Dr Michèle Masson-Trottier
- Position: Postdoctoral research fellow
- Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Speech language pathology, primary progressive aphasia, language, non-invasive brain stimulation
What is your area of research as it relates to FTD?
I’m a clinical speech-language pathologist and my research focuses on acquired communication disorders rehabilitation. After studying stroke-induced aphasia in my PhD, I am now focusing on primary progressive aphasia (PPA). I wish to improve our understanding of active ingredients in therapies and their mechanisms of action that can maximize functional gains.
What inspired you to do FTD research?
I have been struck, in the past years, by the number of new patients in my caseload who are living with PPA. Furthermore, these patients are often quite young. Also, my colleague SLPs are often hesitant to work with these patients, often feeling under-trained. I wish to facilitate knowledge dissemination towards clinicians, contributing to better management for persons living with PPA.
What challenges have you faced in FTD research?
When doing clinical research, one of the main difficultties, I would say, is the recruitment and the variability of clinical profiles we find in the participants. There is also the challenge of giving the best person-centred intervention all while following the protocol; we are dealing with persons and their families who each have their own struggles.What hopes do you have for FTD research?