Michèle Aubin

Michèle Aubin is known for her rigour, expertise and dedication. Her career has been remarkable. Her outstanding abilities and unwavering enthusiasm for the advancement of knowledge have done much to make palliative care research flourish. Her legacy with the Faculty of Medicine and Université Laval is an impressive one.

Engagement to be reckoned with

Professor Aubin built her academic career on clinical research. As Research Chair in Palliative Care from 2004 to 2020, her projects received more than 65 grants adding up to over $17 million. Her research, conducted in hospitals, residential centres, and people’s homes looked at difficult issues such as pain, distress and quality of life.

Her work as a member of the Québec Research Network on Aging and the Québec Palliative Care Research Network had significant impacts. Among her achievements was the development of a French-language pain-assessment checklist for seniors unable to express it directly. She has also conducted large-scale randomized clinical trials on continuity of care for cancer patients and the cooperation of such actors as oncologists, family physicians, nurses, psychologists, and informal caregivers.

Michèle Aubin has published numerous scientific papers and was for many years a senior contributor to the “Critique et pratique” column in the journal L’actualité médicale, now Profession Santé. She has also been involved in producing chapters in multiauthor volumes, some of which have received awards. In 2007 a book she collaborated on, Soins infirmiers aux aînés en perte d’autonomie (Nursing Care of Elderly Patients Experiencing Loss of Functional Independence), received the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports Award in the undergraduate education category. In 2014 Michèle Aubin and her collaborators received Université Laval’s Award of Excellence in Teaching, Educational Materials, for the second edition of that book.

Her outstanding work led to numerous international collaborations, often as part of visiting professorships in France, Belgium, Switzerland, or Australia.

Professor Aubin has often been honoured by her peers, as when she was made a member emeritus of the Université Laval Cancer Research Centre in 2023. She was awarded the Polaris Prize for Innovation and Leadership from the Department of Family and Emergency Medicine in 2010. She received an Award of Excellence in Research from the Québec College of Family Physicians Collège in 2007.

An inspiring coach

Michèle Aubin’s engagement inside the Faculty of Medicine has been exemplary. She has been an active member of many faculty and departmental committees. She has taught or collaborated on courses at all levels. She was taught the course on person-centred interprofessional collaboration for close to 10 years and collaborated on the epidemiology and critical reading course. Her expertise has also been called on by the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Nursing.

Michèle Aubin has had a hand in training many health professionals. Involved in preclinical, intern, and graduate instruction, she has overseen research by a host of students. She also coached Advanced Palliative Care Skills program residents through their academic path from 2004 to 2010.

As a teaching unit family physician, she has been part of the education of hundreds of family physicians, whether as a clinical supervisor and teacher. Her ability to inspire and guide others is reflected in the outstanding results of her work.