Team

Sylvie Parent, Ph.D.

Sylvie Parent, PhD, is a Full Professor in the Department of Physical Education at Laval University. Her research focuses on violence in sports, whether sexual, psychological, physical or neglect. Specifically, her current work focuses on developping measuring tools in order to study the prevalence of violence and its associated risk factors, the impact of violence in sports on the physical and mental health of young participants, the violence experienced by young officials in the course of their duties, and the various contexts of athletes’ victimization (university environment, sexual minorities). In addition to her involvement in research, Ms. Parent has been working, since 2004, with the government and sport community to combat violence against athletes. Among her most notable accomplishments, she co-founded Sport’Aide in 2014, an organization aimed at preventing violence in sport. In addition, she has been invited to sit on various ministerial committees to discuss the following issues : bullying, the establishment of an independent entity for handling complaints of violence in sport, the development of a ministerial statement on violence in sport, and the design of the Sportbienetre.ca platform. She is also a regular researcher at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse (CRIPCAS), an associate researcher at the Applied interdisciplinary research on intimate, family and structural violence (RAIV) and a co-investigator at the International Research Network on Violence in Sport (IRNOVIS).

Awards & honours

Distinction – Faculty of Educational Sciences
To celebrate the Women of Influence in Sport and Physical Activity Award
Quebec City, 2018

Women of Influence in Sport and Physical Activity Award
Innovation Division – Physical Activity Initiative
Égale Action
Montreal, 2017

Femmes de mérite Finalist
Category Sport
YWCA of Quebec
Quebec, 2006

Students

Corinne Fréchette

Master’s student

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Corinne Fréchette holds a bachelor’s degree in sports intervention from Laval University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychopedagogy at the same university under the supervision of Sylvie Parent and Allyson Gillard. She is interested in the factors that influence sports managers’ attitudes toward interpersonal violence in sports. Corinne is also a competitive athlete for the Rouge et Or rugby club.

Corinne Fréchette

Felien Laureys, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral fellow

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Felien Laureys obtained her Master of Science in Movement and Sports Sciences and her PhD in Health Sciences from Ghent University. Her doctoral research focused on the role of mental skill development in the pathway to success among young elite athletes. Since September 2025, she has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Chaire, where her research focuses on Safe Sport.

Felien Laureys, Ph.D.

Alex Andy Manzi

Master’s student

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Alex Andy Manzi holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Intervention from Laval University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychopedagogy at the same university under the supervision of Allyson Gillard and Sylvie Parent. His master’s thesis focuses on the safety and integrity issues faced by coaches.

Alex Andy Manzi

Trycia Migneault

Master’s student

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Trycia Migneault holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Laval University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychopedagogy at the same university under the supervision of Sylvie Parent and Sophie Labossière. Her research focuses on psychological abuse perpetrated by coaches and revictimization among young athletes in sports settings.

Trycia Migneault

Félix Quintin

Master’s student

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Félix Quintin holds a bachelor’s degree in sports intervention from Laval University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychopedagogy at the same university under the supervision of Stéphanie Radziszewski and Sylvie Parent. He is interested in the issue of recruiting and retaining young referees in Quebec.

Félix Quintin

Camille Rheault

Master’s student

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Camille Rheault holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Intervention from Laval University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychopedagogy at the same university under the supervision of Stephanie Radziszewski and Sylvie Parent. Her master’s thesis focuses on Quebec para-athletes and sports safety.

Camille Rheault

Julia Topart, Ph.D (c)

Ph.D. student

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

Department of Psychology

Since September 2025, Julia has been undertaking a PhD/DPs in psychology, research and clinical intervention profile, at Université du Québec à Trois‑Rivières. Under the supervision of Professors Jacinthe Dion and Sylvie Parent, her doctoral dissertation focuses on the concept of thriving among young athletes in sport contexts, examining performance and well‑being as well as the factors that influence them.

Julia Topart, Ph.D (c)

Research professional

Émilie Belley-Ranger, Ph.D.

Chair coordinator

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Emilie Belley-Ranger has a degree in physical activity intervention (teaching profile) from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She went on to study risk-taking in leisure and sport as part of her master’s degree in the Department of Leisure, Culture and Tourism Studies at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. She pursued this research interest by completing a doctorate in psychology (research profile) at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Before joining the SIMS Chair team, Emilie was head of research at the Direction de la sécurité dans le loisir et le sport at the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec. She is currently working with the Chair as coordinator.

Émilie Belley-Ranger, Ph.D.

Angélique Brun, Ph.D (c)

Research assistant

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Angélique Brun is a doctoral candidate in psychology (Ph.D./Psy.D.) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and recently joined the SIMS Chair as a graduate research assistant. Her research interests focus on child and adolescent development within family and social contexts, with a particular focus on sports environments. She is also interested in developing strategies to prevent violence and promote mental health in these environments. Within the SIMS Chair, she coordinates a research project on the performing arts and violence, collaborates on follow-up activities for the sports community following the pre-conference, and provides support for scientific coordination as needed.

Angélique Brun, Ph.D (c)

Marie-France de Lafontaine, Ph. D (c)

Scientific coordinator

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Marie-France de Lafontaine holds a master’s degree in psychology from the Université Laval. During her studies, she became particularly interested in the positive impact of physical activity on mental health, and the psychological processes that explain this effect. Her research has also led her to explore the development, maintenance and repercussions of excessive exercising. She has been the scientific coordinator of the Chair since May 2025.

Marie-France de Lafontaine, Ph. D (c)

Camille Dubé

Research assistant

Faculty of Education

Department of Physical Education

Camille Dubé holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education teaching from Laval University and is currently finishing her master’s thesis in psychopedagogy. Her master’s project, focusing on assessment to support learning in physical education, has led her, among other things, to explore the impacts of different practitioner practices on learners. As part of the SIMS Chair, she is collaborating on the second phase of the ETIC project, which aims to train coaches on the prevention of interpersonal violence against athletes, and is helping to draft a practical guide for coaches.

Camille Dubé