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Luca Marciani

Lecturer in GI MRI, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Contact

  • workRoom E1416c, E Floor West Block, School of Clinical Sciences
    Queen's Medical Centre
    Nottingham
    NG7 2UH
    UK
  • work0115 82 31248
  • fax0115 82 31409

Biography

I graduated in Physics at the University of Genoa in Italy. I then worked in Milan and London before joining the University of Nottingham, where I was awarded my PhD in Physics. Following a series of multi-disciplinary research contracts and Fellowships (including a Wellcome Trust VIP Fellowship and a RCUK Academic Fellowship) held across the Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre and the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre (NDDC) I finally became Lecturer in Gastrointestinal MRI in the NDDC.

My research focuses on gastrointestinal physiology and pathology using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods in combination with other physiological and behavioural techniques. My personal expertise is in imaging the human gastrointestinal tract using MRI. I have a particular interest in in-body imaging of food materials and in the GI response to factors in foods. I work within a team that has developed a unique cross-disciplinary collaboration between gastroenterologists, surgeons, physiologists, MRI physicists, food scientists, sensory scientists and industrial collaborators from the food and pharmaceutical industries in the UK and abroad.

I have published 39 research papers and 10 book chapters, I have been co-investigator on academic and commercial research grants worth £3.7 million, and I have been regular peer-reviewer for 2 MRI and 2 gastroenterology international journals and for the ISMRM international scientific meeting. I serve on the Nottingham NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in GI and Liver Disease's Executive Committee and Strategy Board and on the University's Human Research Scanners Management Committee. I was awarded the RinR/Wellcome/RCUK Communicator's Award for my science outreach work with secondary school pupils.

Research Summary

Our main current interests are in the physiopathology of the gastrointestinal tract (particularly fluid fluxes and the gastrocolonic response to feeding), the development of MRI tests of… read more

Selected Publications

Papers published: 39

Book contributions: 10

Times cited: 646

ISI h-index: 15

PGR students supervised so far: 5

Research Funding: co-investigator on grants totalling £3.7 million (of which £350,000 as Principal Investigator)

Presentations: 62 oral (of which 23 invited, 9 internationally) and 21 poster presentations at national and international scientific meetings.

Abstracts: 130 of which 42 published in journals and 88 in conference proceedings

Patents: 1 filed

Current Research

Our main current interests are in the physiopathology of the gastrointestinal tract (particularly fluid fluxes and the gastrocolonic response to feeding), the development of MRI tests of gastrointestinal function (such as emptying, flow, motility and transit), physical factors in food influencing digestion and satiety, in-body imaging of foods (particularly fat), the definition of mechanisms of subtypes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (particularly stress), the mode of action of gastrointestinal agents (such as ondansetron and mesalazine) and novel secretagogue and osmotic laxative formulations. We also investigate aspects of the gut brain axis pathways in terms of visceral perception and flavor perception, using functional brain MRI (fMRI).

School of Clinical Sciences

D Floor, East Block
Queen's Medical Centre
Nottingham, NG7 2UH

telephone: +44 (0) 115 823 0695
fax: +44 (0) 115 823 0704
email: scs-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk