Researcher

Title

• Full Professor, Département des sciences de l’activité physique, Université du Québec à Montréal

• Postdoctorate, Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2003-2007
• Postdoctorate, Department of Kinesiology, Arizona State University, 2001-2003
• Doctorate, Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, 1997-2001
• Master's, Physical Activity Sciences, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 1995-1997<
• Bachelor's, Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 1993-1995

In recent years, several adapted dance programs have been offered to children and adolescents with motor disabilities to improve their motor skills, cognitive functions, and psychosocial parameters such as self-esteem. Martin Lemay is also interested in the use of serious video games and immersive virtual reality in a pediatric rehabilitation context. A virtual reality game based on motor learning principles has been developed to enhance motor functions in young people with cerebral palsy. He is also exploring the use of the metaverse to promote social inclusion.

• Cerebral palsy
• Adapted physical activity
• Dance
• Immersive and non-immersive virtual reality
• Postural control
• Cognition

Career Summary

Martin Lemay is a full professor in the Department of Physical Activity Sciences at UQAM and a regular researcher at the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine where he chairs the laboratoire du mouvement et de la cognition. He founded and directed the Clinical Research Unit in Adaptation and Rehabilitation (URECA). From 2015 to 2021, he served as the director of the Bachelor’s program in Physical Activity Intervention at UQAM, and since 2022, he has held the position of director of graduate programs.

Awards and Distinctions

• Prix Excellence Humanisation, CHU Sainte-Justine (2020)
• Parcours Impact, UQAM (2019)

Presentations

• Lemay, M. (2024). La réalité virtuelle pour la réadaptation physique et l’activité physique adaptée : réaliste ou chimérique ? SFERHE, Nantes, France.
• Lemay, M. (2023). Do we learn better in VR ? The use of motor learning principles in immersive and non-immersive virtual reality. Webinar. The International Society for Virtual Rehabilitation (ISVR).
• Lemay, M. (2022). La réalité virtuelle pour la réadaptation physique : bénéfices, limites et perspectives. Toulouse NeuroImaging Center (ToNIC, Inserm), Toulouse, France.
• Lemay, M. (2022). Est-ce que les jeux vidéo permettent de mieux apprendre ? Journée Toulousaine de la psychomotricité, Toulouse, France
• Lemay, M. Fortin, S. (2016). Dance in rehabilitation setting to improve balance in children with a hereditary peripheral neuropathy. First national symposium for dance and well-being. Toronto, Canada.

Publications

• Poncet, F. Cherrière, C., Beaudry, L., Fortin, S., Lemay M., (2024). Co-construction of a dance class adapted for adolescents with cerebral palsy. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 12, 1-21.
• Berthiaume, J., Cherriere, C., Ouellet, B., Éthier, L., Rushton, P.W.,  Lemay, M., Best, K.L. (2024) Wheelchair dance : Exploring a novel approach to enhance wheelchair skills, belongingness and inclusion among children with mobility limitations. Disabilities, 4(1), 212-227.
• Cherrière, C., Martel, M., Sarrasin, A., Ballaz, L, Tallet, J., Lemay, M. (2020). Benefits of a dance intervention on balance in adolescents with cerebral palsy. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 40 (5), 518-533.
• Cherrière, C., Martel, M., Fortin, S., Raymond, M.J., Veilleux, L.N., D’Arcy, S., Lemay, M. (2020). An adapted dance program for children with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: An exploratory study. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 24 (2), 85-91.
• Cherrière, C., Robert, M., Fung, K., Tremblay Racine, F., Tallet, J., Lemay, M. (2019). Is there benefits associated with dance for children and adults with a cerebral palsy? A scoping review. Disability & Rehabilitation, 11:1-8.
• Beaudoin, M., Lettre, J., Routhier, F., Archambault, P. Lemay, M., Gelinas, I. (2018). Long-term use of the JACO robotic arm : A case series. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 31:1-9.
• Shiller, D., Veilleux, L.,N., Marois, M., Ballaz, L., Lemay, M. (2017). Sensorimotor adaptation of whole-body postural control. Neuroscience, 356, p. 217-228.
• Robert T., M, Ballaz, L., Lemay, M. (2016). The effect of viewing a virtual environment through a head-mounted display on balance. Gait and Posture, 48, 261-266.
• Pouliot-Laforte, A., Veilleux, L.V., Rauch, F., Lemay, M. (2015). Physical activity in youth with Osteogenesis Imperfecta type I. Journal of musculoskeletal and neuronal interactions. 15(2):171-176.
• Ballaz, L., Robert, M., Parent, A., Prince, F., Lemay, M. (2014). Impaired Visually Guided Weight-shifting Ability in Children with Cerebral Palsy. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(9):1970-1977.