Domenico Zacá

Dr Zacá works in the MR methods group at the LFNI. Dr. Zacá main expertise is in functional MRI and MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). His general research interest is to improve the reproducibility, sensitivity and accuracy of these MR brain imaging modalities through the optimization of current and the development of new techniques for data acquisition (pulse sequences) and analysis. The long term goal is to make these techniques for brain mapping quantitative in order to define imaging based biomarker of cortical and subcortical function.

Dr Zacá holds a PhD in Molecular, Metabolic and Functional Exploration of the Nervous System and Sensorial Organs from the University of Pisa followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Neuroradiology Division of the Department of Radiology of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore USA. During his postdoc he has been a member of the fMRI technical committee in the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) initiative of the Radiological Society of North America.

Research Areas

- Task based and resting state Multimodal fMRI (BOLD and Perfusion)
- Physiological noise correction/calibration in fMRI data
- Use of Diffusion Tensor Imaging for disease characterization

Publications

1. Zacà D., Nickerson J.P., Deib G., Pillai J.J. Effectiveness of Four Different Clinical fMRI Paradigms for Preoperative Regional Determination of Language Lateralization in Patients with Brain Tumors. Neuroradiology 2012 in press

2. Pillai J.J., Zacà D. Comparison of BOLD Cerebrovascular Reactivity Mapping and DSC MR Perfusion Imaging for Prediction of Neurovascular Uncoupling Potential in Brain Tumor. Technologies in Cancer Research and Treatment 2012; 11:361-374.

3. Pillai J.J., Zacà D. Clinical utility of cerebrovascular reactivity mapping in patients with low grade gliomas. J Clin World J Oncol. 2011 Dec 10;2(12):397-403

4. Zacà D, Hua J, Pillai JJ. Cerebrovascular reactivity mapping for brain tumor presurgical planning. World J Clin Oncol. 2011 Jul 10;2(7):289-98

5. Pillai J.J., Zacà D. Relative utility for hemispheric lateralization of different clinical fMRI activation tasks within a comprehensive language paradigm battery in brain tumor patients as assessed by both threshold-dependent and threshold independent analysis methods. NeuroImage 2011 Jan;54 Suppl 1:S136-45

6. Pillai J.J., Zacà D., Choudhri A. Clinical impact of integrated physiologic brain tumor imaging. Technologies in Cancer Research and Treatment 2010 Aug;9(4):359-80