Scientific research

Research areas

His research began during his specialist training at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan and focuses mainly on the use of MRI to better understand neurological diseases and improve their diagnosis.

• Multiple sclerosis. Advanced MRI techniques (diffusion, functional connectivity, volumetry) to study damage to the brain, cerebellum and spinal cord and its relationship with disability and cognitive impairment, including in paediatric-onset and late-onset forms.
• Neuroradiology and neuro-oncology. MRI features of primary central nervous system lymphomas and brain tumours.
• Epilepsy and inflammatory diseases. Clinical studies on epilepsy and status epilepticus, and on nervous system involvement in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Artificial intelligence and radiomics. Applications of artificial intelligence to image analysis and clinical practice.

He is the author of 23 publications in international scientific journals, 12 as first author, including Radiology, Neurology, JAMA Neurology, Annals of Neurology and Molecular Psychiatry. He has also written invited editorials for the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and European Radiology and serves as a reviewer for international journals.

Selected publications

1. Decoding MRI presentation of primary central nervous system diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a novel subgroup perspective.

   Bonacchi R, Calimeri T, Shashkin I, et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2026.

   MRI features of primary central nervous system lymphoma, to identify subgroups with different presentations.

2. Disability worsening phenotypes in multiple sclerosis and impact of disease-modifying treatments.

   De Meo E, Addazio I, Portaccio E, Bonacchi R, et al. Neurology. 2025;105(12):e214408.

   Italian multicentre study on the different ways disability worsens in multiple sclerosis and on the effect of treatments.

3. Sex-related differences in upper limb motor function in healthy subjects and multiple sclerosis patients: a multiparametric MRI study.

   Bonacchi R, Valsasina P, Pagani E, et al. J Neurol. 2023;270(11):5235-5250.

   Differences between men and women in upper limb motor function and in their MRI correlates.

4. Role of artificial intelligence in MS clinical practice.

   Bonacchi R, Filippi M, Rocca MA. Neuroimage Clin. 2022;35:103065.

   Review of the applications of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple sclerosis.

5. The role of cerebellar damage in explaining disability and cognition in multiple sclerosis phenotypes: a multiparametric MRI study.

   Bonacchi R, Meani A, Pagani E, et al. J Neurol. 2022;269(7):3841-3857.

   The contribution of cerebellar damage to disability and cognitive impairment in the different forms of multiple sclerosis.

6. Association of age at onset with gray matter volume and white matter microstructural abnormalities in people with multiple sclerosis.

   Bonacchi R, Meani A, Pagani E, et al. Neurology. 2021;97(20):e2007-e2019.

   How age at disease onset influences grey and white matter damage in the brain.

7. Identifying the distinct cognitive phenotypes in multiple sclerosis.

   De Meo E, Portaccio E, Giorgio A, et al. JAMA Neurol. 2021;78(4):414.

   Multicentre study that identified distinct cognitive profiles in people with multiple sclerosis.

8. Early predictors of 9-year disability in pediatric multiple sclerosis.

   De Meo E, Bonacchi R, Moiola L, et al. Ann Neurol. 2021;89(5):1011-1022.

   Clinical and MRI factors predicting long-term disability in paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis.

9. Clinical relevance of multiparametric MRI assessment of cervical cord damage in multiple sclerosis.

   Bonacchi R, Pagani E, Meani A, et al. Radiology. 2020;296(3):605-615.

   Advanced MRI of the cervical spinal cord and its relationship with disability in multiple sclerosis.

10. Resting state network functional connectivity abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus: correlations with neuropsychiatric impairment.

    Bonacchi R, Rocca MA, Ramirez GA, et al. Mol Psychiatry. 2021;26(7):3634-3645.

    Changes in brain functional connectivity in systemic lupus erythematosus and their relationship with neuropsychiatric symptoms.

The full list of publications is available on the ORCID and ResearchGate profiles.