About the Research Chair on Primary Progressive Aphasia

Our mission

Launched in 2019 with the generous financial contribution of Fondation famille Lemaire, the Research Chair in Primary Progressive Aphasias - Fondation de la famille Lemaire aims to improve diagnosis and management of primary progressive aphasias and other atypical neurocognitive disorders. It aspires to become an international benchmark on these neurodegenerative diseases.

Aims

To help the general population and healthcare professionals better understand primary progressive aphasias through the PPA Platform;
To promote early recognition of the disease and its variants;
To improve management of the disease for both patients and their relatives;
To study and validate new biomarkers for early detection, differential diagnosis and diagnostic confirmation of the disease.

Financial partners

Fondation famille Lemaire 1M$
Life Insurance Robert Laforce 150 000$
Alzheimer Foundation – Alzheimer Society 100 000$
Fonds du Département de médecine de l’Université Laval 50 000$
Research Center CHU de Québec-Université Laval 50 000$
Fonds des chercheurs du Service de neurologie du CHU de Québec 50 000$
CHU de Québec Foundation 5 000$
Fonds de recherche sur l’Alzheimer et les maladies apparentées de l’Université Laval 5 000$

Our team

Dr. Robert Jr Laforce

Chairholder

Robert Jr Laforce is a neurologist and clinical neuropsychologist at CHU de Québec – Université Laval since 2011. He is also Professor of Neurology at Université Laval. He specializes in behavioral neurology, more specifically atypical neurodegenerative disorders. He has published over a hundred scientific papers in prestigious international journals including JAMA and Lancet Neurology, one book and several recent book chapters on the topic.

Dr. Laforce is involved in several national and international research groups dedicated to the study of neurocognitive disorders such as GENFI and DIAN. He has developed new cognitive tests and is interested in innovative metabolic imaging techniques that allow early detection of neurodegenerative diseases before changes to the brain are too severe.

Dr. Monica Lavoie

Scientific Coordinator

Nancy Cyr

Nurse clinician

Nancy Parent

Research nurse

Several students (medical and neuropsychology students, neurology and geriatrics’ residents, and fellows in behavioral neurology) are involved each year in our projects.

Thanks to our valued collaborators

Dr. Marilu Gorno-Tempini, Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Bruce Miller, Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Annie Légaré, Clinical Lecturer, Université Laval
Dr. Joël Macoir, Professor, Université Laval
Dr. Laura Monetta, Professor, Université Laval
Dr. Maximiliano Wilson, Professor, Université Laval
Liziane Bouvier, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Toronto
Dr. Vincent Martel-Sauvageau, Professor, Université Laval
Dr. Carol Leonard, Associate professor, University of Ottawa
Dr. Elizabeth Rochon, professor, University of Toronto
Caroline Gauthier, Speech-Language Pathologist, Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus
Catherine Jean, Speech-Language Pathologist, Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus
Marie-Hélène Lavoie, Speech-Language Pathologist, Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus