Luca Pollonini

Luca Pollonini, PhD

Assistant Affiliate Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist


Biography

Dr. Pollonini earned his Ph.D. in Information Engineering from the University of Brescia, Italy in 2004. He holds a faculty appointment at the University of Houston, TX, and became a member of the Houston Methodist Research Institute in 2014. As a member of the Houston Methodist Department of Surgery, he conducts a research program focusing on optical imaging of tissue oxygenation.  Dr. Pollonini also serves as a panelist for the National Science Foundation and is a member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). He serves as the Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine.

Description of Research

Dr. Pollonini's expertise is the design and development of biomedical sensors and instrumentation based on optical technologies. His primary research interest is in the quantitative assessment of the mechanisms of transport and utilization of oxygen at cardiovascular and muscular levels. Dr. Pollonini has been involved in the development of a suite of wearable sensors aimed to provide indicators of exercise thresholds through the analysis of systemic and local physiological measures, and in a NIRS-based imaging system to monitor oxygenation changes in human tissues.

Areas Of Expertise

Near Infrared Spectroscopy Biomedical Optics Optical Imaging Tissue Oxygenation
Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellowship, NASA Glenn Research Center
PhD, University of Brescia
MS, University of Brescia
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Publications

Correlation between subcutaneous adipose tissue of the head and body mass index in children and young adults aged 8–19 years: implications for functional neuroimaging
Gorniak, SL, Meng, H, Yazdekhasti, S & Pollonini, L 2024, , Experimental Biology and Medicine, vol. 249, 10030, pp. 10030. https://doi.org/10.3389/ebm.2024.10030

Assessing the impact of preferred web app-based music-listening on pain processing at the central nervous level in older black adults with low back pain: An fNIRS study
Sorkpor, SK, Montero-Hernandez, S, Miao, H, Pollonini, L & Ahn, H 2023, , Geriatric Nursing, vol. 54, pp. 135-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.09.005

Multiple levels of contextual influence on action-based timing behavior and cortical activation
Rahimpour Jounghani, A, Lanka, P, Pollonini, L, Proksch, S, Balasubramaniam, R & Bortfeld, H 2023, , Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, 7154. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33780-1

Introduction to the shared near infrared spectroscopy format
Tucker, S, Dubb, J, Kura, S, Von Lühmann, A, Franke, R, Horschig, JM, Powell, S, Oostenveld, R, Lührs, M, Delaire, É, Aghajan, ZM, Yun, H, Yücel, MA, Fang, Q, Huppert, TJ, Frederick, BB, Pollonini, L, Boas, D & Luke, R 2023, , Neurophotonics, vol. 10, no. 1, 013507. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.10.1.013507

Functional near infrared spectroscopy detects cortical activation changes concurrent with memory loss in postmenopausal women with Type II Diabetes
Gorniak, SL, Wagner, VE, Vaughn, K, Perry, J, Cox, LG, Hibino, H, Montero-Hernandez, SA, Hernandez, AE & Pollonini, L 2023, , Experimental Brain Research, vol. 241, no. 6, pp. 1555-1567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06581-1

Self-administered transcranial direct current stimulation treatment of knee osteoarthritis alters pain-related fNIRS connectivity networks
Montero-Hernandez, S, Pollonini, L, Park, L, Martorella, G, Miao, H, Mathis, KB & Ahn, H 2023, , Neurophotonics, vol. 10, no. 1, 015011, pp. 015011. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.10.1.015011

Listening to Remotely Monitored Home-based Preferred Music for Pain in Older Black Adults with Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Acceptability
Sorkpor, SK, Miao, H, Moore, C, Johnson, CM, Maria, DMS, Pollonini, L & Ahn, H 2023, , Pain Management Nursing, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. e102-e108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2023.07.001

Correlation between subcutaneous adipose tissue of the head and body mass index: Implications for functional neuroimaging
Gorniak, SL, Meng, H & Pollonini, L 2022, , Human Movement Science, vol. 85, 102997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2022.102997

Optical imaging and spectroscopy for the study of the human brain: status report
Ayaz, H, Baker, WB, Blaney, G, Boas, DA, Bortfeld, H, Brady, K, Brake, J, Brigadoi, S, Buckley, EM, Carp, SA, Cooper, RJ, Cowdrick, KR, Culver, JP, Dan, I, Dehghani, H, Devor, A, Durduran, T, Eggebrecht, AT, Emberson, LL, Fang, Q, Fantini, S, Franceschini, MA, Fischer, JB, Gervain, J, Hirsch, J, Hong, KS, Horstmeyer, R, Kainerstorfer, JM, Ko, TS, Licht, DJ, Liebert, A, Luke, R, Lynch, JM, Mesquida, J, Mesquita, RC, Naseer, N, Novi, SL, Orihuela-Espina, F, OSullivan, TD, Peterka, DS, Pifferi, A, Pollonini, L, Sassaroli, A, Sato, JR, Scholkmann, F, Spinelli, L, Srinivasan, VJ, St. Lawrence, K, Tachtsidis, I, Tong, Y, Torricelli, A, Urner, T, Wabnitz, H, Wolf, M, Wolf, U, Xu, S, Yang, C, Yodh, AG, Yücel, MA & Zhou, W 2022, , Neurophotonics, vol. 9, S24001. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.9.S2.S24001

Designing devices to communicate effectively with intensive care nurses to prevent pressure injuries: A qualitative study
Kovach, JV & Pollonini, L 2022, , Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, vol. 71, 103244, pp. 103244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2022.103244

Links between socioeconomic disadvantage, neural function, and working memory in early childhood
Li, X, Lipschutz, R, Hernandez, SM, Biekman, B, Shen, S, Montgomery, DA, Perlman, SB, Pollonini, L & Bick, J 2021, , Developmental Psychobiology, vol. 63, no. 6, e22181. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22181

Effect of Prolonged Pressure on Hemodynamics of Sacral Tissues Assessed by Diffuse Optical Imaging: A Pilot Study
Day, B & Pollonini, L 2021, . in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. vol. 1269, Advances in experimental medicine and biology, Springer, pp. 335-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48238-1_53

Correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage in preschool children and brain organization: A functional NIRS connectivity study
Burgess, A, Hernandez, SM, Li, X, Bick, J & Pollonini, L 2021, . in Optics and the Brain, BRAIN 2021., BW4B.5, Optics InfoBase Conference Papers, The Optical Society, Optics and the Brain, BRAIN 2021 - Part of Biophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences 2021, Virtual, Online, United States, 4/12/21.

Hemodynamic response function from osteoarthritic pain using functional near-infrared spectroscopy
Vallenilla, NA, Montero-Hernandez, S, Ahn, H, Miao, H & Pollonini, L 2021, . in Bio-Optics: Design and Application, BODA 2021., JTu4A.32, Optics InfoBase Conference Papers, The Optical Society, Bio-Optics: Design and Application, BODA 2021 - Part of Biophotonics Congress: Optics in the Life Sciences 2021, Virtual, Online, United States, 4/12/21.

Local syntactic violations evoke fast mismatch-related neural activity detected by optical neuroimaging
Kubota, M, Pollonini, L & Zouridakis, G 2020, , Experimental Brain Research, vol. 238, no. 11, pp. 2665-2684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05922-8

Hemodynamic Function of Forearm Muscle in Postmenopausal Women with Type 2 Diabetes
Pollonini, L, Cox, LG & Gorniak, SL 2020, , Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 723-730. https://doi.org/10.1123/JAPA.2019-0221

Tracking differential activation of primary and supplementary motor cortex across timing tasks: An fNIRS validation study
Rahimpour, A, Pollonini, L, Comstock, D, Balasubramaniam, R & Bortfeld, H 2020, , Journal of Neuroscience Methods, vol. 341, 108790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108790

Feasibility and efficacy of remotely supervised cranial electrical stimulation for pain in older adults with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled pilot study
Ahn, H, Galle, K, Mathis, KB, Miao, H, Montero-Hernandez, S, Jackson, N, Ju, HH, McCrackin, H, Goodwin, C, Hargraves, A, Jain, B, Dinh, H, Abdul-Mooti, S, Park, L & Pollonini, L 2020, , Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, vol. 77, pp. 128-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2020.05.003

Functional neuroimaging of sensorimotor cortices in postmenopausal women with type II diabetes
Gorniak, SL, Wagner, VE, Vaughn, K, Perry, J, Cox, LG, Hernandez, AE & Pollonini, L 2020, , Neurophotonics, vol. 7, no. 3, 035007. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.7.3.035007

Longitudinal effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on knee osteoarthritis patients measured by functional infrared spectroscopy: A pilot study
Pollonini, L, Miao, H & Ahn, H 2020, , Neurophotonics, vol. 7, no. 2, 025004, pp. 025004. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.7.2.025004