Nouvelles
2025 winners of the Prix Impact Scientifique de la Relève
Congratulations to the 2025 winners of Cirris’ Impact Scientifique de la Relève awards! With these awards, our Centre wishes to highlight the excellence and impact of the work carried out by its student community for the publication of articles making a remarkable contribution to the advancement of knowledge or practices related to Cirris’ mission during the year.
Frédérique Dupuis
PhD student in rehabilitation sciences, supervised by Pr Jean-Sébastien Roy
Article : The effect of a task-specific training on upper limb performance and kinematics while performing a reaching task in a fatigued state
Juan Camilo Mansilla
Postdoctoral fellow, supervised by Pr Normand Boucher
Article : Public Transport in the Disabling City: A Narrative Ethnography of Dilemmas and Strategies of People with Mobility Disabilities
Martin Caouette and Emmanuelle Careau receive the Charles III Coronation Medal
Congratulations to the research members of Cirris who were recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal, a special commemorative award designed primarily to honor Canadians who have made significant contributions to their communities or abroad. It celebrates their achievements, dedication and commitment to the well-being of Canadian society.
Martin Caouette is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychoeducation at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, researcher at the Institut universitaire en déficience intellectuelle et en trouble du spectre de l’autisme / CIUSSS-MCQ and holder of the Chaire autodétermination et handicap at UQTR. A psychoeducator by training, his research interests focus on the self-determination of adults with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder, in order to better understand the issues at stake in residential and socio-professional contexts, and in the transition from school to adult life. He is interested in the practices of caregivers and, to promote knowledge transfer and proximity to clinical settings, he collaborates with various Quebec and international practice environments.
Emmanuelle Careau is Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program at Université Laval’s École des sciences de la réadaptation, Associate Vice-Rector for International Affairs, Sustainable Development and EDI at Université Laval, and FRQ-S (Junior 1) Research Fellow. An occupational therapist by training, she is interested in developing, implementing and evaluating the impact of innovations in interprofessional education, optimizing collaborative practices and social responsibility projects in healthcare.
The entire Cirris community joins in offering its most sincere congratulations!
Teaching excellence award for 3 Cirris researchers
On December 4, Université Laval announced the names of its faculty members who have won a Teaching Excellence Award for 2024. Congratulations to the 3 Cirris researchers who are among the winners!
Alexandre Campeau-Lecours, full professor
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Distance, Hybrid or Co-modal Course Award
François Routhier, full professor
Faculty of Medicine, School of Rehabilitation Sciences
Graduate Supervision Award
François Bergeron, full professor
Faculty of Medicine, School of Rehabilitation Sciences
Program Management Award
These awards recognize the exceptional contribution of professors who brilliantly pass on their passion and knowledge, and contribute to the reputation of Université Laval. It also highlights the excellence of their teaching practices, as well as their commitment, creativity and sense of innovation, and the quality of the teams that support them in their teaching approach.
To learn more, read the Université Laval article (in French) or watch the videos produced by Université Laval on each of the award winners:
Alexandre Campeau-Lecours
François Routhier
François Bergeron
Source :
Direction of communications
Université Laval
418 656-3355
medias@ulaval.ca
Aurélien Ramos wins two prizes at the Science POP 2024 provincial finals
Congratulations to Aurélien Ramos, a Master’s student in Rehabilitation Sciences, who took 1st place – Chief Scientist Award – in the Sustainable Health Challenge at the Science POP 2024 Grand Finals held on November 21 and 22 in Montreal ! His presentation entitled “Changer de réalité : une nouvelle vision de l’activité physique” (Changing reality: a new vision of physical activity) also earned him the People’s Choice Award!
Initiated by the Institut de Recherche Clinique de Montréal (IRCM), Science POP is a pan-Quebec competition offering 3 scientific communication challenges designed to promote science-society dialogue: Outreach Challenge, Media Challenge and Sustainable Health Challenge. Twenty-four finalists from twelve Quebec institutions took part in this grand final.
Congratulations also to Margaux Hebinck, a doctoral student in rehabilitation sciences, who defended her place in the Outreach Challenge with a presentation entitled “Fundamental motor skills: the anti-kryptonite of physical activity”.
Aurélien and Margaux are both affiliated with the Clinical Neurodevelopment Laboratory.
Photo credits: Clinical Neurodevelopment Laboratory
Carol L. Richards named Emeritus Researcher at Cirris
On June 17, the Cirris community paid tribute to its founder, Carol L. Richards. The ceremony was attended by many members of our research community, as well as various players in the healthcare sector. For the occasion, Ms. Richards was awarded the title of Cirris’ first Emeritus Researcher.
Throughout her exceptional career, Ms. Richards has shown great determination to advance rehabilitation research. Her sustained involvement led to the creation of Cirris, which is now recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the field, and which today brings together 90 research teams.
Guy Thibodeau, President and CEO of CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, was on hand to pay tribute to Mrs. Richards and present her with a plaque commemorating this achievement.
Congratulations, Ms. Richards!
Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi awarded Canada Research Chair in Intelligent and Inclusive Cities and Mobilities
Mir-Abolfazl Mostafavi is a researcher at Cirris, a full professor in the Department of Geomatics at Université Laval and a member of the Centre de recherche en données et intelligence géospatiales (CRDIG). He was recently awarded the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent and Inclusive Cities and Mobilities (Level 1), whose objective is to characterize the barriers that exist in the city and in buildings, to understand the interactions between people with disabilities and their environment, and to develop tools and methods for building more intelligent and inclusive cities. The Chair’s activities began in May 2023.
In Canada, 27% of the population aged 15 and over claim to live with a perceptual, cognitive or motor disability. For these people, there are many disabling situations, particularly when it comes to getting around town to take part in the various activities of daily life. In order to develop mobility solutions and environments adapted to all, innovations from the geomatic sciences can be put to good use.
The award of these chairs is both a recognition of the quality of the work carried out by the researchers, and a guarantee of recurring financial support for several years.
The entire Cirris community offers its most sincere congratulations!
To find out more about the research activities of Prof. Mostafavi’s team, watch this short video (in French):
When technology makes cities more accessible – Université Laval at the heart of our lives
Alexandra Lecours wins the Prix de la Francophonie for young researchers, 2023 edition – Humanities and Social Sciences section
On November 1, as part of the Semaine mondiale de la Francophonie scientifique (SMFS) in Quebec City, the Prix de la Francophonie for Young Researchers, 2023 edition, was awarded. Alexandra Lecours, a researcher at the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (Cirris), was awarded a prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences category.
The Prix de la Francophonie for young researchers are awarded by the Scientific Council of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) to recognize the merit and worth of researchers under the age of 40 who have achieved scientific recognition and made a significant breakthrough within the Francophonie. They take into account the diversity of the French-speaking academic world, particularly that of developing countries. The prizes are awarded every two years and cover two disciplinary fields: Science and Technology, and Humanities and Social Sciences.
Alexandra Lecours is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), a regular researcher at Cirris and holder of the UQTR (jr) Research Chair on the health of aging workers. Her research projects aim to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in order to foster the healthy participation of aging people in the workplace.
A proud French-speaking researcher, she collaborates with researchers from the scientific Francophonie in several countries of the Americas, Europe and Africa, so that her projects respond to the different cultural realities of aging workers. Our projects aim to develop theoretical and practical knowledge that can be used internationally, particularly in the French-speaking world.
She also makes a point of supporting graduate students from various French-speaking countries. As a first-generation university student herself, she attaches particular importance to equality of opportunity and diversity of backgrounds in her research team. Equity, diversity and inclusion are values that guide both the conduct of her research projects and the management of her team.
She holds leadership roles in occupational health research at provincial, national and international levels. In particular, she is responsible for the Cirris Environment Axis, and co-leads the Prevention, Screening, Evaluation and Innovative Intervention Axis of the Réseau provincial de recherche en adaptation-réadaptation. She is also associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. She also organized an international symposium on the health of aging workers in 2022, which brought together researchers, students and partners from across the French-speaking world.
The importance of the French language in her career is evident, and has led to prestigious awards, including the Prix Publication scientifique en français Louise-Dandurand from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture in 2022. To date, she has received over $3.5 million in research funding, published 72 papers and given some 100 lectures around the world.
The entire Cirris community offers her its most sincere congratulations!