Pascale Tremblay, Ph. D.
Pascale Tremblay is a full professor in the rehabilitation department at Université Laval, where she teaches in the speech-language pathology and audiology programs and acts as graduate research director for the M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in rehabilitation sciences. She hold the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Neurobiology of speech and hearing.
At the crossroad of cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, gerontology and rehabilitation, Dr. Tremblay’s interdisciplinary research program aims to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the perception and production of speech and voice in adults, which are important building blocks of social interactions. Her work also focuses on understanding how aging affects speech and voice and, ultimately, aims to relate age-related communicative changes to age-related neurobiological changes in order to gain insights into underlying mechanisms. This knowledge is key to develop new innovative strategies to prevent, delay or even reverse the effects of aging on communication by inducing neuroplastic changes in the neurological circuits involved in speech and hearing processing, which is another focus of her research. Strategies under investigation include neurostimulation and the practice musical activities, especially singing, as well as other types of speech/vocal expertise. To achieve these goals, Dr. Tremblay and her team study the anatomy and functioning of the brain using state-of-the-art cognitive neuroscience methods such as functional, anatomical and diffusion brain imaging [MRI] as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation [TMS] and electroencephalography [EEG]. They also use modern behavioural and physiological approaches, such as bio-acoustical analyses of the speech signal, analyzes of speech errors, facial electromyography [recordings of muscle activity], measures of facial muscle force and endurance, respiration patterns, to study speech and voice mechanisms and to understand how these mechanisms evolve over the lifespan.
To learn more about ongoing projects, visit the section « Project .» To discover our installations, visit the « The Lab » section.
Click on the links here to view Dr Tremblay’s Google scholar profile, her Pubmed bibliography or her ORCID profile. Interested in joining the lab for a research internship, a M.Sc./PhD or a postdoc? Contact us!
Lab Members
Melissa Dion
Lab coordinator
Mélissa holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and doctoral studies in neuropsychology. She joins the laboratory as a research associate and lab coordinator. Her research interests focus on normal and pathological cognitive aging, as well as the different mechanisms underlying cerebral neuroplasticity.
Xiyue Zhang, M.Sc.
Doctoral student in Neuroscience
Xiyue is a PhD student in neurosciences at Université Laval. Her interest is the protecting effect of singing on communication and cognition in aging. She joined the lab after working in pharmaceutical industry for three years. She holds a master's degree in Biomedical Engineering (BME) from University of Florida in the US and a bachelor's degree in BME from Beijing Institute of Technology in China.
Alexandre Sicard
Doctoral student in rehabilitation sciences
Interested in science since high school, Alexandre found a particular interest in health sciences. Student during one year in the bachelor's degree in biopharmaceutical chemistry, he then completed a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. He thus began a master's degree in rehabilitation sciences. His project aims to investigate the effects of musical practice on brain health and cognitive abilities.
David Ratelle
Doctoral student in Rehabilitation sciences
How can such small disturbances in the air carry so much meaning for human beings? This is the big question that prompted David to undertake his master's studies in audiology at Laval University and to join the Speech and Hearing Neurosciences Laboratory. Preceded by a rich related experience, he holds a master's degree in interpretation from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, which he obtained with great distinction as a soloist and as a chamber musician. David has also shared his passion through music education, supported by master's studies in music education at UQAM, he has worked in the private and public sectors with students of all ages.
Sarah-Ève P. Goulet
Research Assistant and doctoral student in neuropsychology
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Laval University. Human behavior and its link with the normal or pathological functioning of the brain fascinate me. Neuropsychology is a field that allows me to nourish my different interests. Therefore, I plan to pursue my academic career with a doctorate in neuropsychology.
Roxane Parent
Master student in neuroscience
While pursuing her Doctorate in Medicine at Université Laval, Roxane developed a keen interest in sensory organs, particularly in language and hearing disorders. She aims to contribute to research by investigating how aging affects the structure of the auditory cortex through MRI imaging. Through completing a Master’s in Neuroscience as part of a dual MD-MSc program, she is focusing on the degeneration of auditory health, which plays a vital role in human communication and social interactions
Amélie Nadeau
Master student in rehabilitation sciences
First year student of the master’s degree in rehabilitation sciences at Université Laval, Amélie first completed her bachelor in cognitive neuroscience - neuropsychology profile at Université de Montréal. She worked at the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain as a research assistant and solidified her interest in the field of rehabilitation by doing so. She wishes to contribute to research and thus enhance her research knowledge in this field. Her master’s project will focus on the neurological foundations of a preserved vocal quality during aging in singers and non-singers.
Pascale Bédard, M. Sc.
Research associate (part-time)
Pascale is interested in phonetics, and computational lingusitics. She graduated from the lab in 2016. Her master thesis focused on the creation of a large database of Québec spoken French syllables (SyllabO+). She now works part-time at the Speech and hearing neuroscience laboratory towards the creation of a database of Quebec oral French syllables.
Nathan Guillon
Research assistant, undergraduate student in linguistics
As a student in the bachelor's degree in language sciences of the Université Laval and a graduate in music from Cégep de Sherbrooke, Nathan is passionate about music and linguistics. His attraction for studying sound is confirmed by his interest in phonetics. Aiming for a Ph.D., Nathan's goal is to become a professor and researcher in that field.
Jessica Laroche
Research intern, undergraduate student in biomedical sciences
Jessica is a bachelor’s student in biomedical sciences at Université Laval. She is passionate about neuroscience and wants to learn more about the effects of aging on the brain. Clinical research in this area is of particular interest to her because of the techniques used and the human side it involves.
Philippe Prucha
Resident in diagnostic radiology
After completing a bachelor's degree in biology at McGill University I completed my medical studies at Université de Montréal in 2022. My interest for diagnostic imaging led me to pursue my residency in diagnostic radiology at Université Laval. My project in neuroimaging will attempt to establish a link between cerebral structural data obtained through MRI and cognition in a normal population.
Évelyne Drouin
Research assistant, undergraduate student in psychology
Currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology, Évelyne has always had an interest in the neurological difficulties that affect human functioning, and mainly in language. The observation of brain aging is therefore of interest to her as it allows her to highlight certain language pathologies due to age.
Alumni
Émilie Belley
Research assistant, undergraduate student in linguistics, graduate student in speech-language pathology
2017-2020
Julie Poulin, B.A.
Graduate research assistant, master student in speech-language pathology
2017-2019
Isabelle Deschamps, Ph. D.
Chercheuse associée, Professeure au Georgian College, Early Childhood Education Department
2013-2016
Lisa-Marie Deschênes, B.A.
Undergraduate research assistant, student in psychology, Université Laval
2018-2019