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Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program

SRI programs

Julie Ottoy, PhD

Scientist


Education:

  • BSc, 2013, Chemical Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium
  • MSc, 2015, Biomedical Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium
  • PhD, 2019, Medical Sciences (neuroimaging), University of Antwerp, Belgium
  • Visiting researcher, 2020, Neuroscience (neuroimaging), Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Canada
  • Postdoctoral fellowship, 2021, Black Centre for Brain Resilience & Recovery, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

Research Foci:

  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Vascular brain disease and small vessel disease
  • Neuroimaging biomarkers and brain-behaviour relationships
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Brain networks & connectomics
  • Computational Neuroscience

Research Summary:

Dr. Ottoy’s research focuses on elucidating Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology through the application of structural and molecular neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers. She also studies novel targets for small vessel disease and their interactions with Alzheimer’s pathology and inflammation in the brain. Her research interests combine translational and clinical (in-human) science research.

She is currently recruiting summer students (2025) and undergrad volunteers to work on projects that involve (i) immuno-vascular contributions to dementia and (ii) the role of brain networks and connectivity in driving pathology spread. This research applies multi-modal imaging (structural MRI, functional MRI, and Positron Emission Tomography) and blood-based biomarkers in dementia cohorts. Her work is carried out in close collaboration with other Scientists at Sunnybrook, including Dr. Maged Goubran (Artificial Intelligence) and Dr. Sandra Black (Vascular Brain Disease). If you are interested in applying and have a background in neuroimaging, (computational) neuroscience and/or engineering, please contact Dr. Ottoy at julie.ottoy@sri.utoronto.ca with your CV and transcript.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

  1. Ottoy, J., Kang, M.S., Tan, J.X.M., Boone, L., Vos de Wael, R., Park, B., Bezgin, G., Lussier, F.Z., Pascoal, T.A., Rahmouni, N., Stevenson, J., Fernandez Arias, J., Therriault, J., Hong, S.J., Stefanovic, B., McLaurin, J., Soucy, J.P., Gauthier, S., Bernhardt, B.C., Black, S.E., Rosa-Neto, P., Goubran, M. Tau follows principal axes of functional and structural brain organization in Alzheimer’sdisease organization in Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Communications. 2024; 5: 5031. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49300-2
  2. Ottoy, J.*, Ozzoude, M.*, Zukotynski, K., Kang, M.S., Adamo, S., Scott, C., Ramirez, J., Swardfager, W., Lam, B., Bhan, A., Mojiri, P., Kiss, A., Strother, S., Bocti, C., Borrie, M., Chertkow, H., Frayne, R., Hsiung, R., Laforce, R. Jr., Noseworthy, M.D., Prato, F.S., Sahlas, D.J., Smith, E.E., Kuo, P.H., Chad, J.A., Pasternak, O., Sossi, V., Thiel, A., Soucy, J.P., Tardif, J.C., Black, S.E.*, Goubran, M.* Amyloid-PET of the white matter: Relationship to free water, fiber integrity, and cognition in patients with dementia and small vessel disease. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. 2023; 43: 921-936. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0271678X231152001
  3. De Picker, L.J., Morrens, M., Branchi, I., Haarman, B.C.M., Terada, T., Kang, M.S., Boche, D., Tremblay, M.E., Leroy, C., Bottlaender, M., Ottoy, J. TSPO PET brain inflammation imaging: A transdiagnostic systematic review and meta-analysis of 156 case-control studies. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity. 2023; 113: 415-431. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2023.07.023
  4. Ottoy, J., Ozzoude, M., Zukotynski, K., Adamo, S., Scott, C., Gaudet, V., Ramirez, J., Swardfager, W., Cogo-Moreira, H., Lam, B., Bhan, A., Mojiri, P., Kang, M.S., Rabin, J., Kiss, A., Strother, S., Bocti, C., Borrie, M., Chertkow, H., Frayne, R., Hsiung, R., Laforce, R. Jr., Noseworthy, M.D., Prato, F.S., Sahlas, D.J., Smith, E.E., Kuo, P.H., Sossi, V., Thiel, A., Soucy, J.P., Tardif, J.C., Black, S.E.*, Goubran, M*. Vascular burden and cognition: Mediating
    roles of neurodegeneration and amyloid. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2023; 19: 1503-1517. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12750
  5. Ottoy, J.*, Niemantsverdriet, E.*, Verhaeghe, J., De Roeck, E., Struyfs, H., Somers, C., wyffels, L., Ceyssens, S., Van Mossevelde, S., Van den Bossche, T., Van Broeckhoven, C., Ribbens, A., Bjerke, M., Stroobants, S., Engelborghs, S., and Staelens, S. Association of short-term cognitive decline and MCI-to-AD conversion with CSF, MRI, amyloid- and 18F-FDG-PET imaging. Neuroimage Clinical. 2019; 22:101771. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101771

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