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
July 19-25 2018
Dr. Villeneuve, along with Julie Gonneaud, Alexa Pichet Binette, Theresa Kobe, Melissa McSweeney, Pierre-François Meyer and Etienne Vachon-Presseau attended this year’s AAIC conference in Chicago to present some of their recent works. Alexa, Melissa, and Pierre gave a talk about their work, and Theresa and Julie presented their posters at the conference. [Photos]
CSHRF 2018
12-15 Jun 2018Alexa presented her work on associations of neuropsychiatric and personality factors with amyloid and tau PET measures. An insight into how these characteristics may shape AD risk. Pierre presented work showing that CSF protein markers of key AD-related biological pathways may indicate resilience to Alzheimer pathology. Alexa and Pierre received a CIHR Honorable Mention and Gold award respectively for their presentations at CSHRF 2018! Congratulations to you both!
Neurosymposium
22 Jun 2018
Last week, on Friday, June 22th, the Villeneuve lab students attended the 3rd edition of the NeuroSymposium. This symposium is an inter-university initiative whose aim is to build an active community of young neuroscientists across Quebec. This great initiative is organized by students across the province, and Alexa is among to co-founders of the event. Melissa presented her work and other lab members helped during the day.
Douglas Research Day
05 Jun 2018
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!
