Stéphane Potvin is a full professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Addictology and chairholder of the Eli Lilly Canada Chair in Schizophrenia Research.

His work in functional neuroimaging covers the entire area of psychosis including youth at risk of psychosis, people who experience their first psychosis episode and people who have schizophrenia who are presenting resistance to treatment. His work in functional neuroimaging have contributed to validate in adults, the hypothesis of aberrance salience in psychosis, that remains one of the most influential hypotheses in the field.

In the context of the cannabis legalisation that happened in Canada in 2018, Dr. Potvin is interested in the impact of the substance on the brains of adults who have psychosis troubles. He is leading research that wants to discover the biological basis implied in aggressive behaviour in people with and without psychotic disorders.

More recently, Dr. Potvin launched an ambitious study that aims to elucidate the action mechanisms of the therapy Avatar, with the help of functional neuroimaging. The Avatar therapy is an innovative therapy in virtual reality that offers tangible benefits to people who have persistent verbal hallucinations.

The works of Dr. Potvin are funded by multiple subventions of Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Fonds de Recherche du Québec and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.