Welcome to the Villeneuve Lab
The Villeneuve Lab is interested in how the brain ages with a specific focus on the factors that modify the association between brain lesions and cognitive performances. Our research is motivated by the fact that more than 25% of older adults are considered cognitively normal despite the presence of beta-amyloid in their brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. This fact suggests that other factors interact with beta-amyloid to trigger the expression of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. It also suggests that actions can be taken to prevent or postpone the expression of disease-related symptoms. The main focus of The Villeneuve Lab’s research is therefore to examine the factors that protect (or worse) the development of cognitive deficits in age-related neurodegenerative diseases. We use a multi-tier approach that includes molecular PET imaging, MRI imaging, neuropsychological testing, and genetics.
Visit our research page to learn more about our ongoing projects.
Recent News
Douglas Research Day
2018 Annual Research Day of Douglas Hospital Research Centre and McGill Department of Psychiatry was on last Tuesday, June 5, 2018. This is an important event, which highlights the vital contributions of our students and postdocs to the Douglas and McGill communities. Julie and Pierre gave a presentation, while Alexa and Melissa presented their posters. Prizes were awarded for the best oral and poster presentations and Alexa won the prize for “Best Poster Presentation”. [Photos]
“Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases” course at the University of Gothenburg
26 Apr 2018
Pierre and Alexa attended the graduate course “Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases” at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, organized by Drs. Michael Schöll, Henrik Zetterberg, Kerstin Heurling & Kaj Blennow. The week was filled with talks related to CSF and PET biomarkers by leading experts in the field. It was a fun and productive week in the beautiful city of Gothenburg!
A warm welcome to Morteza, our new rotation program Ph.D. student!
23 Apr 2018
We would like to give a warm welcome to our new lab member Morteza Pishnamazi. Morteza joined us from Tehran, Iran as a Rotation program Ph.D. student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University. At Villeneuve Lab, he will study the association between baseline Aβ and tau deposition loads and temporal changes in gray matter volume in pre-symptomatic senile individuals at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
You can read more about Morteza, including their previous work and some of their interests, on our people page.
Congratulations to Melissa, Alexa, Julie, Pierre, and Theresa!
29 Mar 2018
Their abstracts got accepted and they will be presenting their work at Villeneuve Lab at both Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium (AIC) and Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) which will take place in Chicago on July 2018.
Melissa: “Early Increase in Tau-PET Signal Is Associated with Aβ Burden, CSF p-Tau Levels, and Cognition in Cognitively Normal Late-Middle-Aged Adults”
Alexa: “Neuropsychiatric Burden Is Related to Increased Amyloid but Not Tau Deposition in Late-Middle-Aged Cognitively Normal Individuals with a Family History of Alzheimer’s Disease”
Julie: “Genetic and Environmental Factors Are Differentially Related to Aβ Burden in the Presymptomatic Phase of Autosomal Dominant and Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease”
Theresa: “Cerebral GABA, resting-state functional connectivity and memory function in Alzheimer’s disease”
Pierre: “CSF Immune Markers Predict Decreased AD Symptom Severity and Progression”
