Francesco Versace
Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
About Francesco Versace
My current line of research focuses on identifying the psychophysiological underpinnings of smoking and obesity, the two major causes of preventable disease and disabilities in the United States. By leveraging the spatial and temporal resolution of brain imaging techniques such as dense sensor array event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), my studies aim at characterizing the dysfunctional brain mechanisms that mediate maladaptive responses to rewards and reward-related cues. The ultimate goal of my work is to develop neurocircuitry-informed, tailored interventions for smoking cessation and weight-loss.
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In the News
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
My current line of research focuses on identifying the psychophysiological underpinnings of smoking and obesity, the two major causes of preventable disease and disabilities in the United States. By leveraging the spatial and temporal resolution of brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and dense sensor array event-related potentials (ERPs), my studies aim at characterizing the dysfunctional brain mechanisms that mediate maladaptive responses to rewards and reward-related cues. The ultimate goal of my line of research is to develop neurocircuitry-informed, tailored interventions for substance use disorders and weight-loss
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2003 | Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, IT, Experimental Psychology, Ph.D |
| 1997 | Universita' di Bologna, Bologna, IT, Psychology, Laurea |
Postgraduate Training
| 2003-2006 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Affective Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2023
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center and Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 2015 - 2017
Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Duncan Family Institute Fellow, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2011
Instructor, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2011
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2006 - 2007
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Department of NIHM-Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, The University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2003 - 2006
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Chemo-rehab: A cognitive rehabilitation treatment to improve quality of life in cancer survivors. A pilot study in patients with breast and gynecological cancer, Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori (LILT), Italy, 2020 - 2022
Co-Investigator (P12SEJ.391), Spanish Ministry of Economy (MINECO), University of Granada, Spain, 2014 - 2017
Co-Investigator (PSI2013-43777-P), Spanish Ministry of Economy (MINECO), University of Granada, Spain, 2014 - 2017
Teaching Assistant, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 2000 - 2003
Laboratory Coordinator, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 2000 - 2003
Research Assistant, Universita' di Padova, Padova, 1999 - 1999
Thesis Supervisor, Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, 1998 - 2003
Institutional Committee Activities
Advisory Board Member, Decision Science Cores, 2023 - Present
Advisory Board Member, Assessment, Intervention and Measurement (AIM) Core, 2023 - Present
Committee Co-Chair, Scientific Review Committee #1 (SRC 1), Psychosocial, Behavioral and Health Services Research Committee #2 (PBHSRC), 2022 - Present
Member, MD Anderson’s Core Facility Oversight Board, 2022 - Present
Content Expert Member on the Scientific Review Committee #4 (SRC 4), Psychosocial, Behavioral and Health Services Research Committee # 4 (PBHSRC), 2021 - 2022
Member, Neuroradiology Chair Search Committee, 2021 - 2022
Member, Faculty Academic Review Committee, 2019 - 2022
Member, Radiology Chair Search Committee, 2018 - 2019
Member, Department of Behavioral Science Faculty Search Committee, 2018 - Present
Member, Psychosocial, Behavioral and Health Services Research Committee (PBHSRC), 2013 - 2015
Cancer Survivorship Scientific Poster Judge, 2013 Trainee Research Day, 2013 - 2013
Faculty Advisor, Behavioral Science Research Education Forum (REF), 2013 - 2015
Member, Neuropsychology Faculty Search Committee, 2013 - 2013
Member, Health Disparities Faculty Search Committee, 2013 - 2013
Member, Department of Behavioral Science Faculty Search Committee, 2013 - 2013
Honors & Awards
| Junior Faculty Fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | |
| Poster Finalist, Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | |
| Nominee, Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Executive Committee | |
| Oklahoma TSET Research Scholar, Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Trust | |
| Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources Senior Mentor, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Pluta D, Hadj-Amar B, Li M, Zhao Y, Versace F, Vannucci M. Improved Data Quality and Statistical Power of Trial-Level Event-Related Potentials with Bayesian Random-Shift Gaussian Processes. Scientific reports 14(1), 2024. PMID: 38632350.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Shete S, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Cui Y, Kim S, Kypriotakis G, Beneventi D, Blalock JA, Versace F, Karam-Hage M. Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure With Varenicline or Nicotine Replacement: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 331(20):1722-1731, 2024. PMID: 38696203.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Shete S, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Cui Y, Kim S, Kypriotakis G, Diane Beneventi D, Blalock JA, Versace F, Karam-Hage M. Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure with Varenicline or Combined Nicotine Replacement: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: None.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Versace F. Individual differences in late positive potential amplitude and theta power predict cue-induced eating. Addiction neuroscience 7, 2023. PMID: 37711965.
- Yammine L, Verrico CD, Versace F, Webber HE, Suchting R, Weaver MF, Kosten TR, Alibhai H, Cinciripini PM, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Exenatide as an adjunct to nicotine patch for smoking cessation and prevention of postcessation weight gain among treatment-seeking smokers with pre-diabetes and/or overweight: study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. BMJ open 13(6):e072707, 2023. PMID: 37316311.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM. Towards neuromarkers for tailored smoking cessation treatments. Addiction Neuroscience 6, 2023. PMID: 37034180.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Pluta D. Neuroaffective reactivity profiles are associated with vulnerability to e-cigarette use Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 274, 2023. PMID: 37084510.
- Versace F Sambuco N, Deweese MM, Cinciripini PM. Electrophysiological normative responses to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related images. Psychophysiology 60(3):e14196, 2023. PMID: 36316228.
- Webber HE, Yoon JH, de Dios C, Suchting R, Dang V, Versace F, Green CE, Wardle MC, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Assessing cocaine motivational value: Comparison of brain reactivity bias toward cocaine cues and cocaine demand. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 31(4):861-867, 2022. PMID: 36480395.
- West T, Cavallero C, Ceccherini R, Foladore S, Generali D, Versace F, Scaggiante B. Impact of Psychosocial, Behavioral and Lifestyle Factors on Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Perceived Quality of Life in a Large Cohort of Italian Breast Cancer Patients. Front Psychol 13:1015573, 2022. PMID: 36438336.
- Webber HE, de Dios C, Wardle MC, Suchting R, Green CE, Schmitz JM, Lane SD, Versace F. Electrophysiological responses to emotional and cocaine cues reveal individual neuroaffective profiles in cocaine users. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 30(5):514-524, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33630644.
- Robinson JD, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Versace F, Ait-Daoud Tiouririne N, Anthenelli RM, Cinciripini PM. Topiramate decreases the salience of motivationally relevant visual cues among smokers with alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 46(3):384-395, 2022. PMID: 35037278.
- Delgado-Rodríguez R, Versace F, Hernández-Rivero I, Guerra P, Fernández-Santaella MC, Miccoli L. Food addiction symptoms are related to neuroaffective responses to preferred binge food and erotic cues. Appetite 168:105687, 2022. PMID: 34509546.
- Deweese MM, Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Dirba D, Daniel CR, Schembre SM. Satiety does not affect neuroaffective electrophysiological responses to food-related or emotional visual cues. Behav Neurosci 135(4):571-580, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33844564.
- Frank DW, Cinciripini PM, Deweese MM, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Lerman C, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. Toward precision medicine for smoking cessation: developing a neuroimaging-based classification algorithm to identify smokers at higher risk for relapse. Nicotine Tob Res 22(8):1277-1284, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31724052.
- Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Modeling Neuroaffective Biomarkers of Drug Addiction: A Bayesian Nonparametric Approach using Dirichlet Process Mixtures. J Neurosci Methods 341:108753, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32428623.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Versace F. Estimating statistical power for event-related potential studies using the late positive potential. Psychophysiology 57(2):e13482, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31608456.
- Frank DW, Stevens EM, Versace F. A neurophysiological measure of reward sensitivity and its association with anhedonia in psychiatrically healthy adolescents and young adults. Int J Psychophysiol 141:56-64 doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.05.002, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31071360.
- Versace F, Frank DW, Stevens EM, Deweese MM, Guindani M, Schembre SM. The reality of "food porn": larger brain responses to food-related cues than to erotic images predict cue-induced eating. Psychophysiology 56(4):e13309 doi: 10.1111/psyp.13309, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30556253.
- Stevens EM, Frank D, Codispoti M, Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Claiborne K, Deweese MM, Engelmann JM, Green CE, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Ng J, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. The late positive potentials evoked by cigarette-related and emotional images show no gender differences in smokers. Sci Rep 1(9):3240, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30824792.
- Versace F, Stevens EM, Robinson JD, Cui Y, Deweese MM, Engelmann JM, Green CE, Karam-Hage M, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Brain responses to cigarette-related and emotional images in smokers during smoking cessation: no effect of varenicline or bupropion on the late positive potential. Nicotine Tob Res 21(2):234-240 doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntx264, 2019. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29220524.
- Zhu H, Versace F, Cinciripini PM, Rausch P, Morris JS. Robust and Gaussian spatial functional regression models for analysis of event-related potentials. Neuroimage 181:501-512, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30057352.
- Cinciripini PM, Minnix JA, Green CE, Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Versace F, Wetter DW, Shete S, Karam-Hage M. An RCT with the combination of varenicline and bupropion for smoking cessation: clinical implications for front line use. Addiction 113(9):1673-1682. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29679432.
- Deweese MM, Codispoti M, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Cigarette cues capture attention of smokers and never-smokers, but for different reasons. Drug Alcohol Depend 185(185):50-57 doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.12.010, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29427915.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Wetter DW, Schembre SM, Cinciripini PM. Beyond cue reactivity: non-drug-related motivationally relevant stimuli are necessary to understand reactivity to drug-related cues. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 19(6):663-669, 2017. PMID: 28486715.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Wetter DW, Versace F. Benefits of varenicline vs. bupropion for smoking cessation: a Bayesian analysis of the interaction of reward sensitivity and treatment. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 234(11):1769-1779, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28275830.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. Attentional bias to smoking and other motivationally relevant cues is affected by nicotine exposure and dose expectancy. J Psychopharmacol 30(7):627-40, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27097731.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Gewirtz JC, Cinciripini PM. Individual differences in brain responses to cigarette-related cues and pleasant stimuli in young smokers. Drug Alcohol Depend 163:229-35, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27141838.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G, Basen-Engquist K, Schembre SM. Heterogeneity in brain reactivity to pleasant and food cues: evidence of sign-tracking in humans. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 11(4):604-11, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26609106.
- Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Conditioned cortical reactivity to cues predicting cigarette-related or pleasant images. Int J Psychophysiol 101:59-68, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26826400.
- Miccoli L, Delgado R, Guerra P, Versace F, Rodríguez-Ruiz S, Fernández-Santaella MC. Affective pictures and the open library of affective foods (OLAF): tools to investigate emotions toward food in adults. PLoS One 11(8):e0158991, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27513636.
- Zhang L, Guindani M, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Vannucci M. A spatio-temporal nonparametric Bayesian model of multi-subject fMRI data. Annals of Applied Statistics 10(2):638-666, 2016. PMID: None.
- Meyer MJ, Coull BA, Versace F, Cinciripini P, Morris JS. Bayesian function-on-function regression for multilevel functional data. Biometrics 71(3):563-74, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25787146.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Slapin A, Oum R, Cinciripini PM. The motivational salience of cigarette-related stimuli among former, never, and current smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 23(1):37-48, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25436840.
- Deweese MM, Claiborne KN, Ng J, Dirba DD, Stewart HL, Schembre SM, Versace F. Dispensing apparatus for use in a cued food delivery task. MethodsX 2:446-57, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26870667.
- Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Versace F, Waters AJ, Gilbert DG, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. The effects of nicotine dose expectancy and motivationally relevant distracters on vigilance. Psychol Addict Behav 28(3):752-60, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24841184.
- Zhang L, Guindani M, Versace F, Vannucci M. A spatio-temporal nonparametric Bayesian variable selection model of fMRI data for clustering correlated time courses. Neuroimage 95(95):162-175, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24650600.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Prequit fMRI responses to pleasant and cigarette cues predict smoking cessation outcome. Nicotine Tob Res 16(16):697-708, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24376278.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Jackson EF, Slapin A, Cortese KM, Bevers TB, Schover LR. Brain responses to erotic and other emotional stimuli in breast cancer survivors with and without distress about low sexual desire: a preliminary fMRI study. Brain Imaging Behav 7(4):533-42, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23955492.
- Minnix JA, Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. The late positive potential (LPP) in response to varying types of emotional and cigarette stimuli in smokers: a content comparison. Int J Psychophysiol pii: S0167-8760((13)):00121-9, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23643564.
- Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Lam C, Versace F, Brown VL, Engelmann JM, Wetter DW. Effects of varenicline and bupropion sustained-release use plus intensive smoking cessation counseling on prolonged abstinence from smoking and on depression, negative affect, and other symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. JAMA Psychiatry 70(5):522-533, 2013. PMID: 23536105.
- Cui Y, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Alpha oscillations in response to affective and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Nicotine Tobacco Research 15(5):917-24, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23060019.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Shete SS, Tomlinson GE, Chen TT, Wetter DW, Green CE, Cinciripini PM. The CHRNA3 rs578776 variant is associated with an intrinsic reward sensitivity deficit in smokers. Front Psychiatry 4:114, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24065931.
- Versace F, Lam CY, Engelmann JM, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Beyond cue reactivity: blunted brain responses to pleasant stimuli predict long-term smoking abstinence. Addiction Biology 17(6):991-1000, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21967530.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Versace F, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Wetter DW, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Differential cigarette-related startle cue reactivity among light, moderate, and heavy smokers. Addictive Behaviors 37(8):885-9, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22571920.
- Lam CY, Robinson JD, Versace F, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Affective reactivity during smoking cessation of never-quitters as compared with that of abstainers, relapsers, and continuing smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 20(2):139-50, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22039752.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Robinson JD, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Cui Y, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Neural substrates of smoking cue reactivity: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Neuroimage 60(1):252-262, 2012. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22206965.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Jackson EF, Costa VD, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Do brain responses to emotional images and cigarette cues differ? An fMRI study in smokers. Eur J Neurosci 34(12):2054-63, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 22097928.
- Versace F, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Brown VL, Cinciripini PM. Brain reactivity to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Addiction Biology 16(2):296-307, 2011. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21182573.
- Lang PJ, Wangelin BC, Bradley MM, Versace F, Davenport PW, Costa VD. Threat of suffocation and defensive reflex activation. Psychophysiology 48(3):393-6, 2011. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20667037.
- Robinson JD, Lam CY, Carter BL, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Versace F, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. A multimodal approach to assessing the impact of nicotine dependence, nicotine abstinence, and craving on negative affect in smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 19(1):40-52, 2011. PMID: 21341922.
- Costa VD, Lang PJ, Sabatinelli D, Versace F, Bradley MM. Emotional imagery: assessing pleasure and arousal in the brain's reward circuitry. Human Brain Mapping 31(9):1446-57, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20127869.
- Versace F, Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Memory and event-related potentials for rapidly presented emotional pictures. Experimental Brain Research 205(2):223-33, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20628736.
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Brown VL, Carter BL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Cigarette cues capture smokers' attention: evidence from event-related potentials. Psychophysiology 47(3):435-41, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20070579.
- Miccoli L, Versace F, Koterle S, Cavallero C. Comparing sleep-loss sleepiness and sleep inertia: lapses make the difference. Chronobiology International 25(5):725-44, 2008. PMID: 18780200.
- Versace F, Mazzetti M, Codispoti M. The temporal stability of the effects induced by the cued reaction time task. Assessment 15(2):145-52, 2008. PMID: 18463405.
- Pastor MC, Bradley MM, Löw A, Versace F, Moltó J, Lang PJ. Affective picture perception: emotion, context, and the late positive potential. Brain Research 1189:145-151, 2008. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 18068150.
- Sabatinelli D, Bradley MM, Lang PJ, Costa VD, Versace F. Pleasure rather than salience activates human nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 98(3):1374-1379, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17596422.
- Versace F, Cavallero C, De Min Tona G, Mozzato M, Stegagno L. Effects of sleep reduction on spatial attention. Biological Psychology 71(3):248-255, 2006. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 15978717.
- Versace F, Mozzato M, De Min Tona G, Cavallero C, Stegagno L. Heart rate variability during sleep as a function of the sleep cycle. Biological Psychology 63(2):149-162, 2003. PMID: 12738405.
- Cavallero C, Versace F. Stage at awakening, sleep inertia, and cognitive performance. Sleep Research Online 5(3):89-97, 2003. PMID: None.
Other Articles
- Versace F, Sambuco N, Deweese MM, Cinciripini PM Electrophysiological normative responses to emotional, neutral, and cigarette-related images. bioRxiv, 2023. PMID: 36316228.
- Gibney KD, Kypriotakis G, Versace F Individual differences in late positive potential amplitude and theta power predict cue-induced eating. bioRxiv, 2022. PMID: None.
- Versace F, Kypriotakis G Neuroaffective profiles are associated with e-cigarette use. bioRxiv, 2022. PMID: None.
- Larsen, B, Versace F EEG might be better left alone, but ERPs must be attended to: Optimizing the late positive potential preprocessing pipeline. International Journal of Psychophysiology 205(Nov 2024):112441. PMID: None.
- Song Z, Shen W, Vannucci M, Baldizon A, Cinciripini P, Versace F, Guindani M Clustering Computer Mouse Tracking Data with Informed Hierarchical Shrinkage Partition Priors. Biometrics None(None):None. PMID: None.
Abstracts
- Webber, HE, Yoon JK, de Dios C, Suchting R, Green CE, Lane SD, Vincent J, Dang V, Wardle MC, Kypriotakis G, Versace F, Schmitz JM. Brain Reactivity Bias Toward Drug Versus Pleasant Cues is Associated with Drug Demand in Individuals With Cocaine Use Disorder. Poster presentation submitted to the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 2022. PMID: None.
- Webber HE, Cavanagh JF, Green CE, Versace F, Lane SD, Schmitz JM. Time frequency analysis of the reward positivity in cocaine use disorder: A pilot study. Poster presentation submitted to the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, 2022. PMID: None.
- Schembre SM, Hoffman K, Versace F, Petrosino JF, Daniel-MacDougall CR. Gut microbiome profiles vary by the propensity to attribute incentive salience to palatable food cues in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology 71:69, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: None.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Jackson EF, Cinciripini, PM. Effect of the imminent possibility of smoking on brain responses to cigarette-related cues. SRNT 21st Annual meeting, 2015. PMID: None.
- Slapin A, Versace F, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Cui Y, Engelmann JM, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Affective ratings of cigarette-related, emotional, and neutral images in current smokers, smokers receiving smoking cessation treatment, and never smokers. SRNT 18th Annual Meeting, 2013. PMID: None.
- Engelmann JM, Versace F, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Dissociation between brain responses to cigarette cues and natural rewards in smokers. Society for Psychophysiological Research 52nd Annual Meeting, 2012. PMID: None.
- Cui, Y, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Alpha oscillations in response to affective and cigarette-related stimuli in smokers. Society for Psychophysiological Research 52nd Annual Meeting, 2012. PMID: None.
- Laconte SM, King-Casas B, Cinciripini PM, Eagleman DM, Versace F, Chiu PH. Modulating rt-fMRI neurofeedback interfaces via craving and control in chronic smokers. 15th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping:Elsevier47: page 45, 2009. PMID: None.
- Chiu P, King-Casas B, Cinciripini PM, Versace F, Eagleman D, Lisinski J, Lindsey L, LaConte S. Real-time fMRI modulation of craving and control brain states in chronic smokers. 39th Annual Meeting of Society for Neuroscience (SfN), 2009. PMID: None.
- Costa VD, Smyth JM, Versace F. A grimace within the heart: emotional suppression during affective picture processing. Psychosomatic Medicine 68:A-76, 2006. PMID: None.
- Cavallero C, Versace F, Jugovac D, Miccoli L. How sleep reduction affects spatial orienting. Journal of Sleep Research 11(1):34, 2002. PMID: None.
- Versace F, Cavallero C, De Min Tona G, Mozzato M, Tucci V, Stegagno L. Riduzione di sonno e orientamento dell'attenzione visuospaziale. Medicina del Sonno Suppl.n.1:338-341, 2001. PMID: None.
- Cavallero C, Versace F. Relationships between sleep stage prior to awakening and cognitive performance during the following day. Journal of Sleep Research 5(1):31, 1996. PMID: None.
Book Chapters
- Cavallero C, Versace F. Psicologia Sperimentale e previsione. In G. Mucciarelli (a cura di) Argomenti di Psicometria. In: Pitagora Editrice. None. None, 47-58, 2000.
Letters to the Editor
- Versace F, Schembre SM. 'Obesogenic' oversimplification. Obes Rev 16: 702-3, 2015.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Supporting Tobacco-Related Ongoing Education and Research (STRONGER) Scholar Program |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Title: | Houston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (H-NORC)- PILOT PROJECT: “Evaluating the Feasibility |
| Funding Source: | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Bayesian neurobehavioral phenotyping: from mechanism identification to personalized neuromodulation treatments |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | A Randomized Controlled Trial of Exenatide as an Adjunct to Dual NRT for Smoking Cessation and Prevention of Post-Cessation Weight Gain |
| Funding Source: | University of Tx Health Science Center - Houston |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Alcohol Research Center - Treatment and Implications |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIAA |
| Role: | Other Significant Contribuitor |
| Title: | Multi-Parametric MRI Assessment of Brain Connectivity and Spectroscopic Biomarkers in Patients with a substance use disorder |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Title: | Incentive salience and the neuropsychological underpinnings of cue-induced smoking relapse |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Repurposing Semaglutide for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder: a Pilot Mechanistic Study |
| Funding Source: | UT Health at the Texas Medical Center, NIH |
| Role: | mPI |
| Title: | Identifying the likelihood of dual use of combustible and electronic cigarettes by substance cue response |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Personalized Neurostimulation for Smoking Cessation in Cancer Patients: An Image-Guided Approach |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Neuroscience Program |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Resisting food temptation: how do affective and cognitive brain systems interact? |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Sponsor |
| Title: | Genetic substrates of a novel neural biomarker for smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | AACR and Johnson Lung Cancer Innovation Science Grant |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Neurobehavioral assessment of reward sensitivity in young smokers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Bayesian methods for complex, high-dimensional functional data in cancer research |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Low reward sensitivity and behavioral activation therapy for smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Intrinsic reward sensitivity & smoking cessation with varenicline or patch NRT |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Bayesian methods for multi-way functional data in cancer and behavioral science |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Obesity and brain reward sensitivity: an ERP study |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center IRG |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Identifying topiramate's therapeutic mechanisms through motivational salience |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Beyond cue reactivity: ERPs, sensitivity to natural rewards and smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Cortical reactivity to pleasant and cigarette cues: a conditioning paradigm |
| Funding Source: | Pfizer GRAND 2011, The Global Research Awards for Nicotine Dependence |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Impact of past chemotherapy on emotional processing: an fMRI study in breast cancer survivors |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Effectiveness of varenicline plus bupropion for smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Putting smoking addiction in the affective context: event-related potentials to emotional and neutral stimuli during a smoking cessation intervention |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Administrative supplement, relationship of emotional reactivity to abstinence outcomes in smokers with current chronic depressive disorders |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Error sensitivity as a predictor of nicotine withdrawal and smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Suppression of negative affect indexed by the late positive potential in smokers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-Mentor |
| Title: | The effects of smoking and expectancy on ERP measures of attentional bias |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-mentor PI |
| Title: | Research Grant |
| Funding Source: | University of Trieste |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Can accelerated tailored rTMS improve the outcomes of behavioral weight loss treatments? A proof-of-concept trial |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Evaluating the Feasibility of Accelerated Theta burst Stimulation as an Adjunct Therapy for Obesity: A Phase 1 Trial |
| Funding Source: | Houston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (H-NORC) |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Bayesian neurobehavioral phenotyping: from mechanism identification to personalized neuromodulation treatments |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | MD Anderson Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Research Mentor |
| Title: | Comparative Effectiveness of Virtually Delivered Sequential Smoking Cessation Treatment |
| Funding Source: | PCORI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Noninvasive but Conformable Printing of Thin Film Electrodes on Human Scalp for High Fidelity, Mobile Electroencephalography |
| Funding Source: | UT/MD Anderson Collaborative Pilot Project Grant |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | A precision medicine approach to reducing overeating: neurocircuitry-informed transcranial magnetic stimulation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Comparative Effectiveness of Virtually Delivered Sequential Smoking Cessation Treatment |
| Funding Source: | PCORI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Toward a precision medicine approach to reducing cue-induced overeating: neurocircuitry-informed transcranial magnetic stimulation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | A Randomized Controlled Trial of Exenatide as an Adjunct to Dual NRT for Smoking Cessation and Prevention of Post-Cessation Weight Gain |
| Funding Source: | University of Tx Health Science Center - Houston |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Resisting food temptation: how do inhibitory control and incentive salience interact? |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NRSA |
| Role: | Sponsor |
| Title: | Toward a precision medicine approach to reducing cue-induced overeating: neurocircuitry-informed transcranial magnetic stimulation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Predicting vulnerability to prescription opioid abuse using neuropsychological endophenotypes |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Endophenotypic differences in cue response may predict the ability to transition from combustible cigarette to electronic cigarette use |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | A precision medicine approach to reduce cue-induced overeating: neurocircuitry-informed transcranial magnetic stimulation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Signaled to Eat: Neuropsychological Mechanisms of Cue-induced Eating |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Primary Mentor |
| Title: | Predicting vulnerability to prescription opioid abuse using neuropsychological endophenotypes |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Endophenotypic differences in cue response may predict the ability to transition from combustible cigarette to electronic cigarette use |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Bayesian method for fMRI: modeling heterogeneity in brain dysfunctions |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Resisting or Giving In: Neurophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Temptations |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | (PQA1) Gut-microbiome-brain interactions in hedonic eating behaviors |
| Funding Source: | NIH Transformative |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Bayesian methods for fMRI: modeling heterogeneity in brain dysfunctions |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Bayesian analysis of the functional dynamics of brain networks in fMRI |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas System |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Individual differences in reward sensitivity and decisions to eat: a neurobehavioral study of obese individuals |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Neurodynamical similarities in response to cigarette and food cues in smokers and non-smokers |
| Funding Source: | Binational Science Foundation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator-MDACC |
| Title: | Resisting or giving in: neurophysiological mechanisms underlying temptations |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Reward sensitivity and adaptation to very low nicotine content cigarette use |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Intrinsic reward sensitivity & smoking cessation with varenicline or patch NRT |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Obesity and brain reward sensitivity: an ERP study |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Genomic, neural, preclinical analysis for smoking cessation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Understanding perception of facial disfigurement: a multidisciplinary approach |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Unified flexible methods for complex object data in cancer research |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | The generalizability of attentional bias modification in smokers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | The generalizability of attentional bias modification in smokers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Identifying topiramate's therapeutic mechanisms through motivational salience |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Sensitivity to natural rewards and nicotine addiction |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Brain sensitivity to natural rewards and nicotine addiction |
| Funding Source: | Searle Scholars Program |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Cortical reactivity to pleasant and cigarette cues: A conditioning paradigm |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Where Did My Libido Go? An fMRI Study of Breast Cancer Survivors |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Cortical Reactivity to Second-Order Conditioned Stimuli In Smokers |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Using electrophysiology to identify and treat relapse-prone smokers |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Administrative Supplement, Effectiveness of Varenicline v. Varenicline plus Bupropion |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | Smoking cessation and electrocortical indices of attention and affective reactivity |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| Title: | Secondary Analyses in Addiction using Novel Methods for Complex Functional Data |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
| Role: | Investigator |
| Title: | Subcontract to Abuse Liability and Cognitive Effects of Snus |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified November 04, 2024