team to execute complex theranostics protocols through continuous interdepartmental communication. With the launch of the new Indiana University Health Theranostics Center of Excellence, Yuan will be leading the radioligand therapy (RLT) program alongside faculty from the department. This will establish a pipeline to bring new RLT therapies from the identification of cancer biomarkers through phase III clinical trials. 

Alongside her clinical leadership, Yuan serves as the nuclear radiology fellowship director, expanding the training program to maintain a consistent cohort of two to three fellows each year. 

Nationally, Yuan plays an influential role in health policy and radiology coding strategy. She serves as the primary advisor from the American College of Radiology, which maintains the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set (the American Medical Association’s CPT Editorial Panel), where she leads a group of advisors and alternate advisors across multiple radiology societies to help set coding standards. Additionally, she is the advisor for the Association of Academic Radiology, which recommends valuation for CPT codes, and the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee. 

Yuan earned a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. She completed her medical degree and a PhD in economics at the University of Chicago in 2015 and 2013, respectively, before completing her diagnostic radiology residency training at the same institution. She subsequently completed a nuclear radiology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco prior to joining Indiana University.