Dr. Rosario Megna | Clinical Trials | Research Excellence Award
National Research Council | Italy
Dr. Rosario Megna is an accomplished physicist whose career spans high-energy physics, biomedical research, and advanced clinical imaging. He holds both a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Physics, earned from two of Italy’s leading academic institutions, the University of Naples “Federico II” and the University of Bari. His academic foundations were built within the dynamic field of astroparticle physics, where he explored high-energy cosmic sources, matter-radiation interactions, Monte Carlo simulations, data acquisition systems, and advanced data analysis methodologies. During this early phase of his career, he contributed to several major international scientific collaborations, including ARGO-YBJ, NEMO, ANTARES, and KM3Net, and authored multiple research articles and conference contributions that advanced the understanding of fundamental astrophysical phenomena.Following his doctoral training, Dr. Megna expanded his research trajectory into the biomedical sciences through postdoctoral positions at the University of Bari and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics. Within this multidisciplinary environment, he applied physical principles to medical challenges, specializing in biomedical data management, computational analysis, and medical imaging. As part of the MAGIC-5 collaboration, he played a key role in developing a computer-aided detection system designed for the early diagnosis of lung cancer using computed tomography. This work allowed him to deepen his expertise in CT imaging, DICOM data acquisition, and pattern-recognition techniques tailored for clinical decision support.Dr. Megna later joined the National Research Council of Italy, where his contributions progressed from data storage and analysis for clinical and preclinical studies to broader responsibilities in statistics, database systems, biomedical signal processing, and modeling. As his role evolved into that of a research technologist and, subsequently, a senior research technologist, his research interests expanded to advanced statistics, machine-learning algorithms, risk assessment, and nuclear-medicine–based imaging techniques. His recent work focuses on clinical imaging for oncology and the optimization of radiotherapy approaches, integrating physics-driven innovation with real-world healthcare needs.Throughout his career, Dr. Rosario Megna has authored or coauthored more than fifty scientific publications and conference presentations, reflecting his sustained commitment to scientific advancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the translation of physics-based methodologies into impactful biomedical and clinical applications.
Profile: Orcid
Featured Publications
Gargiulo, S., Albanese, S., Megna, R., Gramanzini, M., Marsella, G., & Vecchiarelli, L. (2025). Veterinary medical care in rodent models of stroke: Pitfalls and refinements to balance quality of science and animal welfare. Neuroscience.
External validation of a predictive model for post‑treatment persistent disease by ¹³¹I whole‑body scintigraphy in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. (2025). Journal not specified.
Cardiovascular risk factors and development of nomograms in an Italian cohort of patients with suspected coronary artery disease undergoing SPECT or PET stress myocardial perfusion imaging. (2024). Frontiers in Nuclear Medicine.
Megna, R. (2023). Evolution of the COVID‑19 pandemic in Italy at the national and regional levels from February 2020 to March 2022. AIMS Medical Science.
Petretta, M., Megna, R., Assante, R., Zampella, E., Nappi, C., Gaudieri, V., Mannarino, T., Green, R., Cantoni, V., D’Antonio, A., et al. (2023). External validation and update of the J‑ACCESS model in an Italian cohort of patients undergoing stress myocardial perfusion imaging. Journal of Nuclear Cardiology.