Our research team

LESCA Management

Louis Behrer, M.Ps. Ph.D.
Director and Neuropsychologist

Full Professor, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal,
Mirella and Lino Saputo Research Chair in Cardiovascular Health and Prevention of Cognitive Disorders
Deputy Scientific Director, Prevention Branch, Montreal Heart Institute,
Researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre and the Centre for Preventive Medicine and Physical Activity (Centre ÉPIC),
Researcher and Laboratory Director, Montreal Geriatric University Institute Research Centre

Louis Bherer is full professor at the Department of Medicine at Université de Montréal and Associate scientific director at the Preventive medicine and Physical activity center of the Montreal Heart Institute. He is also Lab Director and researcher in cognitive neuroscience in aging at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. Dr. Bherer specializations include cognitive aging, executive functions, physical exercise, and cognitive training. He held the Canada Research Chair (CIHR) in aging and prevention of cognitive decline at UQAM until 2013 and now holds the Mirella and Lino Saputo Chair in Cardiovascular Health and the Prevention of Cognitive Decline.

Louis Bherer, M.Ps. Ph.D.
Director and Neuropsychologist

Research Associates

Christine Gagnon, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher and Neuropsychologist

Dr. Christine Gagnon is a Research Associate and Neuropsychologist. She completed her doctorate (Psy.D., Ph.D.) at UQÀM in 2012. Her thesis focused on the acute effects of nutrition on cognition and brain activity in the elderly. She then practiced for a few years as a clinical neuropsychologist in rehabilitation and in private practice, in addition to being a supervisor at the university psychology clinic and lecturer at UQÀM.

Dr. Gagnon divides her time between research and clinical practice. Indeed, she works as a clinical neuropsychologist with patients referred from the Montreal Heart Institute and the EPIC Center. In the LESCA laboratory, as a research associate, she is particularly interested in the cognitive profile of patients with various cardiovascular diseases and in the early detection of cognitive decline. In the LESCA Lab, Dr. Gagnon also collaborates on and coordinates various research projects investigating the effects of physical and cognitive training on cognitive performances of individuals with different cardiovascular diseases. Finally, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gagnon participated in the transition within the laboratory from traditional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological assessments to virtual neuropsychological assessments.

Christine Gagnon, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher and Neuropsychologist

Thomas Vincent, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Thomas Vincent completed his PhD in cerebral functional imaging at Neurospin (CEA, France) while developing regularized methods for cerebral hemodynamics modeling. He was then involved in a phase II clinical trial to validate a medication by means of functional MRI in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2011 he became a post-doctoral fellow at Inria in Grenoble (France) to work on neurovascular coupling and quantitative MRI.

He joined the PERFORM center (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada) in 2015 during another postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer and Dr. Christophe Grova, to develop projects employing near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Thomas is currently a research associate at the EPIC center of the Montreal Heart Institute. He is in charge of implementing and developing multimodal cerebral imaging protocols involving MRI, NIRS, EEG and transcranial Doppler. His main field of application focuses on cognitive aging in relationship with physical and cognitive training, while investigating cerebrovascular health.

Thomas Vincent, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Tudor Vrinceanu, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Tudor Vrinceanu has completed his PhD at Université de Montréal in 2023 on the link between cardiac electrophysiology and cognition in older adults. During his Master’s in Health Psychology at Concordia University, Tudor investigated the impact of different exercise training modalities on chronic stress biomarkers in older adults. His research interest and expertise focus on the impact of exercise and cognitive training on cognitive aging prevention in healthy seniors and patients with cardiovascular illness. As a Research Associate at EPIC Center, Tudor’s responsibilities include data processing and statistical analyses, scientific writing, dissemination of research results, and research project development.

Tudor Vrinceanu, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Mathieu Gayda, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Research scientist at the Preventive medicine and physical activity center (ÉPIC) and at the Research center of the Montreal Heart Institute since 2006.

Associate professor, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal.

His research activities focus on: 1) physiological responses (cerebral, cardiac, O2 chain transport) during acute exercise in adults with CV risk factors or heart diseases; 2) optimization of exercise training program and their impact on pulmonary, cardiac and muscle function in cardiac patients. The high intensity interval training (HIIT) or the use of aqua bike for exercise are examples of clinical transfer of its research activities at the ÉPIC Center.

His research interest focus on:

1) Validity and physiological responses of field tests (walking test, aqua-bike, aqua-running) to assess aerobic fitness

2) Optimization of high intensity interval training (HIIT) in cardiac patients

3) The impact of Mediterranean diet and HIIT on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors.

4) Relationship between brain and cardiac hemodynamic, 𝑉̇O2max and cognitive function in adults with different CV status.

5) Periodization of the exercise training program and their impact on pulmonary, cardiac and muscular functions/adaptations in cardiac patients

Profil : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mathieu-Gayda

Mathieu Gayda, Ph.D.
Associated Researcher

Clinical Scientists

Anil Nigam, MD.
Cardiologist and Research Scientist

Biography coming soon.

Anil Nigam, MD.
Cardiologist and Research Scientist

Josep (Pep) Iglesies Grau, MD.
Cardiology Fellow

Dr Josep Iglesies-Grau is a cardiologist from Barcelona, Catalonia.
He did his Medical Degree from 2007 to 2013 and continued his medical path in the field of Cardiology completing his residency training in 2019. In 2013, he did an internship in the World Medical Association in Switzerland and he was also very involved during his years of medical student as president of medical students in Catalonia and representative at the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA).

In 2018, he started his ongoing PhD in Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, in a project that wanted to assess and quantify subclinical atherosclerosis in young adults from a socioeconomically disadvantaged community (Harlem), assessing it by 3D vascular ultrasound.

In 2021, he started a clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation at Centre Epic and the Montreal Heart Institute in Canada. His professional interests vary from physical activity, nutrition, insulin resistance remission, the relationship between the heart and the brain and lifestyle changes.

Josep (Pep) Iglesies Grau, MD. M.Sc.
Cardiology Fellow

Valérie Dionne, Inf., IPSSA (MHI)
Nurse Practitioner

As a nurse practitioner specialized in cardiology since 2011 at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), Valérie Dionne has developed a wide range of clinical expertise. She is currently working on a Master’s degree in biomedical sciences under the direction of Dr. Louis Bherer, and is coordinating the DIABÉPIC2 project on type 2 diabetes remission.

Valérie Dionne, Inf., IPSSA (MHI)
Nurse Practitioner

Hakima Benhalima
Research Nurse (ICM)

Hakima is a research nurse at Epic Center. She joined Dr. Bherer’s research team in August 2022, after working in the emergency department in Quebec City.

Her interests include improving the quality of care, adopting approaches tailored to older adults and promoting health, particularly cardiovascular health.

Hakima joined LESCA to deepen her knowledge in the fields of aging, cardiovascular health and exercise physiology. She also aspires to pursue graduate studies.

Hakima Benhalima
Research Nurse (ICM)

Post-doctoral Fellow

Caroll-Ann Blanchette
Doctoral Student M.Sc.
UdeM

Caroll-Ann completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology at the Université de Montréal under the supervision of Dr. Gregory L. West, PhD. During her Master’s degree, she focused on the influence of video games and technologies on the hippocampal memory system. Also at the Université de Montréal, Caroll-Ann is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Biomedical Sciences with an option in Aging Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer, PhD. For her doctorate, her ambition is to better understand the effects of cognitive training on the cognition and quality of life of heart failure patients in order to better adapt the care provided to patients. Caroll-Ann is the recipient of a training grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec en santé (FRQS) for her doctoral studies.

Caroll-Ann Blanchette, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow

Hanieh Mohamadi, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow
UdeM

Hanieh Mohammadi is currently (year 2021) a postdoctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering at the EPIC Centre of the Montreal Heart Institute, Canada. Hanieh’s specialty is Cardiovascular Engineering and is actively researching heart-brain interaction and its impact on cognition.

During her Ph.D. studies at Polytechnique Montréal, Canada, Hanieh non-invasively assessed brain pulsatility using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). She quantified brain pulsatility in healthy young older adults and in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery disease. Hanieh’s research indicated that higher brain pulsatility is associated with cortical thinning and lower cognitive performance in older adults. In addition, she studied the short-term and long-term impact of physical activity on brain pulsatility. Her research indicates that NIRS is a promising tool for the quantification of pulsatility in cerebral microcirculation. Hanieh’s research suggests that pulsatility may become a new parameter in patients’ clinical profiles. Her work on brain pulsatility was a continuation of her master’s studies in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Bern, Switzerland. During her master’s studies, she developed a novel signal processing method to extract brain signals from superficial signals in NIRS data. As part of her master’s education, Hanieh attended the physics and nanotechnology program at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland where she spent two years applying optical systems to study the effect of aging on elastic properties of red blood cells. During her bachelor’s studies in Biomedical Engineering, Hanieh used neural networks to estimate fetal weight from ultrasound data.

Hanieh’s research interest is heart-brain interaction, vascular aging, cerebral pulsatility, and age-related cognitive decline using the modalities of MRI, NIRS, and Doppler ultrasound. She is passionate about the applications of cardiovascular engineering in aerospace medicine.

Hanieh Mohamadi, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Fellow
UdeM

Doctoral Students

Jeremy Gervais
Doctoral Student
UdeM(D.Psy)

Jeremy has been a doctoral candidate in clinical neuropsychology (D.Psy) at the Université de Montréal since the fall of 2024. He joined the LESCA lab in 2021 while completing his bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience. His academic background and research interests focus on the impact of physical exercise and dietary changes on cognition. More specifically, he is interested in the effects of these interventions on individuals with diabetes or prediabetes, with or without coronary artery disease.

Jeremy aims to deepen his understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms related to metabolic and cardiovascular health to help develop targeted intervention strategies for preventing cognitive decline.

Jeremy Gervais
Doctoral Student
UdeM (D.Psy)

Kathia Saillant
Doctoral Student M.Sc.
Co-management Gilles Dupuis UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

It was after working with cognitively impaired seniors that Kathia decided to undertake a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, which she completed between 2014 and 2017. During her last year of her bachelor’s degree, she joined Dr. Louis Bherer’s laboratory as a research assistant. She continued her involvement in the laboratory as a student in the Master’s program in Biomedical Sciences at the Université de Montréal from 2017-2019. Her project aimed to evaluate the impact of statin intake on the cognitive benefits associated with aerobic training in older adults.

In 2019, she began her doctoral studies in Neuropsychology (Psy.D./Ph.D.) at the Université du Québec à Montréal, under the supervision of Dr. Bherer and Dr. Gilles Dupuis. During her Ph.D., Kathia is seeking to better understand the effects of physical activity levels on cognition and quality of life in older adults, and whether there is an optimal level of activity to engage in. She has a particular interest in older athletes. As of 2021, Kathia was awarded a 4-year training grant for her doctoral studies from the Fonds de recherche du Québec en santé (FRQS).

Since joining LESCA in 2016, she has been involved in various research projects focusing on the impact of physical activity and/or cognitive training on older adults’ cognition. She also provides support for Neuropeak, a cognitive assessment and training platform.

Kathia Saillant, M.Sc.
Doctoral Student
Co-management Gilles Dupuis UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Béatrice Bérubé
Doctoral Student M.Sc.
Co-management Antony Karelis UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Béatrice Bérubé started at LESCA during her last year of a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She completed an honours thesis under the supervision of Drs. Louis Bherer and Dave Saint-Amour working on an exploratory case study established to characterize the fitness and cognitive performance of an elderly master athlete.

She persued a master’s degree at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) in psychology from 2017 to 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer. Her master’s work aimed to better understand the the heart-brain axis in healthy participants and coronary heart disease patients by measuring the effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance and on cerebral oxygenation.

In 2019, Béatrice began her doctoral studies in neuropsychology (Psy.D / Ph.D) at UQAM under the supervision of Drs Antony Karelis and Louis Bherer. The objective of her research work is to measure the effects of physical exercise on cerebral autoregulation and cognitive performance among older adults with chronic heart failure. In 2021, she was awarded a 4-year doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé (FRQS).

Since 2017, she also has been carrying on her work as a research assistant at LESCA. Béatrice was involved in numerous projects about the relationship between physical exercise and cognition in older adults, either healthy, with cognitive impairment, or with cardiovascular diseases. She aims to become an expert in cognitive decline prevention through lifestyle habits as well as in neuropsychological assessment of both vascular neurocognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

Béatrice Bérubé
Doctoral Student M.Sc.
Co-Direction Antony Karelis UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Marie Payer
Doctoral Student
Co-management Marie-France Marin UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

In 2017, Marie joined the cognitive health and aging research lab to gain research experience. Since then, she worked on several research projects and discovered her strong desire to pursue a career in this field of study. At her last year of undergraduate studies, she completed an honor thesis which evaluated the differences of cognitive performance and cerebral activation between young and older adults during a working memory task. The completion of this thesis helped her confirm her research interests which include cerebral imaging and cognition.

Marie is currently pursuing her academic training in graduated studies to not only gain research knowledge, but also a clinical expertise. For the next years, she will focus her efforts on an ambitious research project bringing together her research interests. Within this project, she will document the link between stress and cognition in individuals with cardiovascular risks. She will therefore try to assess the effect of health condition on stress and cognition.

Marie Payer
Doctoral Student
Co-management Marie-France Marin UQAM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Sarah Clavet
Master’s Student
UdeM

Sarah completed a BAC in cognitive neuroscience, with an honor thesis, at University of Montreal. She is currently undertaking her Ph.D. in research/intervention, in clinical neuropsychology, at the Université de Montréal under the supervision of Dr Bherer. Sarah takes great interest in the close relationship between heart health and brain functions. More specifically, her project investigates the association between the autonomic nervous system and cognitive functions in older adults suffering from coronary artery disease. Sarah received scholarships from the CIHR and the FRQS to fund her degree.

Sarah Clavet
Doctoral Student
UdeM

Pierre-Olivier Magnan, ACSM-CEP, M.Sc.
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Biomedical Sciences)

Pierre-Olivier completed a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, a specialized graduate diploma in clinical kinesiology with a focus on chronic disease rehabilitation, and a master’s degree in clinical and biomedical sciences at Université Laval. During his studies, he acquired the skills needed to practice with high-risk populations, as well as certification as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist from the American College of Sports Medicine. His research interests include the links between physical activity, physical inactivity, sedentary behavior and cardiorespiratory fitness on the primary and tertiary prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, their risk factors and co-morbidities. During his master’s degree at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie de et pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ), he wrote a thesis on the independent and combined impacts of physical activity and sedentary behaviour on cardiometabolic health and the burden of atherosclerosis.

Now at the Université de Montréal, Pierre-Olivier is pursuing his doctoral studies in Biomedical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer and Dr. Mathieu Gayda at the EPIC Center of the Montreal Heart Institute. For his doctoral project, he will seek to better understand the links between physical training, vascular, cerebrovascular and cardiopulmonary function and cognition in individuals with one or more cardiovascular risk factors.

Pierre-Olivier Magnan, ACSM-CEP, M.Sc.
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Biomedical Sciences)

Flavie Gaudreau-Majeau
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Flavie’s interest in neuropsychology stems from a background in contemporary dance. These years reinforced her conviction in the importance of physical activity, which guides her academic path. As such, she is particularly interested in the beneficial effects of dance on brain health in the elderly.
Flavie was awarded a CIHR grant and then a FRQS grant to support the early stages of her research.

Flavie Gaudreau-Majeau
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Ph.D./D.Psy)

Corentin Duquesne
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Biomedical Sciences)

Corentin joined the LESCA team in February 2024 during the final year of his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Engineering at the University of Picardie Jules Verne (Amiens, France). As an intern, he contributed to the coordination of the Recardio project and developed a particular interest in the interaction between physical activity, cerebral hemodynamics, and cognition in older adults with heart failure.

After obtaining his degree in France, he returned to Quebec in January 2025 to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Montreal under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer and Dr. Mathieu Gayda. In this new stage of his career, he continues his role as coordinator of the ReCardio project while furthering the research he began the previous year.

Corentin Duquesne
Doctoral Student
UdeM (Biomedical Sciences)

Master's Students

Juliana Breton
Master’s Student
UdeM

Juliana joined Dr. Bherer’s team in 2020 after completing a bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience with a major in neuropsychology at the Université de Montréal. Since January 2022, she has been coordinating the ACTIONcardioRisk project with the help of a dynamic team. Juliana is pursuing her graduate studies in the laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Bherer. Her research interests include brain imaging, cognition, optimal aging and the impact of physical activity on these areas. The ACTION project fits perfectly with her interests.

Juliana Breton
Master’s Student
UdeM

Nadia Goulet
Master’s Student
UdeM

Nadia is passionate about sports and cognitive health. She joined the Laboratoire d’Étude de la Santé Cognitive des Aînés (LESCA) in August 2023. Her interest in aging and the impact of physical exercise on cognitive health stems from her personal experience as an athlete and ocean lifeguard for seven years.

Currently, Nadia is the project coordinator for ReCardio at the Centre Épic, collaborating with a team of researchers. She also leads cognitive training sessions for the ACTIONcardioRisk and ReCardio projects. A psychology graduate from Concordia University, she began her master’s degree in clinical sciences, specializing in aging sciences, at the Université de Montréal under the supervision of Dr. Louis Bherer.

Her research focuses on cognitive training and the effects of combined physical and cognitive exercise in people aged 60 and over with cardiovascular risk factors. She is dedicated to advancing research to develop personalized prevention strategies aimed at maximizing cognitive gains and enhancing the quality of life of older adults at risk of dementia. Nadia hopes to contribute to the development of non-pharmacological alternatives to meet the needs of these vulnerable populations.

Nadia Goulet
Master’s Student
UdeM

Stéphane-Nassif Said
Master’s Student
UdeM

Stéphane joined Dr. Bherer’s team in January 2024 as an intern as part of his Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Montreal.

His first research experience in the laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Besnier, led him to specialize in brain imaging, specifically near-infrared spectroscopy and transcranial Doppler. He initially focused on sex differences in prefrontal cortex activation in response to a cognitive task in individuals with chronic heart failure.

Now pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Sciences specializing in Aging Sciences, under the supervision of Dr. Bherer, his analyses focus on the relationship between heart failure severity, cardiorespiratory health, and cognition.

Passionate about human physiology, he also developed a tool to assess the results of the cognitive tests he administers daily. He is actively involved in the ReCardio and ACTIONcarioRisk projects to deepen his understanding of both healthy and pathological aging, as well as cognition, neuroscience, and the cardiovascular system.

Stéphane-Nassif Said
Master’s Student
UdeM

Research Personnel

Katia Jaulgey, M.Sc.
Clinical Research Officer (MHI)

Katia holds the position of Clinical Research Officer at LESCA. In this role, she primarily coordinates the ACTIONcardioRisk 1 and 2 projects. She also plays a key role in organizing and ensuring the smooth running of laboratory activities, contributing to its logistical and operational efficiency.

In 2024, she completed a Master’s degree in Clinical Sciences, specializing in Aging Sciences, at the University of Montreal. Supervised by Dr. Louis Bherer and Dr. Éric Thorin, her project focused on the variation of inflammatory biomarkers after exercise in older adults and the link between these changes and cognitive performance. She previously earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ottawa.

Katia Jaulgey, M.Sc.
Clinical Research Officer (MHI)

Simon-Olivier Cloutier, M.Sc.
Planning, Programming and Research Officer (MHI)

Biography coming soon.

Simon-Olivier Cloutier, M.Sc.
Planning, Programming and Research Officer (MHI)

Nicolas Martin
Kinesiologist (MHI)

Nicolas Martin earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Université de Montréal in 2021. As part of his undergraduate studies, he completed a directed research project on dietary supplementation practices among high-level athletes and carried out a literature review focusing on educational methods to prevent the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports.

Passionate about endurance sports, he is also National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) trained coach in athletics, having worked in recent years with different populations of varying ages and levels, from recreational runners to elite athletes.

His research interests include the link between lifestyle habits (physical activity, diet, sleep, stress management) and cardiometabolic health, aerobic exercise training methods in cardiovascular rehabilitation, as well as prevention of sarcopenia and optimization of quality of life in the aging population through physical activity and nutrition.