I am an Early Stage Researcher (ITN H2020 Marie Sklodowska Curie) in the MUSICA (http://www.musica2020.eu/) project and PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, London.

I completed my BSc and MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy) in 2012 and 2015, respectively, with a master thesis project in which I developed a platform for the analysis of 4D flow MRI data for the evaluation of the fluid-dynamic alterations induced in the ascending aorta by the bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease.

My research focuses on the study of the impact of different replacement procedures of the aortic valve on the aortic hemodynamic and in particular on the patient-specific assessment of the fluid-dynamic performance of TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation). 

Biography

Research Interests

My research interests include applications of computational fluid mechanics (CFD), fluid-structure interaction (FSI) and imaging techniques in the study of the cardiovascular systems, as well as analysis, design, and optimizations of cardiovascular devices.

Project Title

"Patient-specific Assessment of Hemodynamic Performance of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)."

Supervisor(s)

Prof Xiao Yun Xu

Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK

Conferences

S. Pirola, F. Piatti, F. Sturla, E.G. Caiani, E. Votta, I. Nesteruk, M. Lombardi, A. Della Corte, M.M. Bissell, A. Redaelli."Phase Contrast MRI: Development of a User-Friendly Platform for Fast-Automated Segmentation and Fluid-Dynamic Post-Processing". Computing in Cardiology 2015 (CinC 2015), Nice (France), September 6^th-9^th 2015.

S. Pirola, F. Sturla, E.G. Caiani, E. Votta, I. Nesteruk, M. Lombardi, A. Della Corte, M.M. Bissell, A. Redaelli.4D Flow PC-MRI for the Assessment of Bicuspid Aortic Valve Effects on the Ascending Aorta Fluid Dynamics: an Intuitive Clinically Oriented Analysis Platform. Heart Valve Society (HVS) Inaugural Scientific Meeting, Monte Carlo (Principality of Monaco), May 7^th-9^th 2015 (Poster Presentation).

S. Pirola, E. Opri, A. M. Bianchi, S. Marceglia. “Modelling and Implementing a Signal Persistence Manager for Shared Biosignal Storage and Processing”. XIII Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing 2013, Seville (Spain). September 25^th-28^th 2013 (Oral Presentation).

Publications

S. Pirola, F. Piatti, F. Sturla, E.G. Caiani, E. Votta, I. Nesteruk, M. Lombardi, A. Della Corte, M.M. Bissell, A. Redaelli 2015. “Phase Contrast MRI: Development of a User-Friendly Platform for Fast-Automated Segmentation and Fluid-Dynamic Post-Processing”. Computing in Cardiology 2015, 42:717-720

S. Pirola*, E. Opri*, A. M. Bianchi, S. Marceglia 2014."Modelling and Implementing a Signal Persistence Manager for Shared Biosignal Storage and Processing". XIII Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing 2013, IFMBE Proceeding,s 41, 1338-1341.

Awards and Funding

2015 - 2018: ESR04 in MUltiSectoral Integrative approaches to CArdiac care (MUSICA), fully funded PhD scholarship awarded by the ITN H2020 Marie Sklodowska Curie Action.

Winner (ex-aequo) of the "Mario Stefanelli" GNB prize 2015 for MSc Thesis awarded by the Italian Bioengineering Group (GNB) and the Universita'di Pavia.

Winner of the semi-finalist award of the Rosanna Degani Young Investor Award (YIA) at Computing in Cardiology 2015 (CinC2015).

Extra-Curricular Activities and Hobbies

I am a player of the Imperial College Women's Football Team. I am passionate of books, graphic novels, music, cinema and videogames. I’ve played guitar and mandolin since I was 11 years old and I've been in both a classical and a rock group, also producing a demo with our own music.

Contacts

Office

ACEX 1M17, Department of Chemical Engineering

Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus

London, SW7 2AZ, UK

Office Phone 

+44 (0)207 594 2562

E-mail

s.pirola@imperial.ac.uk