PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Pew‐Thian Yap

Also known as Pew-Thian Yap, Pew Thian Yap, Pewthian Yap

Pew-Thian Yap is a radiology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose lab builds deep learning tools for brain MRI. His training includes a doctorate from the University of Malaya and postdoctoral posts at Nanyang Technological University and UNC, and by 2021 he directed the Image Analysis Core at UNC's Biomedical Research Imaging Center. In 2021, his team published a Nature Machine Intelligence network that removes MRI artefacts using unpaired data; in 2022, the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research named him a Distinguished Investigator, and he was senior author of the Nature Methods infant brain atlases. A 2025 Nature Communications paper introduced Anatomy-to-Tract Mapping, which reconstructs white matter bundles from T1-weighted MRI alone, and a 2026 Nature paper charted functional brain organization from birth to age 100. He is a Professor of Radiology, Associate Chair of Basic Science Research and Director of the Image Analysis Core at UNC.

Now at
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Biomedical Research Imaging Center

Timeline

  1. By 2021

    Image Analysis Core at BRIC

    His training includes a doctorate from the University of Malaya in Malaysia, a postdoctoral fellowship at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and a postdoctoral research associate position at the University of North Carolina. By 2021, he is Image Analysis Core Director at UNC's Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC), where he leads a team applying deep learning to identify poor-quality MRI images.

  2. 2021

    Learning MRI artefact removal

    In January 2021, his team publishes a retrospective artefact correction network in Nature Machine Intelligence. Trained on unpaired Baby Connectome Project data, it disentangles and removes unwanted image artefacts while retaining anatomical details.

  3. 2022

    Academy Distinguished Investigator

    In 2022, the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research selects him, then an Associate Professor of Radiology and Director of Radiological Sciences Faculty Development, for its Council of Distinguished Investigators. The Class of 2022 has 40 researchers.

  4. December 2022

    Infant brain atlases in Nature Methods

    In December 2022, he is senior author of "Multifaceted atlases of the human brain in its infancy" in Nature Methods, with Sahar Ahmad as lead author. The paper presents month-specific surface-volume atlases of postnatal brain development from two weeks to two years of age.

  5. 2024

    Four R01 grants in 2024

    In February 2024, he receives an estimated $1.8 million award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for AI-Powered MRI Quality Control and Artifact Correction for Multi-Site Studies. In September 2024, he secures his fourth R01 grant of the year; one project, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke with Yong Chen, covers optimized high-resolution fast magnetic resonance fingerprinting with cloud-based reconstruction.

  6. 2025

    The Anatomy-to-Tract Mapping framework

    In 2025, he and colleagues publish Anatomy-to-Tract Mapping (ATM) in Nature Communications, a deep learning framework that generates white matter bundles directly from T1-weighted MRI without diffusion data. ATM reconstructs 30 major white matter bundles from structural MRI alone and performs well on low-field and low-resolution clinical scans.

  7. 2026

    Functional hierarchy in Nature

    In 2026, he is senior author of "Functional hierarchy of the human neocortex across the lifespan" in Nature, led by Hoyt Patrick Taylor IV. The study analyzes 3,972 resting-state fMRI scans from 3,556 healthy participants, from shortly after birth to 100 years of age.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and Associate Chair

    He is Professor of Radiology at UNC, Associate Chair of Basic Science Research, Co-Director of Radiological Sciences Faculty Development, and Director of the Image Analysis Core of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center. In September 2026, he is senior author of a Nature Communications study that maps myelination across 214 brain regions in MRIs of more than 14,000 healthy participants aged 0 to 100.

Career

  1. NowUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillPostdoctoral Research Associate
  2. NowBiomedical Research Imaging CenterDirector
  3. Nanyang Technological UniversityPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. University of MalayaDoctorate

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Sources and credits

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  1. Pew-Thian Yap, PhD | Department of Radiology med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. UNC Radiology Image Analysis Group Evidences Efficacy of Artificial Intelligence in MRI Artefact Removal news.unchealthcare.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Henderson, Li, Yap, and Li Selected as Academy Council of Distinguished Investigators (DI's) Class of 2022 med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Multifaceted atlases of the human brain in its infancy | Nature Methods nature.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Researchers Unveil New Collection of Human Brain Atlases that Charts the Early Developing Brain in Fine Detail news.unchealthcare.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Congrats Pew-Thian Yap on His $1.8 Million Grant from NIBIB med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Yap receives 4th RO1 Grant This Year! med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Anatomy-to-tract mapping infers white matter pathways without diffusion streamline propagation - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. UNC Radiology Researchers Harness AI to Overcome Long-Standing Barriers in Mapping Human Brain Circuitry med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. New Functional Growth Chart Shows How the Human Brain Changes from Birth to Age 100 news.unchealthcare.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  11. New Study Maps a Century of Human Brain Myelination, Revealing Distinct Patterns of Development and Aging med.unc.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.