Author Archives: Cristian Badea

Imaging Bone Aging with Photon-Counting CT

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Cristian Badea

How do genetics, sex, and immune signaling shape bone health as mice age?Our study shows that photon-counting CT  in APOE mouse models reveals strong sex- and immune-dependent bone loss, with female HN mice showing the most pronounced decline. Nadkarni, R.; … Continue reading →

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Visiting Fulbright Scholar: Dr Kristina Bliznakova

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Delighted to host Dr. Kristina Bliznakova, Fulbright Scholar, at Duke’s Quantitative Imaging & Analysis Lab. Looking forward to teaming up on photon-counting CT and virtual  imaging.

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Identifying Alzheimer’s network biomarkers

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Cristian Badea

New article and three institutions collaborating! We identify network biomarkers of Alzheimer’s risk by combining high-res MRI with multifactorial analysis in ApoE mouse models. Joint volume + texture patterns reveal how genotype, sex, diet, & immunity interact to shape brain … Continue reading →

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Virtual Wistar Rats Enable Realistic PCCT Simulations

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Our team developed anatomically variable digital Wistar rat phantoms for realistic preclinical imaging simulations, enabling PCCT studies & reducing animal use. Segars, H. E., Nadkarni, R., Badea, C. T., Badea, A., Chin, B., Johnson, G. A., Payne, J., Samei, E., … Continue reading →

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Olfactory-Guided Behavior Uncovers Signatures of AD risk

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Could your sense of smell reveal Alzheimer’s risk years before memory loss? Our new study connects olfactory behavior, brain networks, & blood gene signatures to early AD vulnerability. Moon, H.S.; Han, Z.Y.; Anderson, R.J.; Mahzarnia, A.; Stout, J.A.; Niculescu, A.R.; Tremblay, J.T.; … Continue reading →

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Adaptive AI Denoising for Pediatric Cardiac PCCT

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Cristian Badea

We developed a data-adaptive, self-supervised deep learning method combining sparse coding (SC) +  visual transformer (ViT) for denoising pediatric cardiac photon-counting CT. Preserves anatomy, adapts to noise, generalizes well—even to preclinical data. Clark, D. P., Cao, J. Y., & Badea, … Continue reading →

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PCCT-Visible Bioprinted Patch

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Our team developed a CT-visible bioprinted vascular patch using dual-contrast bioinks. Photon-counting CT enabled precise tracking of structure and perfusion, highlighting the role of imaging in cardiac repair. Gil, C. J., Allphin, A. J., Jin, L., Salar Amoli, M., Rezapourdamanab, … Continue reading →

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Rapping Research

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Our QIAL lab member Rohan Nadkarni brought the heat at the BME retreat—taking 2nd place in the rapid-fire challenge with original rap lyrics

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Photon-Counting Micro-CT for Perfusion Imaging

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Cristian Badea

This study introduces a benchtop photon-counting micro-CT system for dynamic small animal perfusion imaging. Deep learning methods enable rapid 5D  (3D + Time + Energy) imaging and quantitative blood flow analysis, supporting high-throughput preclinical vascular research. Allphin AJ, Nadkarni R, … Continue reading →

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Hae Sol Moon Defends PhD on Alzheimer’s Modeling

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Cristian Badea

Congratulations! Dr. Hae Sol Moon has successfully defended his PhD on “Integrative Modeling of Alzheimer’s Disease Risk”.

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