Created in May 2016, the Caroline Durand Foundation Chair in Hearing and Aging at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) aims to minimize the consequences of hearing loss, reduce the isolation of people affected by it, optimize communication between them and thus improve their quality of life. Indeed, from the age of 65, approximately one person in three is affected by hearing loss and one person in two from the age of 75.
Until now, the chair has been held by Dr. Jean-Pierre gagné, a professor at the École d’orthophonie et d’audiologie of the Faculty of Medicine (UdeM) and a researcher at the CRIUGM. The chair has been strengthened with the appointment of two new co-holders, Dr. François Champoux and Dr. Adriana Lacerda, for a joint five-year term. The objective of this association is to consolidate the link between the two research axes of the Chair, namely the neurosciences of aging (axis 1) and health promotion, care and intervention (axis 2).
Dr François Champoux is a full professor at the École d’orthophonie et d’audiologie of the Faculty of Medicine (UdeM) and a researcher at CRIUGM. He directs the auditory neuroscience research laboratory at the UdeM. His work focuses on the functional and structural impact of deafness. He is particularly interested in the effects of hearing loss on processes related to perception, action and cognition and in the study of the neural substrates responsible for performance. He will be responsible for Axis 1.
Dre Adriana Lacerda, is an associate professor at the École d’orthophonie et d’audiologie of the Faculty of Medicine (UdeM) and a researcher at CRIUGM. She directs the Hearing and Aging Research Laboratory in collaboration with Dr. Jean Pierre Gagné. She is interested in the promotion of hearing health and the prevention of hearing loss, as well as in the various psychosocial aspects of deafness. Her work focuses on optimizing communication, social participation and quality of life, improving the quality of health services, and reducing the stigma associated with deafness and ageism. She will be responsible for Axis 2.