Welcome to the Villeneuve Lab
The Villeneuve Lab is interested in how the brain ages, with a specific focus on factors that modify the association between brain lesions and cognitive performance. 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 cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. It also suggests that actions can be taken to prevent or postpone disease-related symptoms. The main focus of the Villeneuve Lab’s research is therefore to examine the factors that protect against, or worsen, 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, combined with analytic tools such as deep learning, lasso regression and partial least squares regression.
Visit our research page to learn more about our ongoing projects.
We work in close collaboration with the StoP-AD Centre, which is also directed by Dr. Sylvia Villeneuve.
Recent News
| AD/PD 2025 International Conference April 2025 Amelie Metz gave a quarter-hour symposium presentation relating to disease mechanisms of fronto-temporal dementia at the AD/PD 2025 International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases in Vienna, Austria. [Presentations] |
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| New article from the Villeneuve Lab February 2025 Yara Yakoub’s paper “Plasma p-tau217 identifies cognitively normal older adults who will develop cognitive impairment in a 10-year window” has been published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Our study provides strong evidence that measurements of p-tau217 in blood plasma can be used to predict whether individuals will develop cognitive impairment in the next 10 years. Check out the full publication. [Papers] |
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| New article from the Villeneuve Lab and the Vascular and Neurodegenerative Disorders of Aging Lab February 2025 Amelie Metz’s article “Frontotemporal dementia subtyping using machine learning, multivariate statistics and neuroimaging” has been published in Brain Communications. Metz et al. showed that machine learning can reliably identify different subtypes of frontotemporal dementia by analyzing brain scans and clinical tests. This method used advanced imaging and statistical tools to sort patients into subtypes with high accuracy, an approach that could help doctors better identify and diagnose frontotemporal dementia in patients. Check out the full publication. [Papers] |
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| Dr. Villeneuve in the media January 2025 Dr. Sylvia Villeneuve gave several television, radio and newspaper interviews during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in Canada. [Media and Press] |
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| Human Amyloid Imaging conference January 2025 Dr. Sylvia Villeneuve and lab members Dr. Alexandre Pastor-Bernier, Alfonso Fajardo-Valdez, Jonathan Gallego Rudolf, Mohammadali Javanray, Ting Qiu, and Yara Yakoub attended the Human Amyloid Imaging (HAI) conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Villeneuve chaired a discussion session, while Alfonso, Jonathan, Mohammadali, Ting, and Yara gave poster presentations of their latest research. Ting and Yara also gave lightning talks about their work. Congratulations to Ting and Yara on receiving HAI travel fellowships. Thanks to everyone for an excellent conference! [Presentations] [Photos] |
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| Dr. Villeneuve receives grant from the Weston Family Foundation October 2024 Dr. Villeneuve was a awarded a “Brain Health: Sleep 2023” grant, funded by the Weston Family Foundation. This funding will allow Dr. Villeneuve and her team to investigate associations between sleep quality and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as well as to test whether a drug originally developed to treat insomnia can prevent the accumulation of AD pathology. |
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| More lab news here. |
