Karine Bertrand, PhD

With a doctorate in psychology, Dr. Bertrand has been a full professor in the Addiction Studies and Research Programs at the Université de Sherbrooke (https://www.usherbrooke.ca/toxicomanie/) since 2006. She has also been the scientific director of the University Institute on Addictions (IUD, https://iud.quebec/fr) since 2019.  In 2020, she was named Chairholder of the Research Chair on Gender and Intervention in Addiction (la-gid.ca). She has several years of experience in research, including as a regular researcher at the IUD since its inception in 2017. She is a regular researcher at Research and Intervention on Psychoactive Substances – Quebec (RISQ), as well as at the Charles Le Moyne Research Centre (CRCLM).

Her research activities seek to better understand the factors influencing the process of change in the trajectories of people struggling with addictive behaviors, as well as the evaluation of the effectiveness of services intended for them. In particular, she is interested in the co-occurring physical and mental health problems associated with the problematic use of psychotropic drugs and the need to adapt interventions to target various co-occurring problems in an integrated manner. The need to consider sex and gender is also a key issue addressed by her research program. Participatory processes are at the heart of this program, allowing for the mobilization of various key actors (decision makers, managers, service providers, people with lived experience), with the common goal of improving addiction services and reducing health inequities.