Scientific Directors

Philippe Archambault — Co-Scientific Director of CRIR and the Institut universitaire sur la réadaptation en déficience physique de Montréal of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (IURDPM-CCSMTL) from 2000 to present, he holds a PhD Neurosciences from the Université de Montréal, and a postdoctoral internship in neurophysiology at the Università di Roma “La Sapienza” in Italy. He is Full Professor at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill’s Faculty of medicine. His laboratory is located at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital of the CISSS de Laval.

Trained occupational therapist, he is particularly interested in developing and evaluating rehabilitation technologies. His research is more specifically centred on the use of robotics and virtual reality for the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a stroke. Robotics, for instance, provides physical assistance to arm movements; virtual reality offers a stimulating environment in which a person living with a physical disability can practise everyday tasks.

He also leads researches on the development and evaluation of simulators for the training of patients using a wheelchair, a motorized wheelchair or a four-wheeled scooter.

Since 2017, he has led the provincial cross-sector initiative “Inclusive Society.” This initiative aims to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities through participatory research. Inclusive Society funds and supports research teams made up of community partners in collaboration with academic researchers.

 

 

Claudine Auger — Co-Scientific Director of CRIR and the Institut universitaire sur la réadaptation en déficience physique de Montréal of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (IURDPM-CCSMTL) from 2000 to present, she holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Rehabilitation) and completed postdoctoral studies at McGill University (Health Informatics) and the University of British Columbia (Rehabilitation Sciences). She is a Full Professor at the School of Rehabilitation of the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montreal. Her laboratory is located at the IURDPM-CCSMTL.

Trained occupational therapist, she uses health informatics in her pan-Canadian research program to improve access, allocation, follow-up and training of people with a motor or sensory disability relying on technical assistance and family caregivers. Using participatory methodologies centred on the users and their ecosystem, she develops partnerships with businesses and clinical or community partners in Canada and abroad.

She also heads a networking initiative aimed at enabling the transfer of knowledge on methodological approaches to the assessment of the usability of rehabilitation technologies. Her expertise is sought by national and international committees working on these research themes.