Scientific Directors
Philippe Archambault — After obtaining a Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the Université de Montréal, Philippe Archambault did a postdoctoral internship in neurophysiology at the Università di Roma “La Sapienza” in Italy. He is presently Associate Professor at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy of McGill’s Faculty of medicine.
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 conduct 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 heads “Inclusive Society”, a cross-sectoral initiative funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec. The goal of this initiative is to improve social inclusion of people with disabilities through participative research.
Claudine Auger — Holding a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences (Rehabilitation), Claudine Auger also completed postdoctoral studies in health informatics at McGill University and in rehabilitation science at the University of British Columbia. She is an Associate Professor at the School of rehabilitation of the Faculty of medicine at the Université de Montréal. Her laboratory is at the Institut universitaire sur la réadaptation en déficience physique de Montréal (IURDPM) of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
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.
