My main research interest is in developing and optimizing fast, high sensitivity 2D & 3D spectroscopic imaging data acquisition techniques at high (3T) and ultra-high (7T) field, using non-Cartesian gradient readout waveforms and robust LCModel quantification, and applying these techniques primarily in studies of neurodegenerative disorders but also for liver and leg 1H and 31P fast magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging (MRSI). In addition, I am interested in developing objective quantification techniques for CSF flow rates in the aqueduct of Sylvius, studying stem cells in vivo using MRS, and optimizing phase-contrast high-res multi-echo SWI acquisitions for brain iron quantification and T2* and T2’ imaging. After completing my PhD in 2007, I worked as an MRI physicist at Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, part of the Department of Neurology, SUNY at Buffalo, where I closely collaborated with the neurologists to develop and optimize scanning protocols for several neurological conditions, especially multiple sclerosis, but also Parkinson, MCI, etc. As the physicist for the coordinating center in clinical trials including sometimes tens of sites, I was responsible for protocol setup and QA at participating sites, on a variety of scanners, at different field strength, from different manufacturers and/or different software version. In December 2009, I returned to University of Pittsburgh as a MR Physicist/Assistant Professor at MR Research Center, in the Dept of Radiology. Here, in addition to working on my research interests, I provide support and assistance for the users of our facility, including protocol optimization/setup, QA scans and, in some cases, data processing.
- PhD in Physics (2007) from University of Pittsburgh
Education & Training
1. Schirda, C., Tanase, C. and Boada F, Rosette Spectroscopic Imaging: Optimal Parameters for Artifact-free, High Sensitivity Spectroscopic Imaging (Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2009 Jun;29(6):1375-85., PMID 19472411)
2. Zivadinov R, Schirda C, Dwyer MG, Haacke ME, Weinstock-Guttman B, Menegatti E, Heininen-Brown M, Magnano C, Malagoni AM, Wack DS, Hojnacki D, Kennedy C, Carl E, Bergsland N, Hussein S, Poloni G, Bartolomei I, Salvi F, and Zamboni P: Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and iron deposition on susceptibility-weighted imaging in patients with multiple sclerosis: a pilot case-control study. Int Angiol. 2010 Apr;29(2):158-75. PMID 20351672.
3. Magnano C, Schirda C, Weinstock-Guttman B, Wack DS, Lindzen E, Hojnacki D, Bergsland N, Kennedy C, Belov P, Dwyer MG, Poloni GU, Beggs CB, Zivadinov R. Cine cerebrospinal fluid imaging in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2012 PMID 22733409
4. Stan AD, Schirda CV, Bertocci MA, Bebko GM, Kronhaus DM, Aslam HA, LaBarbara EJ, Tanase C, Lockovich JC, Pollock MH, Stiffler RS, Phillips ML. Glutamate and GABA contributions to medial prefrontal cortical activity to emotion: implications for mood disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2014 Sep 30 PMID 24973815.
5. Ahrens ET, Helfer BM, O'Hanlon CF, Schirda C., Clinical cell therapy imaging using a perfluorocarbon tracer and fluorine-19 MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2014 Sep 19 PMID 25241945.
6. Claudiu Schirda, Tiejun Zhao, Julie Pan, and Hoby Hetherington, Rosette Spectroscopic Imaging with Hadamard Encoding. In Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Meeting of ISMRM, Toronto, Canada, 2015. Abstract 987.
7. Schirda CV., Zhao T., Andronesi OC, Lee Y., Pan, JW, Mountz JM, Hetherington HP and Boada, F, In vivo brain rosette spectroscopic imaging (RSI) with LASER excitation, constant gradient strength readout, and automated LCModel quantification for all voxels. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2016 Aug;76(2):380-90, PMID 26308482.
8. Claudiu Schirda, Tiejun Zhao, Hoby Hetherington, Victor Yushmanov, and Jullie Pan, Rosette Spectroscopic Imaging (RSI) of human brain at 7T. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual Meeting of ISMRM, Singapore, 2016. Abstract 2351
9. Schirda CV, Zhao T, Yushmanov VE, Lee Y, Ghearing GR, Lieberman FS, Panigrahy A, Hetherington HP, Pan JW, Fast 3D rosette spectroscopic imaging of neocortical abnormalities at 3 T: Assessment of spectral quality. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2017 Sep 14., PMID 28905419.
10. A Tal, T Zhao, C Schirda, H Hetherington, J Pan, O Gonen. Fast, Regional Three-Dimensional Hybrid (1D-Hadamard 2DRosette) Proton MR Spectroscopic Imaging in The Human Temporal Lobes. NMR Biomed. 2021 Jun;34(6); PMID 33754420.
- Fast brain 1H and 31P MR Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) and reliable quantification using LC Model
- Leg muscle functional P31 spectroscopic imaging
- Liver 1H spectroscopic imaging and fat/water ratio quantification
- Robust Glx and GABA MRS measurements and quantification
- High-Resolution Phase-Contrast multi-echo Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) using high density phase array coils
- Optimization of sequences for UHF (ultra high field, >=7T) imaging