Marc D. Pell, Ph.D.
James McGill Professor
Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
PhD Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University
MSc Human Communication Disorders, McGill University
BA Linguistics, University of Ottawa
Marc D. Pell is a cognitive scientist interested in human speech communication and holds a James McGill Professor appointment in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University.
Prof. Pell is a former Director of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (2010-2019) and served as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Medicine (2012-2019). As Director, Prof. Pell's role was to lead the School in its education and research missions and to provide effective mentoring to faculty members at the various stages of their careers. He was responsible for making recommendations to the Dean on recruitment, academic appointments, promotion and tenure, and oversaw allocation of the School's budget. Prof. Pell actively engaged in strategic planning and led the School through two successful accreditation reviews of the M.Sc (Applied) program in Speech-Language Pathology. As Associate Dean, Prof. Pell participated in the Deanery Executive Committee, the Faculty Leadership Commons, the Educational Leadership Council, and was advisory to the Dean on all academic matters pertaining to the School.
From 2021-2022, Prof. Pell served as McGill University Deputy Research Integrity Officer. As a key member of the Research Integrity Office, he helped to promote research integrity at McGill by providing consultations on the ethical conduct of research and by assessing allegations of research misconduct.
Prof. Pell is currently serving as Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (2022-2025). Among other tasks, he serves as Chair of the FMHS Promotions Committee and alternate Chair of the University Tenure Committee for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. In 2023, he served as Interim Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs.
Prof. Pell's research investigates how adults communicate their emotions, attitudes, or other social intentions while speaking, to better understand the social-pragmatic context of spoken language.
Much of his work focuses on the effects of the human voice during pragmatic language processing and in social cognition. Members of his lab are exploring the neurocognitive basis of vocal communication, how this system is influenced by socio-cultural factors, and how vocal communication is influenced by acquired disease of the brain (e.g., Parkinson's disease, repetitive head injury). Behavioural paradigms, acoustic analysis, neuroinvestigative techniques (ERPs, fMRI), and neuropsychological assessments of brain-damaged adults are being used to test these ideas.
Funded by: NSERC Discovery Grant, SSHRC Insight Grant 435-2022-0391.
Short video presentation of our research
James McGill Professor award (2012-2026)
Chercheur Boursier Senior Award, Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ, 2010-2014)
Chercheur Boursier Junior 2 Award, FRSQ (2007-2010)
William Dawson Scholar award (2004-2012)
New Investigator Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Aging (2002-2007)
