Stefanie Blain-Moraes
Associate Professor
School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Associate Member
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Consciousness and Personhood Technologies
Dr. Stefanie Blain-Moraes is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Consciousness and Personhood Technology (2019-2024). Since starting at McGill University in 2016, she has been principal or co-applicant on 29 successfully funded grant proposals that have brought a total of $9.6M to Canadian researchers; including $3.3M in operating funds awarded directly to her lab. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of her research program, she has been a Principal Investigator on grants awarded from all three branches of the Canadian Tri-Council (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC). She has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers on the detection of consciousness and the development of technologies to maximize the personhood of non-communicative individuals. Her inventions are protected under one US Patent, and several Notices of Invention. Dr. Blain-Moraes’ research was recognized with McGill University’s Principal’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers in 2022, and has been featured in National Geographic, STAT news, the New Scientist and CTV National News.
To date, Dr. Blain-Moraes has trained 51 highly qualified personnel (5 postdoctoral fellows, 4 PhD, 11 MSc and 24 BSc thesis students), and supervised an additional 56 undergraduate students for their capstone design projects. Collectively, her students have been awarded over $1.3 million through 33 scholarships and fellowships, and have received national and international recognition for their research and contributions to academia. The excellence of Dr. Blain-Moraes’ teaching and training was recognized with the 2020 Faculty of Medicine Teaching Innovation Award from McGill University and by the 2023 Carrie M. Derrick Award for Graduate Teaching and Supervision.
Consciousness, neuroprognosis, critical care, personhood, assistive technologies, minimally communicative individuals
Dr. Blain-Moraes runs the Biosignal Interaction and Personhood Technology (BIAPT) lab at McGill. Her lab applies physiological signal processing techniques and assistive technology design principles to address the needs of non-communicative individuals and their care providers. The objectives of the BIAPT lab are:
1. To advance the understanding of the neurophysiological and physiological basis of human consciousness and interaction
2. To translate this understanding into technologies that improve the quality of life of non-communicative persons and their caregivers