Élise Duchesne

Dr Elise Duchesne

Working Group Member

Professor, Physical Therapy program at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval

Researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Neuromuscular DIseases (GRIMN)


NMD4C Involvement: Pillar 1: Preclinical Science, Pillar 2: Clinical Research

Email Élise

Research Interests: muscle plasticity, skeletal muscle physiology, macrophage, muscle biology / physiology, cell culture, innate immunity, flow cytometry, cellular immunology, muscle damage

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Biography

Dr. Elise Duchesne is a Full Professor in the Physical Therapy program at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval. She is also a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Neuromuscular DIseases (GRIMN). With a background in muscular physiology and physical therapy, Dr. Duchesne focuses her research on rare diseases with muscular impairments, particularly using a translational approach to bridge the gap between laboratory findings and clinical application.

 

Her work is primarily centered on rare neuromuscular diseases such as Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy, and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1). She is involved in several groundbreaking studies, including a multicenter randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of rehabilitation intervention in rare diseases.

 

Dr. Duchesne’s research has gained international recognition, with her recent work on senescent muscle stem cells in DM1 being highlighted in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. Additionally, her studies were named among the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2023 by Québec Science magazine. She is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and she collaborates with an interdisciplinary, intersectoral team of experts to advance understanding and treatments for rare diseases.

 

Her efforts to explore exercise interventions in neuromuscular conditions, particularly through randomized controlled trials, underscore her commitment to improving patient care and understanding the pathophysiological changes induced by physical activity. Dr. Duchesne’s leadership in international consortiums further solidifies her as a leading figure in the field of neuromuscular research.


Recent Publications

Roussel, MP, Ravel-Chapuis, A, Gobin, J, Jasmin, BJ, Leduc-Gaudet, JP, Gagnon, C et al.. Changes in Physiopathological Markers in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Skeletal Muscle: A 3-Year Follow-up Study. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2024.11 (5)981-995 PMID:39031377

Girard-Côté, L, Gallais, B, Gagnon, C, Roussel, MP, Morin, M, Hébert, LJ et al.. Resistance training in women with myotonic dystrophy type 1: a multisystemic therapeutic avenue. Neuromuscul Disord. 2024.40 38-51 PMID:38824906

Mahdavi, M, Prévost, K, Balthazar, P, Hus, IF, Duchesne, É, Dumont, N et al.. Disturbance of the human gut microbiota in patients with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2024.23 2097-2108 PMID:38803516

Aoussim, A, Légaré, C, Roussel, MP, Madore, AM, Morissette, MC, Laprise, C et al.. Towards the Identification of Biomarkers for Muscle Function Improvement in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2023.10 (6)1041-1053 PMID:37694373

Di Leo, V, Lawless, C, Roussel, MP, Gomes, TB, Gorman, GS, Russell, OM et al.. Resistance Exercise Training Rescues Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2023.10 (6)1111-1126 PMID:37638448

Conte, TC, Duran-Bishop, G, Orfi, Z, Mokhtari, I, Deprez, A, Côté, I et al.. Clearance of defective muscle stem cells by senolytics restores myogenesis in myotonic dystrophy type 1. Nat Commun. 2023.14 (1)4033 PMID:37468473

Davey, EE, Légaré, C, Planco, L, Shaughnessy, S, Lennon, CD, Roussel, MP et al.. Individual transcriptomic response to strength training for patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1. JCI Insight. 2023.8 (14) PMID:37318869

Morin, M, Hébert, LJ, Perron, M, Petitclerc, É, Lake, SR, Duchesne, E et al.. Psychometric properties of a standardized protocol of muscle strength assessment by hand-held dynamometry in healthy adults: a reliability study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023.24 (1)294 PMID:37060020

Nguyen, CDL, Jimenez-Moreno, AC, Merker, M, Bowers, CJ, Nikolenko, N, Hentschel, A et al.. Periostin as a blood biomarker of muscle cell fibrosis, cardiomyopathy and disease severity in myotonic dystrophy type 1. J Neurol. 2023.270 (6)3138-3158 PMID:36892629

Leduc-Gaudet, JP, Franco-Romero, A, Cefis, M, Moamer, A, Broering, FE, Milan, G et al.. MYTHO is a novel regulator of skeletal muscle autophagy and integrity. Nat Commun. 2023.14 (1)1199 PMID:36864049

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