On May 24, during the Virtuoses of Health ceremony organized by the Faculty of Medicine of Université Laval, Pascale, the director of the lab, received a tribute for obtaining a Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology of Speech and Hearing, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She holds a Tier 1 (Senior) Chair, which can be renewed once after seven years.

Canada Research Chairs are awarded to researchers from Canadian universities who are recognized by their peers as exceptional and who demonstrate international leadership in their field. The evaluation process, entrusted to the College of examiners, is long and rigorous. First evaluated at the local (faculty) and then university levels, the selected candidates are then examined by at least three experts in the candidate’s field of research. Applications may also be reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee.

In Pascale’s case, the different stages of the evaluation process took place over a period of approximately one year.

During the ceremony, in recognition for her accomplishments, Pascale received a work of art created by the artist Guillaume Sénéchal. Members of our team provided valuable information to guide the artist in his creation:

Here is the description that accompanies the illustration and was read during the ceremony:

Researcher Pascale Tremblay is in her laboratory. More specifically, she is in the control room adjoining the soundproof room, whose window is visible in the image. It is in the soundproof room that the speech and hearing tests take place, as well as the sessions of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) which are administered to adults of all ages participating in lab studies. Speech recordings can be viewed from the control room; one can be seen on the computer near Dr. Tremblay. EEG recordings, which illustrates the time-course of the electrical activity of the brain, are monitored on the back.

Dr. Tremblay holds a violin because she loves classical music. The violin’s sound box is made up of brain convolutions (folds), and the violin’s head is a TMS coil, which is used to for brain stimulation  during brain stimulation studies.

Pascale’s team recognizes that she is very organized: each object in the laboratory has its place and its label! Further, each study has a detailed protocol, so that research data is collected in a standardized and rigorous manner. Her sense of organization allows her not only to effectively accomplish the many tasks for which she is responsible as full professor and director of the master’s and doctoral programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, but also to be actively involved in all the stages of the laboratory studies. Dr. Tremblay offers extensive support to her students, who particularly appreciate her advices and the fact that her door is always open. They feel lucky to have the opportunity to learn to strive for excellence in research by evolving in a stimulating and agreeable environment.

In the photo below, we see Pascale, who holds the framed work in her hands. On the left are Jacques Simard, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation, and Catherine Vallée, Director of the Rehabilitation Department. Julien Poitras, the Faculty of Medicine’s dean, is to Pascale’s right on the picture.

Our team was also present at the event, to Pascale’s great surprise, to highlight her new Canada Research Chair. A photo was also taken with Pascale and the team:

Finally, during the Virtuosos of Health ceremony, another member of our lab was recognized. Alexandre, a master’s student in rehabilitation, received a master’s recruitment scholarship:

Alexandre is the sixth person from the left on the photo above.

Finally, congratulations to Pascale for obtaining her Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Speech and Hearing, and congratulations also to Alexandre for obtaining a scholarship. We are proud of you! 😊

Further readings: