Thien Thanh Dang-Vu

Thanh Dang-Vu, M.D. Ph.D., FAASM, is a Full Professor in the department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at Concordia University, where he holds a Research Chair in Sleep, Neuroimaging and Cognitive Health. He is affiliated with Concordia’s Perform center, the Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, and engAGE research center for aging. He is also a neurologist, researcher and the Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal). He is a Professeur Associé of Neurosciences at Université de Montréal. and an Adjunct Professor in Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University. Dr. Dang-Vu received his MD & PhD from University of Liege, with postdoctoral training in sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School and Université de Montréal. He is a sleep researcher with expertise in the neurophysiology and neuroimaging of sleep, as well as a neurologist with expertise in sleep disturbances. He has developed a line of research investigating the mechanisms and functions of brain rhythms during sleep, and also investigates the brain mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances. His research methodology uses a multimodal approach, combining neurophysiology (e.g., electroencephalography, EEG) and brain imaging techniques (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI). Dr. Dang-Vu has received research grants from NSERC, CFI, CIHR, the Weston Family Foundation, as well as provincial (FRQS chercheur-boursier senior) and local/internal grants. He has received many awards, including his election to the College of the Royal Society of Canada, Young Investigator Awards from the Canadian Sleep Society and the Sleep Research Society (US), and several awards from his university (e.g., Dean’s award for excellence in scholarship, Provost’s Circle of Distinction). He is the author of more than a hundred publications, including high-impact journals (e.g., PNAS, Science, PLoS Biology, Current Biology, Neurology, Sleep). His research has also been featured in many Canadian (e.g., Le Devoir, Radio-Canada, Montreal Gazette) as well as international (e.g., Scientific American, La Recherche, The Times) media outlets, showing the impact of his work beyond the academic community. Dr. Dang-Vu holds several leadership roles, such as Vice-President (Research) of the Canadian Sleep Society, co-lead of Team 6 (Sleep) of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, Associate Editor for SLEEP, and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Hypersomnia Foundation.

In general, my research interests are focused on the interface between neuroimaging, sleep, and neurology, in order to investigate the neural correlates of spontaneous brain activity and consciousness, the role of sleep in brain plasticity, the pathophysiology of sleep disorders, and the clinical biomarkers of neurological disease progression.

I am particularly interested in the mechanisms and functions of brain rhythms during sleep. These neural oscillations (sleep spindles, slow waves) organize brain activity during sleep and modulate important functional properties of sleep. For instance, using simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), my previous studies demonstrated the role of these brain rhythms in the neural processing of external information (e.g., sounds) during sleep. Current research in my lab further explores the role of sleep oscillations in cognition and brain plasticity, in healthy participants and patients with neurological disorders (e.g., stroke, neurodegenerative diseases), using functional and structural neuroimaging techniques, and electrophysiological recordings.

Another line of research in my laboratory investigates the pathophysiology of sleep disorders, such as insomnia, hypersomnias and parasomnias, using multimodal neuroimaging and EEG. Beyond the identification of the neural mechanisms responsible for sleep disruption and daytime somnolence, these studies aim at further understanding the clinical evolution and cognitive impact of these disorders, in order to inform treatment options.