Joanette Yves
Ph.D.
Contact information
Centre de recherche, IUGM
4545 chemin Queen-Mary
Montréal, Québec
Canada H3W 1W5
Bureau : M7834
(514) 360-2431
yves.joanette@umontreal.ca
Biography
Dr. Yves Joanette is the Laboratory Director of Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging and Communication at the Research Centre of the Montreal University Geriatrics Institute (CRIUGM) and a Full Professor at the School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal. In 2019, he was appointed the first Director of the University’s Digital Health Consortium and subsequently served as Vice-Rector for Research from 2020 to 2025, during which he co-founded the Millenium Québécor Entrepreneurship Program and co-founded the University of Montreal Innovation Center (CIUM).
From 2011 to 2019, he was the Scientific Director of the Institute of Aging at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Previously, he served as President and CEO of the Quebec Health Research Fund and chaired its Board of Directors, after more than ten years as Director of Research at the Montreal University Geriatrics Institute. Dr. Yves Joanette is a founding member of the World Dementia Council and served as its Chair from 2016 to 2018.
An internationally renowned researcher, Dr. Joanette’s research team focuses on the processes of aging and cognitive disorders in older adults, particularly in relation to their communication abilities. His work encompasses both the neurofunctional bases of normal cognitive aging and the impacts of focal and neurodegenerative lesions.
Together with his team, he actively contributes to the dissemination of research findings and the implementation of exemplary clinical practices. He has published over 450 articles, book chapters, and books (h-index 64) with a team that has included more than 110 master’s students, 60 doctoral students, and 23 postdoctoral fellows over the years. He was a CIHR Research Fellow and Scientist from 1982 to 1992 and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Yves Joanette has received numerous honors, including honorary doctorates from the University of Lyon Lumière (France) and the University of Ottawa.
Research interests
Dr. Joanette is interested in the mechanisms of cognitive aging, communication disorders related to neurodegenerative diseases and focal brain lesions, as well as neuroplasticity. His work explores the neurofunctional bases of language and cognition in older adults, with a strong focus on functional neuroimaging. He has also contributed to the integration of digital health technologies and the transformation of evidence-based clinical practices.
Keywords: cognitive aging, neuropsychology, communication, neuroimaging, aphasia, brain plasticity, digital health, neurodegenerative diseases, verbal cognition
