Galateia Kazakia, PhD
Professor
Radiology
School of Medicine

Dr. Kazakia serves as the Faculty Director of the Quantitative Musculoskeletal-Imaging Core, Director of the UCSF Core Center for Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine (CCMBM) Imaging Core, and Co-Director of the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) Human Metabolism Core. Dr. Kazakia received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1995. She completed her PhD in Mechanical Engineering (with an emphasis on Bone Biomechanics) from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. Dr. Kazakia was awarded an NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship to develop bone imaging techniques, performing this work in the Musculoskeletal Quantitative Imaging Research group at UCSF. Dr. Kazakia joined the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging as an Assistant Professor in Residence in 2009.

Dr. Kazakia’s research is focused on the assessment of bone quality using both in vivo and ex vivo imaging tools, spanning the hierarchical levels of bone structure and composition. Through her research she aims to characterize changes occurring in the skeleton in response to aging and disease, to discover biological mechanisms of these changes, and to understand the impact skeletal changes have on bone strength and fracture risk.

Dr. Kazakia is an active member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Orthopaedic Research Society. Dr. Kazakia serves as a reviewer for >10 scientific journals, and she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts.

Expertise: Musculoskeletal Radiology

Specialty: Musculoskeletal imaging, musculoskeletal diseases, CT, MRI, HR-pQCT, microCT, FTIR

Professional Interests: Mineralization, bone quality, bone architecture, bone micro-damage, biomechanics, mechanical properties, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, high-resolution computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MR spectroscopy, muscle and fat quality assessment

Education and Training:

• Bachelor of Science: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York - Mechanical Engineering
• Masters of Science: University of California, Berkeley - Mechanical Engineering
• Doctor of Philosophy: University of California, Berkeley - Mechanical Engineering

• Differential bone adaptation to mechanical unloading and reloading in young, old, and osteocyte deficient mice.
  Bone 2022 Cunningham HC, Orr S, Murugesh DK, Hsia AW, Osipov B, Go L, Wu PH, Wong A, Loots GG, Kazakia GJ, Christiansen BA
• Bone marrow adipose tissue composition and glycemic improvements after gastric bypass surgery.
  Bone reports 2022 Kim TY, Schwartz AV, Li X, Xu K, Kazakia GJ, Grunfeld C, Nissenson RA, Shoback DM, Schafer AL
• People living with HIV have low trabecular bone mineral density, high bone marrow adiposity, and poor trabecular bone microarchitecture at the proximal femur.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2022 Carballido-Gamio J, Posadzy M, Wu PH, Kenny K, Saeed I, Link TM, Tien PC, Krug R, Kazakia GJ
• Cortical Bone Loss Following Gastric Bypass Surgery Is Not Primarily Endocortical.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2022 Sadoughi S, Pasco C, Joseph GB, Wu PH, Schafer AL, Kazakia GJ
• A timeseries analysis of the fracture callus extracellular matrix proteome during bone fracture healing.
  Journal of life sciences (Westlake Village, Calif.) 2021 Erickson CB, Hill R, Pascablo D, Kazakia G, Hansen K, Bahney C
• Augmenting Osteoporosis Imaging with Machine Learning.
  Current osteoporosis reports 2021 Pedoia V, Caliva F, Kazakia G, Burghardt AJ, Majumdar S
• HR-pQCT-based regional analysis reveals tibial spatial variability in cortical bone tissue quality in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal women with and without history of fragility fractures.
  Bone Reports 2021 Ursula Heilmeier, Courtney Pasco, Meliss Yilmaz, Andrew J. Burghardt, Gabby B. Joseph, Thomas M. Link, Galateia J. Kazakia
• Longitudinal Evolution of Bone Microarchitecture and Bone Strength in Type 2 Diabetic Postmenopausal Women With and Without History of Fragility Fractures-A 5-Year Follow-Up Study Using High Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography.
  Frontiers in endocrinology 2021 Heilmeier U, Joseph GB, Pasco C, Dinh N, Torabi S, Darakananda K, Youm J, Carballido-Gamio J, Burghardt AJ, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Microstructural abnormalities are evident by histology but not HR-pQCT at the periosteal cortex of the human tibia under CVD and T2D conditions.
  Medicine in novel technology and devices 2021 Garita B, Maligro J, Sadoughi S, Wu PH, Liebenberg E, Horvai A, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Soft tissue variations influence HR-pQCT density measurements in a spatially dependent manner.
  Bone 2020 Wu PH, Gupta T, Chang H, Petrenko D, Schafer A, Kazakia G
• Update on Imaging-Based Measurement of Bone Mineral Density and Quality.
  Current rheumatology reports 2020 Link TM, Kazakia G
• Factors associated with bone microstructural alterations assessed by HR-pQCT in long-term HIV-infected individuals.
  Bone 2019 Foreman SC, Wu PH, Kuang R, John MD, Tien PC, Link TM, Krug R, Kazakia GJ
• Cortical bone vessel identification and quantification on contrast-enhanced MR images.
  Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery 2019 Wu PH, Gibbons M, Foreman SC, Carballido-Gamio J, Han M, Krug R, Liu J, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Detection of Lumbar Spine Osseous Metastases Using Dual-Energy CT: Phantom Results and Preliminary Clinical Validation.
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2018 Huang HC, Srinivasan R, Sun Y, Kazakia GJ, Lin PC, Yeh BM
• Bone remodeling following MR-guided focused ultrasound: Evaluation with HR-pQCT and FTIR.
  Bone 2018 Bucknor MD, Goel H, Pasco C, Horvai AE, Kazakia GJ
• Cartilage Endplate Thickness Variation Measured by Ultrashort Echo-Time MRI Is Associated With Adjacent Disc Degeneration.
  Spine 2018 Berg-Johansen B, Han M, Fields AJ, Liebenberg EC, Lim BJ, Larson PE, Gunduz-Demir C, Kazakia GJ, Krug R, Lotz JC
• High-Impact Mechanical Loading Increases Bone Material Strength in Postmenopausal Women-A 3-Month Intervention Study.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2018 Sundh D, Nilsson M, Zoulakis M, Pasco C, Yilmaz M, Kazakia GJ, Hellgren M, Lorentzon M
• Effects of Gastric Bypass Surgery on Bone Mass and Microarchitecture Occur Early and Particularly Impact Postmenopausal Women.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2018 Schafer AL, Kazakia GJ, Vittinghoff E, Stewart L, Rogers SJ, Kim TY, Carter JT, Posselt AM, Pasco C, Shoback DM, Black DM
• Trabecular bone microstructure is impaired in the proximal femur of human immunodeficiency virus-infected men with normal bone mineral density.
  Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery 2018 Kazakia GJ, Carballido-Gamio J, Lai A, Nardo L, Facchetti L, Pasco C, Zhang CA, Han M, Parrott AH, Tien P, Krug R
• A modular approach to creating large engineered cartilage surfaces.
  Journal of biomechanics 2017 Ford AC, Chui WF, Zeng AY, Nandy A, Liebenberg E, Carraro C, Kazakia G, Alliston T, O'Connell GD
• Role of Osteoblast Gi Signaling in Age-Related Bone Loss in Female Mice.
  Endocrinology 2017 Millard SM, Wang L, Wattanachanya L, O'Carroll D, Fields AJ, Pang J, Kazakia G, Lotz JC, Nissenson RA
• Statistical Parametric Mapping of HR-pQCT Images: A Tool for Population-Based Local Comparisons of Micro-Scale Bone Features.
  Annals of biomedical engineering 2016 Carballido-Gamio J, Bonaretti S, Kazakia GJ, Khosla S, Majumdar S, Lang TF, Burghardt AJ
• Cortical bone laminar analysis reveals increased midcortical and periosteal porosity in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal women with history of fragility fractures compared to fracture-free diabetics.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2016 Heilmeier U, Cheng K, Pasco C, Parrish R, Nirody J, Patsch JM, Zhang CA, Joseph GB, Burghardt AJ, Schwartz AV, Link TM, Kazakia G
• FES-rowing attenuates bone loss following spinal cord injury as assessed by HR-pQCT.
  Spinal cord series and cases 2016 Gibbons RS, Beaupre GS, Kazakia GJ
• Kartogenin treatment prevented joint degeneration in a rodent model of osteoarthritis: A pilot study.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2016 Mohan G, Magnitsky S, Melkus G, Subburaj K, Kazakia G, Burghardt AJ, Dang A, Lane NE, Majumdar S
• Distinct Tissue Mineral Density in Plate- and Rod-like Trabeculae of Human Trabecular Bone.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2015 Wang J, Kazakia GJ, Zhou B, Shi XT, Guo XE
• Spatial distribution of intracortical porosity varies across age and sex.
  Bone 2015 Nirody JA, Cheng KP, Parrish RM, Burghardt AJ, Majumdar S, Link TM, Kazakia GJ
• Effect of intraspecimen spatial variation in tissue mineral density on the apparent stiffness of trabecular bone.
  Journal of biomechanical engineering 2015 Kaynia N, Soohoo E, Keaveny TM, Kazakia GJ
• Validation of bone marrow fat quantification in the presence of trabecular bone using MRI.
  Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2014 Gee CS, Nguyen JT, Marquez CJ, Heunis J, Lai A, Wyatt C, Han M, Kazakia G, Burghardt AJ, Karampinos DC, Carballido-Gamio J, Krug R
• Population-based local multi-parametric comparisons of HR-pQCT studies.
  Journal of Orthopaedic Translation 2014 Julio Carballido-Gamio, Serena Bonaretti, Galateia J. Kazakia, Sundeep Khosla, Thomas F. Lang, Andrew J. Burghardt
• How tough is brittle bone? Investigating osteogenesis imperfecta in mouse bone.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2014 Carriero A, Zimmermann EA, Paluszny A, Tang SY, Bale H, Busse B, Alliston T, Kazakia G, Ritchie RO, Shefelbine SJ
• The influence of disuse on bone microstructure and mechanics assessed by HR-pQCT.
  Bone 2014 Kazakia GJ, Tjong W, Nirody JA, Burghardt AJ, Carballido-Gamio J, Patsch JM, Link T, Feeley BT, Ma CB
• Alterations of mass density and 3D osteocyte lacunar properties in bisphosphonate-related osteonecrotic human jaw bone, a synchrotron µCT study.
  PloS one 2014 Hesse B, Langer M, Varga P, Pacureanu A, Dong P, Schrof S, Männicke N, Suhonen H, Olivier C, Maurer P, Kazakia GJ, Raum K, Peyrin F
• Structural analysis of cortical porosity applied to HR-pQCT data.
  Medical physics 2014 Tjong W, Nirody J, Burghardt AJ, Carballido-Gamio J, Kazakia GJ
• Multicenter precision of cortical and trabecular bone quality measures assessed by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Burghardt AJ, Pialat JB, Kazakia GJ, Boutroy S, Engelke K, Patsch JM, Valentinitsch A, Liu D, Szabo E, Bogado CE, Zanchetta MB, McKay HA, Shane E, Boyd SK, Bouxsein ML, Chapurlat R, Khosla S, Majumdar…
• Age- and gender-related differences in cortical geometry and microstructure: Improved sensitivity by regional analysis.
  Bone 2012 Kazakia GJ, Nirody JA, Bernstein G, Sode M, Burghardt AJ, Majumdar S
• The role of oxygen during fracture healing.
  Bone 2012 Lu C, Saless N, Wang X, Sinha A, Decker S, Kazakia G, Hou H, Williams B, Swartz HM, Hunt TK, Miclau T, Marcucio RS
• Bone and cartilage demonstrate changes localized to bone marrow edema-like lesions within osteoarthritic knees.
  Osteoarthritis and cartilage 2012 Kazakia GJ, Kuo D, Schooler J, Siddiqui S, Shanbhag S, Bernstein G, Horvai A, Majumdar S, Ries M, Li X
• The effect of voxel size on high-resolution peripheral computed tomography measurements of trabecular and cortical bone microstructure.
  Medical physics 2012 Tjong W, Kazakia GJ, Burghardt AJ, Majumdar S
• Noninvasive imaging of bone microarchitecture.
  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2011 Patsch JM, Burghardt AJ, Kazakia G, Majumdar S
• Age-related differences in cortico-trabecular connectivity and load transfer in the distal radius measured in vivo by HR-pQCT.
  Bone 2011 A.J. Burghardt, G.J. Kazakia?, T.M. Link, S. Majumdar
• Longitudinal in vivo HR-pQCT assessment of the influence of non-weight bearing on bone quality.
  Bone 2011 W. Tjong, M. Sode, A. Burghardt, S. Majumdar, B. Feeley, B. Ma, G. Kazakia
• Mineral composition is altered by osteoblast expression of an engineered G(s)-coupled receptor.
  Calcified tissue international 2011 Kazakia GJ, Speer D, Shanbhag S, Majumdar S, Conklin BR, Nissenson RA, Hsiao EC
• Variations in morphological and biomechanical indices at the distal radius in subjects with identical BMD.
  Journal of biomechanics 2010 Kazakia GJ, Burghardt AJ, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Longitudinal evaluation of the effects of alendronate on MRI bone microarchitecture in postmenopausal osteopenic women.
  Bone 2010 Folkesson J, Goldenstein J, Carballido-Gamio J, Kazakia G, Burghardt AJ, Rodriguez A, Krug R, de Papp AE, Link TM, Majumdar S
• A longitudinal HR-pQCT study of alendronate treatment in postmenopausal women with low bone density: Relations among density, cortical and trabecular microarchitecture, biomechanics, and bone turnover.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2010 Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Sode M, de Papp AE, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Age- and gender-related differences in the geometric properties and biomechanical significance of intracortical porosity in the distal radius and tibia.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2010 Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Ramachandran S, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Regional variations of gender-specific and age-related differences in trabecular bone structure of the distal radius and tibia.
  Bone 2010 Sode M, Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Link TM, Majumdar S
• In vivo evaluation of the presence of bone marrow in cortical porosity in postmenopausal osteopenic women.
  Annals of biomedical engineering 2009 Goldenstein J, Kazakia G, Majumdar S
• Three-dimensional surface texture visualization of bone tissue through epifluorescence-based serial block face imaging.
  Journal of microscopy 2009 Slyfield CR, Niemeyer KE, Tkachenko EV, Tomlinson RE, Steyer GG, Patthanacharoenphon CG, Kazakia GJ, Wilson DL, Hernandez CJ
• 392 BONE MARROW EDEMA-LIKE LESIONS IN OSTEOARTHRITIC SUBJECTS EXHIBIT ALTERED TRABECULAR STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION.
  Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2009 G.J. Kazakia, D. Kuo, J. Schooler, S. Shanbhag, S. Majumdar, M. Ries, X. Li
• Assessment of trabecular bone structure using MDCT: comparison of 64- and 320-slice CT using HR-pQCT as the reference standard.
  European radiology 2009 Issever AS, Link TM, Kentenich M, Rogalla P, Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Majumdar S, Diederichs G
• Accuracy of volumetric bone mineral density measurement in high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography.
  Bone 2009 Sekhon K, Kazakia GJ, Burghardt AJ, Hermannsson B, Majumdar S
• Automated simulation of areal bone mineral density assessment in the distal radius from high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2009 Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Quantitative assessment of bone tissue mineralization with polychromatic micro-computed tomography.
  Calcified tissue international 2008 Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Laib A, Majumdar S
• Assessment of bone tissue mineralization by conventional x-ray microcomputed tomography: comparison with synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography and ash measurements.
  Medical physics 2008 Kazakia GJ, Burghardt AJ, Cheung S, Majumdar S
• In vivo determination of bone structure in postmenopausal women: a comparison of HR-pQCT and high-field MR imaging.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2008 Kazakia GJ, Hyun B, Burghardt AJ, Krug R, Newitt DC, de Papp AE, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Assessment of trabecular bone structure comparing magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla with high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography ex vivo and in vivo.
  Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA 2007 Krug R, Carballido-Gamio J, Burghardt AJ, Kazakia G, Hyun BH, Jobke B, Banerjee S, Huber M, Link TM, Majumdar S
• Validity of serial milling-based imaging system for microdamage quantification.
  Bone 2007 Bigley RF, Singh M, Hernandez CJ, Kazakia GJ, Martin RB, Keaveny TM
• A local adaptive threshold strategy for high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography of trabecular bone.
  Annals of biomedical engineering 2007 Burghardt AJ, Kazakia GJ, Majumdar S
• Automated high-resolution three-dimensional fluorescence imaging of large biological specimens.
  Journal of microscopy 2007 Kazakia GJ, Lee JJ, Singh M, Bigley RF, Martin RB, Keaveny TM
• Effects of in vitro bone formation on the mechanical properties of a trabeculated hydroxyapatite bone substitute.
  Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2006 Kazakia GJ, Nauman EA, Ebenstein DM, Halloran BP, Keaveny TM
• New imaging technologies in the diagnosis of osteoporosis.
  Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders 2006 Kazakia GJ, Majumdar S