Aarlenne Khan

Dr. Aarlenne Khan is an Associate Professor at the School of Optometry, University of Montreal, and holds the Canada Research Chair in Vision and Action. Her research focuses on interactions between attention, ocular movements, and cognitive functions in healthy and neurological populations (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, parietal lobe lesions, ataxia). She employs behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques, including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Education:

• Bachelor’s in Psychology (2000), York University
• Master’s in Psychology (2002), York University
• Ph.D. in Psychology (2006) and Neuroscience (2006) from York University and Université Claude Bernard, France
• Postdoctoral training at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute (2006–2009) and Queen’s University (2009–2013)

Research Interests: Ocular movements, spatial attention, motor control, and cognitive deficits in neurological disorders. Her work bridges basic neuroscience and clinical applications, emphasizing translational outcomes.

Grants & Awards:

• Canada Research Chair in Vision and Action (2014–present)
• CIHR and NSERC grants for studies on attention-motor interactions and vision rehabilitation
• Leading roles in networks like RRSV (Vision Health Research Network) and REPAR (Adaptation-Rehabilitation)

Advising: Supervised over 10 graduate theses, including work on Parkinson’s cognitive functions, spatial inhibition mechanisms, and optic ataxia.

Labs & Teams: Member of the GRSV (Vision Sciences Research Group), CIRCA (Brain and Learning), and the Interdisciplinary Vision and Action Lab at the School of Optometry.