Franck DI RIENZO
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After completing a PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in 2013, Franck Di Rienzo worked as a teaching and research fellow before joining Inserm and CNRS as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2014, he was appointed Associate Professor at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, within the Centre for Research and Innovation in Sport, which became the Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Biology (LIBM) in 2016. He obtained his habilitation to supervise research (HDR) in 2022 and was appointed Junior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France in 2025, as the recipient of a fundamental research chair. A specialist in human movement neuroscience, his research focuses on the neuroplastic mechanisms induced by mental training, particularly motor imagery—the mental representation of a movement without intention to physical execution. His work aims to develop new strategies for enhancing sports performance and supporting motor rehabilitation. During his PhD, his magnetoencephalography research demonstrated the potential of motor imagery to promote the reorganisation of cortical networks involved in learning new grasping strategies following cervical spinal cord injury. During his postdoctoral fellowship, he investigated the brain dynamics underlying the acquisition of bimanual coordination and the anticipation of postural adjustments. His current research explores the potential for reprogramming movement through central and peripheral neuromodulation, as well as the brain dynamics that emerge in constrained motor contexts, including the demands imposed by sports performance and injury. An emerging line of research focuses on identifying dynamic signatures—such as state transitions and critical regimes—in response to mechanical constraints, with the aim of better understanding and guiding functional adaptation. As of 1 January 2026, Franck Di Rienzo had co-authored more than 65 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with 80% published in a leading authorship position. His work has appeared predominantly in first-quartile journals in sport sciences, neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and cognitive and behavioural neuroscience. His h-index is 29.
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Institution Université Claude Bernard (Lyon 1) Team: [MP3] Position Associate Professor
Publications
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1. Training through motor imaging during between-trials recovery periods during strength training allows for immediate gains in isometric force of 2 to 5%. 2. Spontaneous compensation and experience dependent plasticity are reflected in psychometric, behavioural and neurophysiological correlates of motor imaging following neurological lesions. 3. Cerebral plasticity indcued by motor imagiing favours the cortical intergration of new motor programs of grasping tasks following meduallary lesions at the C6-C7 level. 4. Associative parietal resgions control the updating of motor representations, which allow for posture-movement coordination during bimanual unloading tasks. | |
