When Trizzy Bui arrived at what is now AdventHealth University in 2006, she stepped into more than a degree program. She stepped into a mission.
AdventHealth University helped shape not only her technical expertise in nuclear medicine, but also her passion for advancing health care with integrity and innovation. Nearly two decades later, that foundation has carried her to national leadership and recognition, where she now helps shape the future of her profession while championing quality, safety, and compassionate care for patients across the country.
Bui’s interest in nuclear medicine began long before she stepped into a college classroom. As a teenager, she accompanied her grandmother to a nuclear medicine stress test appointment, serving as an interpreter during the visit. The experience sparked a curiosity that never faded. “Everything involved was so interesting to me,” Bui said. “I started looking into the field more and just never lost interest. Almost 25 years later, here I am.
Bui’s experience at AdventHealth University began in a season of growth and discovery. “Back then, it was probably one of the best times of my life,” Bui said. “I still have lifelong friends from my time there. It’s such a small nuclear medicine world and I feel I have come full circle.
After graduating in 2009, Bui entered the workforce during a difficult job market. She questioned her decision and even considered changing fields. Instead, she chose to
persevere. “I knew I wanted to do nuclear medicine since I was in ninth grade,” she said.
“I’m glad I went this route because the field has completely flourished in the last 10 years.”
Now serving as Nuclear Medicine, Molecular and Theranostic Technical Supervisor at UT
(University of Texas) Southwestern Medical Center, Bui oversees operations across eight campuses, ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and innovation. Based in Dallas, the institution employs more than 25,000 team members who deliver care across more than 80 medical specialties and treating more than 120,000 hospitalized and nearly 5 million outpatient individuals each year. UT Southwestern is connected with more than 30 hospital locations and hundreds of outpatient clinics throughout the region.
Her move from Florida to Texas was guided by a desire to grow professionally and explore the full potential of the field. “I wanted to work at UT Southwestern because it’s an academic hospital that includes all areas of nuclear medicine such as PET/CT, theranostics and research,” she said. “I wanted to be part of innovation and learn more about what this field has to offer.
Her current role focuses on quality optimization, regulatory compliance and advancing hybrid imaging technologies. While she no longer spends every day in direct patient care, her mission remains unchanged. “Even if I’m behind the scenes, I’m making sure we’re providing the highest quality of care with every resource we have,” she says.
Her commitment to excellence recently earned her UT Southwestern’s first Pinnacle
Award for Excellence. Selected from more than 300 submissions, Bui was recognized for
leading multiple quality improvement projects and presenting her research nationally and
internationally, including first-place finishes at major conferences.
After joining UT Southwestern as a staff technologist six years ago, she was quickly
promoted to lead technologist and then technical supervisor. She credits the institution’s
culture of development for encouraging her leadership beyond the hospital walls. “It didn’t just encourage me to be active within my institution, it made me want to make changes for everybody.”
Mentorship has become her greatest passion. Recognizing the educational gaps many
students experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bui now dedicates significant time
to professional development initiatives. “When I first started, I didn’t have that
mentorship,” she said. “I wish I did. So now, being in this role, I feel like that’s important,
and I need to do that for other people.”
When asked what she loves most about nuclear medicine, her answer returns to
the concept of wholeness that she was introduced to at AdventHealth University. “Seeing patients get better,” she said simply. “We’re with our patients repeatedly. When you see therapies working and see them improving, it reminds me why I started this work.”
Ashlee Thomas, PET/CT Operations Supervisor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has worked alongside Bui for more than six years and has seen her leadership firsthand. The two began their careers together as nuclear medicine technologists and have since grown into complementary leadership roles, continuing to collaborate closely to advance quality and patient care across the system.
“Trizzy is a phenomenal technologist, supervisor and friend,” Thomas said. “Her dedication and passion create a ripple effect across our team and the profession. Whether she’s optimizing imaging protocols, leading quality initiatives or representing our profession at national meetings, she’s constantly pushing the field forward while inspiring the next generation of technologists.
In addition to her clinical leadership role, Bui contributes to the advancement of her profession through national service. Serving alongside Ashlee, Bui is a member of the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board’s Board of Directors. “Trizzy has so much experience and knowledge, and I’m excited to see her ideas and insights heard on a much larger scale,” Thomas said. As one of just 20 members nationwide, Bui helps guide the organization responsible for credentialing nuclear medicine technologists across the United States. The board plays a critical role in developing certification exams, maintaining professional standards and ensuring the field continues to evolve alongside emerging technologies and therapies.
Bui also serves as a representative for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the profession’s leading organization for education, research and clinical guidelines. In that role, she represents the Southwestern region across seven states, collaborating with peers to share best practices, support professional development and help shape the future of nuclear medicine.
Bui’s work continues to gain recognition across the health care community. She was recently named a nominee in the Employee of the Year category for the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council’s Employee of the Year Awards, an annual program that honors outstanding health care professionals across North Texas.
She credits AdventHealth University for laying the foundation that made her career
possible. “If it wasn’t for AdventHealth University and AdventHealth, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. “My program director, my clinical instructor, and all my clinical sites; they had a huge impact on my view of the field. I even went back to AdventHealth University for my bachelor’s degree. I could have gone anywhere, but I chose to go back.”
Outside of work, Bui finds balance in family life with her husband and stepson and pursues her love of reading, finishing 60 books last year alone. That commitment to lifelong learning mirrors her professional philosophy: Never stop growing.
“I never thought I’d be a supervisor. I never thought I’d be a board director,” she reflected. “You never know where the road takes you. Right now, I love what I’m doing. And if there’s an opportunity to expand my passion, the sky’s the limit.”