Kim Lavoie

Biography

Dr. Lavoie's work focuses on research in three areas: 1) the impact of psychological stress (e.g.,
depression, anxiety) and lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, smoking, medication adherence) on the
development and progression of chronic illnesses; 2) psychophysiological and behavioral
mechanisms linking psychological stress to disease; and 3) behavioural medicine (e.g., behavioral
interventions for chronic illnesses, including motivational communication and cognitive-behavioral
therapy).
Dr. Kim Lavoie is co-Director of the MBMC and Co-Lead of the International Behavioural Trials
Network (IBTN). She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Medicine and is a
researcher in the Chronic Disease Research Division at Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal. She is
a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at UQAM and an Associate Professor of Medicine
at University of Montreal. She is the Chair of the Canadian Network for Health Behaviour Change
and Promotion (CAN-Change) and an active member of the CHEP recommendation panel
(Adherence Subcommittee). Finally, she is an internationally recognized expert in motivational
communication; over 10,000 health professionals across Canada, the US, Europe (France, Spain,
Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Estonia, the UK), Australia and
New Zealand have attended her professional training workshops. She currently holds multiple grants
in the area of motivational communication training and efficacy for behaviour change in chronic
disease.