Michel Dorval

Michel Dorval is a full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Université Laval and a researcher in the Oncology program of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center, as well as at the Université Laval Cancer Research Center. He holds a master’s degree in psychology and a doctorate in epidemiology from Université Laval, completed with postdoctoral training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University thanks to the Terry Fox Scholarship from the National Cancer Institute of Canada. From 1999 to 2011, he was a research scholar (Junior I, Junior II, and Senior) of the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé.

For over 30 years, Professor Dorval has used a variety of methodological approaches to better understand the psychosocial impact of breast cancer, particularly of hereditary and familial origin. He has always been involved in improving care for people with this cancer through knowledge transfer and awareness activities. In 2012, he co-founded the ROSE Center (Resources in Oncogenetics for Support and Education), and later the ROSE Network, with the mission of informing and supporting people at hereditary risk of cancer based on evidence. The ROSE Center and the ROSE Network have received several social innovation awards, including those from the Quebec Cancer Directorate, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, and Université Laval.

At this stage of his career, Professor Dorval is primarily involved in palliative and end-of-life care research to contribute to improving care for people with serious and incurable diseases. He notably leads the interdisciplinary P3A team, whose work aims to promote responsible use and equitable access to psilocybin-assisted therapy, the psychoactive substance in so-called “magic” mushrooms, to relieve existential distress in end-of-life patients (www.p3a.ca). This therapy, still considered experimental and exceptional, is seen as an option that can sometimes be considered before resorting to medical assistance in dying. There is therefore great social relevance in finding measures to improve access, as recently recommended by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada. Professor Dorval’s team has made recommendations to facilitate access to psilocybin-assisted therapy in palliative care.

Professor Dorval is also part of the steering committee of the Interdisciplinary Research Consortium on Medical Assistance in Dying (CIRAMM) mandated by the Ministry of Health and Social Services to better understand the use of medical assistance in dying in the Quebec context. He is also a member of the Quebec Network for Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (RQSPAL) and the Michel-Sarrazin Palliative and End-of-Life Care Institute – Université Laval since their inception. In 2024, Professor Dorval was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Maison Michel-Sarrazin.