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