McGill Cares

Zahinoor Ismail, MD, is a clinician scientist and Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Epidemiology, and Pathology at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary.  He is also Chair of the Canadian Conference on Dementia, and Chair of the Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia, which generates Canadian dementia...

Pedro Rosa-Neto, MD, is Director of the McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging (MCSA).  He is a Professor of Neurology at McGill University and a clinical neurologist with expertise in the quantification of dementia pathophysiology and preclinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using biomarkers. He is also affiliated with the Douglas Research Institute, the Centre intégré univers...

Marie Moliner is a full-time caregiver for Kevin Whitaker, her true love who has Parkinson’s disease and dementia. She participated in the making of Still Headroom: Parkinson’s and the Power of Care , a short documentary about her life with Kevin.  She is writing a book about her experience and volunteers as Assistant Editor for the Townships Sun.  Before she retired at 55 to look after Kevin, she...

Maria Natasha Rajah, PhD, is Full Professor and Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs at the McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Douglas Research Centre.  She conducts sex and gender research in the cognitive neuroscience of memory, aging and dementia prevention. She also studies how biological sex assigned at birth, gender, and social determinants of health affect brain health...

Louis Bherer, PhD, is Full Professor at the Department of Medicine at the Université de Montréal and the Director of the Centre ÉPIC at the Montreal Heart Institute, where he holds the Mirella and Lino Saputo Chair in Cardiovascular Health and Prevention of Cognitive Disorders. He is also a researcher at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. Prof. Bherer’s research examines how cogn...

Serge Gauthier, MD, is a clinical neurologist specializing in the development of new tools for diagnosis and treatments for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. He is the Academic Co-Lead for the Dementia Education Program and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery and the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. Dr. Gauthier was the Director of the McGill Un...

Serge Gauthier, MD, est neurologue clinicien spécialisé dans le développement de nouveaux outils de diagnostic et de traitement pour les personnes souffrant de la maladie d’Alzheimer.  Il est coresponsable universitaire du Programme de formation sur la démence et professeur émérite au Département de neurologie et neurochirurgie et au Département de psychiatrie de l’Université McGill. Le Dr Gauthie...

Justin Sanders, MD, is the Kappy and Eric M. Flanders Chair of Palliative Care, Director of the Division of Palliative Care, and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McGill University. Dr. Sanders' work focuses on the promotion of authentic healing relationships in serious illness through social-science informed and equity-focused communication and implementation researc...

Christopher Labos, MD, MSc , is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology and an Associate at the McGill University Office for Science and Society. He is a freelance contributor for the Montreal Gazette and CJAD Radio, and has also appeared on CBC Radio and CBC Television.  Dr. Labos will talk about the impact of alcohol on cognitive and cardiovascular health.  Air date: April 19, 2023 ________...

Guylaine  Ferland, Ph. D.,  est professeure de nutrition à l’Université de Montréal et scientifique au Centre de recherche de l’Institut de cardiologie de Montréal. La Pre Ferland mène des recherches sur le rôle général de la nutrition dans la santé cognitive pendant le vieillissement. Elle est une experte du métabolisme de la vitamine K, et son équipe a grandement contribué à comprendre le rôle d...

Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD, is a geriatrician and a clinical and biomedical researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. He is the Director of the RIUSSS McGill Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health of Seniors at McGill University and the Dr. Joseph Kaufmann Chair in Geriatric Medicine.  Dr. Duque's primary research interests include elucidating the mechanisms...

Wendy Weidner is Head of Research and Publications for Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). She leads the development and growth of ADI’s global research portfolio in partnership with academic institutions and Alzheimer associations for many projects including diagnosis, dementia care pathways, interventions, clinical trials, epidemiology, and inclusion and diversity. Ms Weidner also leads ADI...

Isabelle Gélinas, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University.  She is also a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation in Montreal and a member of the Candrive Research Team, interested in driving in the elderly. She developed the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), a...

Isabelle Gélinas, Ph. D., est professeure agrégée et directrice des programmes d’études supérieures à l’École de physiothérapie et d’ergothérapie de l’Université McGill. Elle est aussi chercheuse au Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation de Montréal et membre de l’équipe de recherche Candrive, qui s’intéresse à la conduite automobile chez les personnes âgées. Elle a développé l’Éch...

Sandra E. Black, MD, FRCPC, is Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Toronto. She is an internationally known cognitive and stroke neurologist. She was the inaugural Executive Director of the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (2012-20), and in April 2020, she became Scientific Director of the Dr. Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience and Recovery. Her research bridges dementia...

Ziad Nasreddine, MD, founder and Director of the MoCA Clinic and Institute, is a graduate of the University of Sherbrooke Medical School and is actively involved in clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease. He created and developed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the MoCA test, available in 100 languages and dialects and used in 200 countries around the world. Dr. Nasreddine discusses how he de...

Saskia Sivananthan, PhD, is Chief Science and Knowledge Translation Officer at the Alzheimer Society of Canada , where she oversees the Alzheimer Society Research Program.  She is a neuroscientist and health data scientist focusing on dementia care. In 2020, the Federal Minister of Health (Canada) appointed her to the Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia. She also served as a senior strategy and...

Nutrition and Dementia Guylaine Ferland, PhD, is a professor of nutrition at Université de Montréal and a scientist at the Research Centre of the Montreal Heart Institute. Dr. Ferland conducts research on the general role of nutrition in cognitive health during aging. She is an expert in vitamin K metabolism and her team has made significant contributions to understanding the role of this nutrient...

Robert W. Francis, MDCM, graduated from the McGill Faculty of Medicine in 1968.  He is founder and former Chairman Emeritus of Medcan Health Management Inc. and most recently the founder and CEO of ReGen Scientific Inc., both of which are medical services clinics focused on preventative medicine. While caring for his wife, Sharon, who passed away from Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, he searched...

Bassam Khoury, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University. He is a clinical psychologist specializing in mindfulness-based treatments. He and his team at the McGill Mindfulness Research Lab conduct research on advancing the theory, research, and applications of mindfulness and compassion. Prof. Khoury will speak about mindfulne...

Michael Wiseman, DDS , is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at McGill University who has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on geriatric dentistry. He has a private practice in Côte Saint-Luc and is on staff at several Montreal hospitals, including Mount Sinai, St. Mary’s and Ste. Anne’s. Dr. Wiseman will speak about the importance of maintaining oral health throug...

Joanne Besner , BSW, MBA, PPCC, and caregiver, received her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Business Administration from McGill University, and a Professional Coaching designation from the John Molson Executive Centre at Concordia University. Ms. Besner coaches and facilitates workshops for health care professionals and community organizations, including the McGill University School of Socia...

Zelda Freitas, MSW, is a graduate of the McGill University School of Social Work with 30 years of experience in the delivery of services to older adults, their caregivers and their families. She is currently Clinical Advisor, Professional Practice at the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal. Previously, Ms. Freitas was the Coordinator of Developing Practices in Support of Caregivers at the Center for Rese...

Dale Goldhawk is a media specialist who has worked in print, radio and television for almost five decades.  He was named Chair of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) in 2021 after acting as Vice Chair for six years and serving as a Board member since 2006. He is past President of the Alzheimer Society of Canada and was awarded both the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond...

Serge Gauthier, MD, est un neurologue clinicien spécialisé dans le développement de nouveaux outils de diagnostic et de traitement pour les personnes souffrant de la maladie d’Alzheimer.  Il est coresponsable universitaire du programme de formation sur la démence et professeur émérite en neurologie et psychiatrie à l’Université McGill. Le Dr Gauthier a été directeur du Centre de recherche et...