About

Greg Operto is a neuroimaging research scientist in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease. After graduating in 2005 from Polytech-Marseille with a major in Biomedical Engineering, he received his PhD in Computer Science from Aix-Marseille University in 2009. He then joined NeuroSpin, the high-field MRI center of the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (Atomic Energy Commission). His research interests focus on early detection in Alzheimer's Disease and the aging brain. Between 2011 and 2016, he managed the production unit in charge of computing biomarkers in CATI, the French platform for multicenter neuroimaging studies. In 2016 he joined the neuroimaging group of the BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center as a research scientist in the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, working with large-cohort multimodal imaging datasets. He also leads the development of the technical platform for the management, processing and quality control of the imaging datasets coming from these large cohort studies.

Professional experience

• 2016-now: Staff Scientist in BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center (with J.D. Gispert-López, José Luis Molinuevo) - Fundació Pasqual Maragall, Barcelona, Spain

Investigating on neuroimaging early markers of Alzheimer's disease in large cohorts of presymptomatic subjects. (http://barcelonabeta.org).

Leading the development of the platform for the management, processing and control of imaging data.

• 2011-2016: Research Engineer / Production Manager in CATI (director: J-F. Mangin, PhD), NeuroSpin

Creation of a national infrastructure for the support of cohort studies on Alzheimer's patients and related dementias (http://cati-neuroimaging.com). Multi-site coordination of analyses performed on massive collections of images. Member of the project executive committee. Supervision of a software development team (3) focused on quality control. Frequent interactions with teams in charge of national and international research projects. Supervision of training engineers (2).

• 2009-2011: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in NeuroSpin CEA Saclay, France

Working on classification and computer vision methods for the study of the cortical folding process and intersubject variability in developing brain. Supervision: J-F. Mangin, PhD

• 2005-2009: PhD Student - Graduate Teaching Assistant, Université Aix-Marseille

Doctoral training in neuroimaging (Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Information et des Systèmes) with Olivier Coulon - functional magnetic resonance imaging, computer vision, machine learning, classification, machine learning, optimization. Thesis: Structural surface-based analysis of fMRI data

• 2005 : Undergraduate internship with Olivier Coulon. Thesis: From a gyral parcellation to a cortical surface parameterization - Ranked 1st of promotion

• 2004: Training Engineer, Neurology Department 1st Medicine Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Design of a video movement detection system during the acquisition of fMRI data - Application to studies in fMRI and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

Education and diplomas

• 2009: PhD in computer science from Université Aix-Marseille
• 2005: Master's degree, Digital Imaging - Université Aix-Marseille
• 2005: Diplôme d'Ingénieur (Biomedical Eng.), from Polytech-Marseille
• 2002: Preparatory classes (Life science) at Lycée Masséna, Nice

Teaching

• 2016-2019: Part-time associate professor in Diagnostic imaging at Pompeu Fabra University

• 2005-2009: Teaching assistant in computer science at Université Aix-Marseille - Faculté des Sciences de Luminy (Bachelor and Master levels): Computer Science, Algorithmics, Visualization in Scientific Computing, Geometric Modeling, Pattern Recognition, Image Analysis

Supervision of students

• Mohammad Asif Hashmi (2020 ; Google Summer of Code)
• Javier Pozo (Universidad Carlos III Madrid, 2020)
• Guillem Paris (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2019)
• Pauline Bezivin (Université de Rennes 1, 2012)
• Samuel David (ESIEE Paris, 2014)
• Alberto Redolfi (2014 ; co-supervised Ph.D candidate)

Research interests

Alzheimer's Disease and the aging brain - Intersubject variability - Computational anatomy - Cortical folding process, brain development, cortical morphology - Imaging markers - Multisite studies - Optimization of image processing dataÏows over large cohorts - Quality control on large databases - Machine learning - Computer vision - Software development in research

Hobbies

• Lightweight trekking, table tennis, aikido, hacking/DIY

Publications and conferences

Book chapters :

• Falcon, C., Operto, G., Molinuevo, J.L., Gispert, J.D., Neuroimaging methods for MRI analysis in CSF biomarkers studies, Methods in Molecular Biology, 2018 doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7704-8_11

• J-F. Mangin, M. Perrot, G. Operto, C. Fischer, J. Lefèvre, D. Rivière, Sulcus Identification and Labeling, In Brain Mapping, edited by Arthur W. Toga, Academic Press, Waltham, 2015, Pages 365-371, ISBN 9780123973160 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-397025-1.00307-9

Invited oral presentations :

• Getting a @Handle on Big Neuroimaging Datasets - Building Your Pre-Processing Script & Quality Control, Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB & ISMRT, London, May 2022 (scheduled)

• Management and Quality Control of Large Neuroimaging Datasets: Developments From the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, BrainHack Global, Marseille, December 2021

• La Neuroimagerie pour comprendre et prévenir la Maladie d’Alzheimer, Ville de Menton, May 2019

• Towards a future without Alzheimer - BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, Project MNC3 kickoff day, Nice, March 2017

• Structural Group Analysis of Cortical Curvature and Depth Patterns in the Developing Brain, International symposium on biomedical imaging - ISBI, Barcelona, May 2012

Peer-reviewed publications :

• J. Huguet, C. Falcon, D. Fusté, S. Girona, D. Vicente, J.L Molinuevo, J.D Gispert, G. Operto, Management and Quality Control of Large Neuroimaging Datasets: Developments From the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2021

• N. Vilor-Tejedor, T.E Evans, H.H. Adams, J.M. González-de-Echávarri, J.L. Molinuevo, R. Guigo, J.D. Gispert, G. Operto, Genetic Influences on Hippocampal Subfields: An Emerging Area of Neuroscience Research, Neurology Genetics, 2021

• I. Ciampa, G. Operto, C. Falcon, C. Minguillon, M. Castro de Moura, D. Piñeyro, M. Esteller, J.L. Molinuevo, R. Guigó, A. Navarro, J.D. Gispert, N. Vilor-Tejedor, Genetic Predisposition to Alzheimer’s Disease Is Associated with Enlargement of Perivascular Spaces in Centrum Semiovale Region, Genes, 2021

• G. Salvadó, D. Ferreira, G. Operto, I. Cumplido‐Mayoral, E.M Arenaza‐Urquijo, R. Cacciaglia, C. Falcon, N. Vilor‐Tejedor, C. Minguillon, C. Groot, W. M van der Flier, F. Barkhof, P. Scheltens, R. Ossenkoppele, S. Kern, A. Zettergren, I. Skoog, J. Hort, E. Stomrud, D. van Westen, O. Hansson, J.L Molinuevo, L-O Wahlund, E. Westman, J.D Gispert, ALFA study, BioFINDER, ADNI, The protective gene dose effect of the APOE ε2 allele on gray matter volume in cognitively unimpaired individuals, Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2021

• N. Vilor-Tejedor, G. Operto, T.E. Evans, C. Falcon, M. Crous-Bou, C. Minguillón, R. Cacciaglia, M. Milà-Alomà, O. Grau-Rivera, M. Suárez-Calvet, D. Garrido-Martín, S. Morán, M. Esteller, H.H. Adams, J.L. Molinuevo, R. Guigó, J.D. Gispert for the ALFA StudyEffect of BDNF Val66Met on hippocampal subfields volumes and compensatory interaction with APOE-ε4 in middle-age cognitively unimpaired individuals from the ALFA study, Brain Struct Funct, 2020 doi.org/10.1007/s00429-020-02125-3

• E. M. Arenaza-Urquijo, G. Salvadó, G. Operto, C. Minguillón, G. Sánchez-Benavides, M. Crous-Bou, O. Grau-Rivera, A. Sala-Vila, C. Falcón, M. Suárez-Calvet, H. Zetterberg, K. Blennow, J.D. Gispert, J.L. Molinuevo for the ALFA study, Association of years to parent’s sporadic onset and risk factors with neural integrity and Alzheimer’s biomarkers, Neurology, 2020 doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010527

• S. Ingala, L. Mazzai, C. H. Sudre, G. Salvadó, A. Brugulat-Serrat, V. Wottschel, C. Falcon, G. Operto, B. Tijms, J.D. Gispert, J.L. Molinuevo, F. Barkhof, The relation between APOE genotype and cerebral microbleeds in cognitively unimpaired middle- and old-aged individuals, Neurobiology of Aging, 2020 doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.06.015

• O. Grau-Rivera, G. Operto, C. Falcón, G. Sánchez-Benavides, R. Cacciaglia, A. Brugulat-Serrat, N. Gramunt, G. Salvadó, M. Suárez-Calvet, C. Minguillon, Á. Iranzo, J.D. Gispert, J.L. Molinuevo for the ALFA Study, Association between insomnia and cognitive performance, gray matter volume, and white matter microstructure in cognitively unimpaired adults, Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy, 2020

• A. Casamitjana, V. Vilaplana, S. Puch, A. Aduriz, C. López, G. Operto, R. Cacciaglia, C. Falcón, J.D. Gispert, J.L. Molinuevo, NeAT: a Nonlinear Analysis Toolbox for Neuroimaging, Neuroinformatics, 2020

• G. Operto, J.L. Molinuevo, R. Cacciaglia, C. Falcón, A. Brugulat-Serrat, M. Suárez-Calvet, O. Grau-Rivera, N. Bargalló, S. Morán, M. Esteller, J.D. Gispert for the ALFA Study, Interactive effect of age and APOE-ε4 allele load on white matter myelin content in cognitively normal middle-aged subjects, Neuroimage: Clinical, 2019

• P. M. Petrone, A. Casamitjana, C. Falcon, M. Artigues, G. Operto, R. Cacciaglia, J.L. Molinuevo, V. Vilaplana, J.D. Gispert & for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Prediction of amyloid pathology in cognitively unimpaired individuals using voxel-wise analysis of longitudinal structural brain MRI, Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy, 2019

• A. Brugulat-Serrat, G. Salvadó, G. Operto, R. Cacciaglia, C. Sudre, O. Grau-Rivera, M. Suárez-Calvet, C. Falcon, G. Sánchez-Benavides, N. Gramunt, C. Minguillon, K. Fauria, F. Barkhof, J.L. Molinuevo, J.D. Gispert for the ALFA Study, White matter hyperintensities mediate gray matter volume and executive function relationship, Human Brain Mapping, 2019

• G. Operto, R. Cacciaglia, O. Grau-Rivera, C. Falcon, A. Brugulat-Serrat, P. Ródenas, R. Ramos, S. Morán, M. Esteller, N. Bargalló, J.L. Molinuevo, J.D. Gispert for the ALFA Study, White matter microstructure is altered in cognitively normal middle-aged APOE-ε4 homozygotes, Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 2018 doi:10.1186/s13195-018-0375-x

• Falcon, C., Tucholka, A., Monté-Rubio, G.C., Cacciaglia, R., Operto, G., Rami, L., Gispert, J.D., Molinuevo, J.L., for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Longitudinal structural cerebral changes related to core CSF biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's disease: A study of two independent datasets, NeuroImage: Clinical, 2018 doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2018.04.016

• G. Operto, M. Chupin, B. Batrancourt, M.O Habert, O. Colliot, H. Benali, C. Poupon, C. Champseix, C. Delmaire, S. Marie, D. Rivière, M.Pélégrini-Issac, V. Perlbarg, R. Trebossen, M. Bottlaender, V. Frouin, A. Grigis, D. Papadopoulos Orfanos, H. Dary, L. Fillon, C. Azouani, A. Bouyahia, C. Fischer, L. Edward, M. Bouin, U. Thoprakarn, J. Li, L. Makkaoui, S. Poret, C. Dufouil, V. Bouteloup, G. Chételat, B. Dubois, S. Lehéricy, J.F. Mangin, Y. Cointepas and the CATI Consortium, CATI: A Large Distributed Infrastructure for the Neuroimaging of Cohorts, Neuroinformatics, 2016 doi:10.1007/s12021-016-9295-8

• Dufouil, C., Dubois, B., Vellas, B., Pasquier, F., Blanc, F., Hugon, J., Hanon, O., Dartigues, J.-F., Harston, S., Gabelle, A., Ceccaldi, M., Beauchet, O., Krolak-Salmon, P., David, R., Rouaud, O., Godefroy, O., Belin, C., Rouch, I., Auguste, N., Wallon, D., Benetos, A., Pariente, J., Paccalin, M., Moreaud, O., Hommet, C., Sellal, F., Boutoleau-Bretonniére, C., Jalenques, I., Gentric, A., Vandel, P., Azouani, C., Fillon, L., Fischer, C., Savarieau, H., Operto, G., Bertin, H., Chupin, M., Bouteloup, V., Habert, M.-O., Mangin, J.-F., Chêne, G., Cognitive and imaging markers in non-demented subjects attending a memory clinic: Study design and baseline findings of the MEMENTO cohort, Alzheimer's Research and Therapy, 2017 doi:10.1186/s13195-017-0288-0

• D. Germanaud, J. Lefèvre, C. Fischer, M. Bintner, A. Curie, V. des Portes, S. Eliez, M. Elmaleh-Bergès, D. Lamblin, S. Passemard, G. Operto, M. Schaer, A. Verloes, R. Toro, J.F. Mangin, L. Hertz-Pannier, Simplified gyral pattern in severe developmental microcephalies? New insights from allometric modeling for spatial and spectral analysis of gyrification, Neuroimage, 2014

• G. Operto, D. Rivière, B. Fertil, R. Bulot, J-F. Mangin, O. Coulon, Structural Analysis of fMRI Data : A Surface-Based Framework for fMRI Multi-Subject Studies, Medical Image Analysis, 2012

• P. Havránková, N.D. Walker, G. Operto, T. Sieger, J. Vymazal, R. Jech, Cortical pattern of complex but not simple movements is affected in writer’s cramp: a parametric event-related fMRI study, Clinical Neurophysiology, 2011

• P. Havrankova, R. Jech, N.D. Walker, G. Operto, J. Tauchmanova, J. Vymazal, P. Dušek, M. Hromcik, E. Růžička, Repetitive TMS of the somatosensory cortex improves writer's cramp and enhances cortical activity, Neuro Endocrinology Letters, 2010

• C. Clouchoux, D. Rivière, J-F. Mangin, G. Operto, J. Régis, O. Coulon, Model-driven parameterization of the cortical surface for localization and inter-subject matching, Neuroimage, 2010

• G. Operto, R. Bulot, J-L. Anton, O. Coulon, Projection of fMRI data onto the cortical surface using anatomically-informed convolution kernels, Neuroimage, 2008

Peer-reviewed conferences :

• G. Operto, G. Auzias, A. Le Troter, M. Perrot, D. Rivière, J. Dubois, P. Hüppi, O. Coulon, J-F. Mangin, Structural Group Analysis of Cortical Curvature and Depth Patterns in the Developing Brain (accepted for oral presentation), International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI), Barcelona, 2012

• O. Coulon, F. Pizzagalli, G. Operto, G. Auzias, C. Delon-Martin, M. Dojat, Two new stable anatomical landmarks on the central sulcus: definition, automatic detection, and their relationship with primary motor functions of the hand, International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society - EMBC, 2011

• G. Operto, B. Fertil, R. Bulot, O. Coulon, Structural group analysis of brain functional data: assessing results significance, Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention – MICCAI - fMRI workshop, London, 2009

• G. Operto, C. Clouchoux, R. Bulot, J.-L. Anton, O. Coulon, Surface-based structural group analysis of fMRI data, Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention – MICCAI, New York City, 2008

• G. Operto, Noyaux de convolution contraints par l'anatomie pour la projection de données IRMf sur la surface corticale, Journées Du Laboratoire LSIS, Giens, 2007

• G. Operto, R. Bulot, J-L. Anton, O. Coulon, Anatomically informed convolution kernels for the projection of fMRI data on the cortical surface, Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention – MICCAI, Copenhagen, 2006