Aura lab - AURA

Director of the AURA lab

Ève-Line Bussières, PhD

Eve-Line Bussières, Ph.D., is a full professor at the Department of Psychology at UQTR since 2015. She is the director of the AURA laboratory. Following her doctoral studies in psychology at Laval University, she carried out a postdoctoral fellowship within the Research Group Focused on Neurodevelopmental Disorders (GRAND) at the University of Sherbrooke, funded by a postdoctoral grant from the Fonds de recherche du Quebec en santé (FRQS).

Her research program, funded by a career award (chercheur boursier FRQS ) , focuses on mother-child interactions in the context of autism. She also conducts research on the role of passions in the optimal functioning of autistic individuals and the role of parental support in the development of passions and fulfillment. This project is carried out in collaboration with an autistic collaborator who is an integral part of the research team.

Postdoctoral fellow

Zeynep Ertekin

Postdoctoral fellow (2023-2025)

Zeynep Ertekin

Postdoctoral fellow (2023-2025)

Zeynep's research interest lies in child development, with a focus on at-risk environments like institutions and low-SES settings. Her research explores how temperamental traits in children are viewed from a differential susceptibility perspective. She is dedicated to understanding how temperament, adverse environments, and stress physiology (specifically cortisol) intersect and impact development. At AURA lab, she is currently studying temperament in autistic children and its impact on their development and stress responses.

Email:zeynep.ertekin@uqtr.ca

Graduate students

Sophie Pelletier

Doctoral student in psychology, research and intervention profile

Sophie Pelletier

Doctoral student in psychology, research and intervention profile

After obtaining her bachelor's degree in psychology at UQTR, Sophie is now continuing her doctoral studies in intervention and research profile, still at UQTR, under the direction of Ève-Line Bussières. Her research interests aim to explore the reality of parenting in the context of autism. Her thesis project focuses specifically on the study of maternal sensitivity within mother-autistic child dyads, as well as on the different tools for assessing this sensitivity.

Email:sophie.pelletier@uqtr.ca

Alexa Meilleur

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, research and intervention profile

Alexa Meilleur

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, research and intervention profile

Alexa is a student at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), supervised by Ève-Line Bussières and Isabelle Soulières. She obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology at McGill University and her master's degree in psychology at the University of Montreal, focusing on sensory integration among autistic children. Her doctoral thesis focuses on passion and optimal functioning in autistic adolescents and young adults. It aims to better understand the development of interests in autism and to assess how these interests can support psychological, physical and relational well-being. Her doctoral project is funded by a SSHRC grant.

Alexa also have a clinical experience with autistic children and adolescents (with and without intellectual disabilities). She wishes to work as a neuropsychologist with children with developmental particularities.

Email:meilleur.alexa@courrier.uqam.ca

William Trottier-Dumont

Doctoral student in psychology, research and intervention profile

William Trottier-Dumont

Doctoral student in psychology, research and intervention profile

William is a student at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, supervised by Ève-Line Bussières and Chantal Cyr. He began his journey in psychology at Laval University. William extended his bachelor's degree by a year to work in the community sector, which sparked his desire to engage in helping relationships and deepen his knowledge in specific areas, such as autism. He also worked as a research assistant for various laboratories, where he developed a passion for child development, particularly the concept of attachment. William's thesis project combines these two topics by focusing on the attachment of autistic children. More specifically, the thesis project examines the instruments used to assess the attachment of autistic children, the sensitivity of their mothers, and factors that may influence the association between these two variables, such as temperament and the number of autistic traits.

Email:William.Trottier-Dumont@uqtr.ca

Sofia Draaoui

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, intervention profile

Sofia Draaoui

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, intervention profile

Email:draaoui.sophia@courrier.uqam.ca

Lisane Moses

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, Dpsy

Lisane Moses

Doctoral student in neuropsychology, Dpsy

Lisane is a doctoral student at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), supervised by Ève-Line Bussières and Isabelle Soulières. She completed her bachelor's degree in cognitive neuroscience (with a focus on neuropsychology) and her master's degree in psychology at the Université de Montréal, with a particular interest in the computational phenotyping of social interaction in both pediatric psychiatric and neurotypical populations. Her doctoral thesis examines the longitudinal psychological correlates associated with the type of passion in autistic adolescents and young adults. She aims to gain a better understanding of interest development in autism and assess how these interests can support psychological, physical, and relational well-being.

In a clinical context, Lisane has experience as a respite support worker for autistic individuals. She aspires to focus her future neuropsychology practice on young children with neurodevelopmental challenges.

Email:moses.lisane@courrier.uqam.ca

Alumnis

Magali Vigneault

Dpsy (neuropsychology)

Magali Vigneault

Dpsy (neuropsychology)

With a bachelor's degree from the University of Montreal, Magali began her doctoral studies in psychology, neuropsychology profile, at UQTR in September 2021. Her clinical experiences with autistic children led her to the AURA laboratory. Under the direction of Ève-Line Bussières and Annie Stipanicic, Magali is particularly interested in the challenges related to parenthood for mothers with an autistic child. Thus, her research project aimed to explore the issues faced by mothers of autistic children in mother-child interactions.

Email:magali.vigneault@uqtr.ca

Stéphany Cyr

Dpsy (psychology)

Stéphany Cyr

Dpsy (psychology)

Stéphany is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at UQTR in the neuropsychology profile. The research component of her doctorate focuses on the relationship between mother-child interactions and the executive functions of autistic children. She also practices as a doctoral student in clinical neuropsychology in a pediatric rehabilitation center.

Email:stephany.cyr@uqtr.ca

Justine Boily

Dpsy (psychology)

Justine Boily

Dpsy (psychology)

Justine Boily holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, intervention profile. As part of her essay, she conducted a scoping review on the use of emotional regulation strategies in autistic children.

Email:justine.boily@uqtr.ca

Delphine Périard-Larivée

Research and intervention profile (psychology)

Delphine Périard-Larivée

Research and intervention profile (psychology)

Delphine Périard-Larivée completed her bachelor's degree in psychology at UdeS and her doctorate in psychology, research and intervention profile, at UQTR, under the supervision of Ève-Line Bussières and Jean-Yves Bégin. She has long been interested in the reality of families with an autistic child. Her thesis research focused on the perception of mothers with a young autistic child of their personal adaptation, taking into account the experience of motherhood more generally. Her thesis project is funded by a grant from the FRIS (Social Innovation Research Fund) and form the TACC Consortium (Transforming Autism Care Consortium).

Email:delphine.Periard-Larivee@uqtr.ca

Research professionals

Audrée-Anne Dumas

Audrée-Anne Dumas

Audrée-Anne Dumas is a registered dietician and holds a master and a PhD in nutrition from the Université Laval. She is a research coordinator in AURA lab since June 2022.

Email:audree-anne.dumas@uqtr.ca

Honor's students (bachelor degree)

Research assistants

Simone Rousseau

Bachelor's student in psychology

Pauline Grandin

Doctoral student in psychology

Director of the AURA lab

Ève-Line Bussières, PhD

Postdoctoral fellow

Zeynep Ertekin

Graduate students

Sophie Pelletier

Alexa Meilleur

William Trottier-Dumont

Sofia Draaoui

Lisane Moses

Alumnis

Magali Vigneault

Stéphany Cyr

Justine Boily

Delphine Périard-Larivée

Research professionals

Audrée-Anne Dumas

Honor's students (bachelor degree)

Research assistants

Simone Rousseau

Pauline Grandin

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