Dr. Boudreau-Larivière is a Laurentian Alumnus (BEPS,1992, MSc Biology 1994). She has a long-standing interest in the area of exercise science and human physiology. She pursued doctoral studies in Physiology at the University of Ottawa between 1994 and 1999 then completed post-doctoral training for a period of two years at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She began her career at Laurentian University in 2002 as an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Kinetics. During this time she developed a research program in the area of muscle cell biology. More recently, she has collaborated on research projects focusing on occupational health and safety and will be looking to develop this research interest further in the coming years. Her teaching expertise is in the area of human physiology though she has enjoyed the opportunity to teach courses in human growth and development, sport injury management as well as exercise science and wellness. Over the years, she has had the privilege to mentor numerous undergraduate and graduate students many of whom have gone on to pursue successful careers in rehabilitation sciences. medicine and research. She has also held administrative positions at Laurentian University including Vice-dean Francophone Affairs of the Faculty of Professional Schools (2003-2005), Interim Director of Research (2011) and is currently the Director of the School of Human Kinetics (2012-2015).
The aim of my research program is to further describe the functions of muscle plakins, such as dystonin and microtubule-actin crosslinking factor (MACF) molecules, in striated muscle using a variety of cellular and molecular biological approaches as well as using both in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo models (transgenic mice). Striated muscle fibers are highly structured cells that are equipped with a number of cytoskeletal proteins needed to preserve the architectural organization of the fibers during cycles of muscle contraction. Plakins are large crosslinker proteins that are emerging as significant contributors to the structural integrity and function of muscle fibers.
I have been involved in collaborative research projects in the areas of Exercise Science and Wellness (Drs. S. Dorman, A. Gauthier, O. Serresse, L. Tremblay, R. Zory) and Occupational Safety and Health (Drs. S. Dorman, T. Eger, A. Godwin, M. Larivière). Sample publications can be viewed below.