Enthused by her bachelor’s degree in Physics, Dr. Desjardins obtained her PhD in biomedical engineering from Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6) and École Polytechnique de Montréal, followed by a post-doctoral training at the University of California in San Diego. She is now an Assistant Professor in the Département de physique, de génie physique, et d’optique at Université Laval and a researcher at the Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval. Her research focuses on the imaging of vasculature and oxygenation.

A window on the brain

Our cells need oxygen to function. A change in tissue oxygenation levels can thus be a sign of various pathologies. However, to this day, few methods are available to directly measure oxygenation in biological tissues. Dr. Desjardins’ research takes advantage of a newly developed technique to measure oxygenation in mouse brain using two-photon microscopy. This method allows us to observe the development of physiological or pathological phenomena with time. She also develops biophysical models describing the links between blood flow, oxygenation, and metabolism.

In her lab, these methods are used to study the link between neuronal activity, oxygenation, and blood flow in the brain. This application is made possible by combining oxygenation measurement with light stimulation of neurons in the brains of genetically-modified mice. Another application is following the development of a tumor in a mouse cancer model. By observing the evolution of tumor blood vessels and their effect on oxygenation levels, this research will improve our understanding of the mechanisms of tumor development, with the hope of guiding future therapies.

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Latest news

26 entries « ‹ 1 of 3 › »

Guilbert J, Légaré A, De Koninck P, Desrosiers P, Desjardins M

Toward an integrative neurovascular framework for studying brain networks

Journal Article

Neurophotonics, 9 (3), 2022.

Abstract | Links:

Guilbert J, Desjardins M

Movement correction method for laser speckle contrast imaging of cerebral blood flow in cranial windows in rodents

Journal Article

J Biophotonics, 15 (1), 2022.

Abstract | Links:

Şencan İ, Esipova T, Kılıç K, Li B, Desjardins M, Yaseen MA, Wang H, Porter JE, Kura S, Fu B, Secomb TW, Boas DA, Vinogradov SA, Devor A, Sakadžić S

Optical measurement of microvascular oxygenation and blood flow responses in awake mouse cortex during functional activation

Journal Article

J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 42 (3), 2022.

Abstract | Links:

Genois E, Gagnon L, Desjardins M

Modeling of vascular space occupancy and BOLD functional MRI from first principles using real microvascular angiograms

Journal Article

Magn Reson Med, 85 (1), 2021.

Abstract | Links:

Mächler P, Broggini T, Mateo C, Thunemann M, Fomin-Thunemann N, Doran PR, Sencan I, Kilic K, Desjardins M, Uhlirova H, Yaseen MA, Boas DA, Linninger AA, Vergassola M, Yu X, Lewis LD, Polimeni JR, Rosen BR, Sakadžić S, Buxton RB, Lauritzen M, Kleinfeld D, Devor A

A Suite of Neurophotonic Tools to Underpin the Contribution of Internal Brain States in fMRI

Journal Article

Curr Opin Biomed Eng, 18 , 2021.

Abstract | Links:

Carrier M, Guilbert J, Lévesque JP, Tremblay MÈ, Desjardins M

Structural and Functional Features of Developing Brain Capillaries, and Their Alteration in Schizophrenia

Journal Article

Front Cell Neurosci, 14 , 2020.

Abstract | Links:

Kılıç K, Desjardins M, Tang J, Thunemann M, Sunil S, Erdener ŞE, Postnov DD, Boas DA, Devor A

Chronic Cranial Windows for Long Term Multimodal Neurovascular Imaging in Mice

Journal Article

Front Physiol, 11 , 2020.

Abstract | Links:

Carrier M, Robert ME, Gonzalez Ibanez F, Desjardins M, Tremblay ME

Imaging the Neuroimmune Dynamics Across Space and Time

Journal Article

Front Neurosci, 14 , 2020.

Abstract | Links:

Desjardins M

Causality as a New Paradigm in Brain Science

Journal Article

Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, 4 (6), 2019.

| Links:

Desjardins M, Kilic K, Thunemann M, Mateo C, Holland D, Ferri CGL, Cremonesi JA, Li B, Cheng Q, Weldy KL, Saisan PA, Kleinfeld D, Komiyama T, Liu TT, Bussell R, Wong EC, Scadeng M, Dunn AK, Boas DA, Sakadzic S, Mandeville JB, Buxton RB, Dale AM, Devor A

Awake Mouse Imaging: From Two-Photon Microscopy to Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Journal Article

Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, 4 (6), 2019.

Abstract | Links:

26 entries « ‹ 1 of 3 › »
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Active projects

  • Développent de méthodes d'imagerie multimodale vasculaire et de l'oxygénation, from 2018-04-01 to 2023-03-31
  • Une fenêtre sur le cerveau : l'oxygénation et la perfusion comme biomarqueurs, from 2021-07-01 to 2025-06-30
  • une fenêtre sur le cerveau : l'oxygénation et la perfusion comme biomarqueurs, from 2021-07-01 to 2025-06-30

Recently finished projects

  • Mesures et modélisation de l'oxygénation dans les réseaux vasculaires tumoraux, from 2019-04-01 to 2022-03-31
  • Microscope bi-photonique développable pour la mesure du temps de vie de, from 2019-11-01 to 2021-05-31
  • Segmentation automatique d'angiogrammes par apprentissage machine, from 2020-08-31 to 2021-03-31
Data provided by the Université Laval research projects registery