Marie-France Perrier, MHSc, PhD
Marie-France Perrier began her PhD studies in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa as a speech-language pathologist. She had worked for many years in neurorehabilitation at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Marie-France’s early academic course involved studying at the University of Western Australia and at the University of Geneva before she undertook her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Ottawa. Marie-France’s clinical experience included many years working as a member of the interdisciplinary rehabilitation team at CHEO, treating children with acquired brain injuries (ABI) and those with complex care needs starting from the acute phase of recovery.
For her doctoral studies, Marie-France applied mindfulness meditation to improve cognition and communication functions in children and adolescents with various types of ABI (traumatic brain injury, stroke and brain tumours). She was supported by a strong committee with expertise in psychology, physiatry, and speech-language pathology. She synthesized the literature and examined the feasibility and efficacy of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs for children with cognitive-communication impairments. She held numerous awards during her PhD studies, including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Baxter and Alma Ricard Foundation Scholarship. Marie-France aspires to extend the existing evidence base by conducting empirical research that can inform pediatric rehabilitation and contribute to an emerging and promising field. She began her career with a postdoctoral fellowship in the ABCs Developmental Neuropsychology Lab at the Université de Montréal and the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine.
Nalia Juarez-Gurgel, DDS, MSc, PhD
Before her PhD studies, Nalia had obtained a Doctorate in Dental Surgery (DDS) from the State University of Campinas, Brazil. She later completed a Master of Science in dental prosthetics at the São Leopoldo Mandic Faculty of Dentistry in Campinas, Brazil. Nalia received a certificate of Residency in Dental Implants from the Brazilian Dental Association, and has been practicing dentistry and treating the oral health of adults and persons with disabilities since 2002. Nalia completed her PhD studies in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa in 2023. Her research interests involved understanding associations between oral health and stroke recovery and developing evidence-based interprofessional interventions for oral health in stroke patients. Nalia’s PhD committee included members with expertise in physiatry, dentistry, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy.
Since her graduation, Nalia undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the Bruyère Health Research Institute and began a position as clinical instructor at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Restorative Dentistry in September 2025. Nalia has maintained international collaborations that she initiated during her doctoral studies and has continued to conduct research in stroke throughout her postdoctoral work and beyond. Nalia successfully completed her diploma validation and is now a licensed dentist in Canada. She can be contacted through her current affiliation at the University of Manitoba Restorative Dentistry Department.
Kannika Hour, BSc, MSc
Kannika completed her Bachelor’s Honours thesis in Déconeuro Laboratory and worked as a research technician and physiotherapy assistant subsequently. She decided to undertake a Master of Health Science through the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, which she completed in 2022. In her master’s degree, she investigated the frequency of right and left hemisphere communication disorders after acute stroke with a particular emphasis on corresponding impairments and acute stage outcomes. She was supervised jointly by Drs. Heather Flowers and Jason Steffener, both from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Health Sciences. Kannika benefited from a thesis advisory committee with expertise in neuropsychology, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and brain imaging.
Kannika has contributed to multiple laboratory research projects and served as co-author on multiple publications. She received training in various neuroimaging software applications, such as SPM12, FSL, and MRIcron, and was always a great asset to a range of research initiatives. After completing her master’s degree, she first worked as a research assistant and coordinator at the University Health Network’s Krembil Research Institute Krembil Research Institute. Subsequently, she took a clinical research assistant II position in the Aging Innovation In Perioperative Medicine & Surgery (AIMS) AIMS Research Program Research Group at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
Dr. Mona Ebrahimipour, PhD
Mona was welcomed to the lab in June 2017 as invited researcher from the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran, where she held a tenure-track position as assistant professor. She also had extensive clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist in both pediatric and adult settings. Her main research interests involve speech, language, and cognitive-communication in adults. She also has expertise in child speech and language functions and the development of cross-linguistic assessment tools. During Mona’s term as a lab associate, we sought to merge our interests and expertise. The primary project that came to fruition involved a scoping review protocol for pediatric feeding and communication development. Mona received her certification with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario shortly after her invited research term ended. She remained in Ottawa working as a speech-language pathologist at Elisabeth Bruyère Hospital Allied Health at Bruyère Hospital.
