Michèle Aubin completed her medical training in 1980 and has been a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada since 1996. In 2010, she obtained her Ph.D. in Epidemiology under the supervision of Dr. René Verreault, focusing on the role of the family physician in the follow-up of patients with lung cancer. She has made a significant contribution to research in oncology and palliative care, covering the entire spectrum of cancer from diagnosis to treatment, end-of-life care, and post-treatment survival. She has participated in several research projects in Quebec, Canada, and internationally, addressing topics such as pain evaluation, interventions to alleviate pain and cancer-related fatigue, interprofessional collaboration, clarification of the roles of family physicians and nurse navigators in oncology, continuity of care and services in oncology, and the satisfaction of nurses in oncology and palliative care.
As the Chairholder of the Palliative Care Research Chair (2004-2020), she led a significant resource for the palliative care research community at Université Laval by providing scholarships to students and awarding pilot grants to palliative care teams, which subsequently obtained provincial and national grants. She has also served as a mentor to numerous students pursuing graduate research in oncology and palliative care, many of whom have become professors and researchers in the field.
As a clinician-researcher, she has received significant provincial and national grants as a principal investigator since 1990, while maintaining a clinical workload and a training program for residents. She was the recipient of an Excellence in Research Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 2007. She also received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Université Laval - Volume pédagogique, in collaboration with other colleagues, for the book titled "Soins infirmiers aux aînés en perte d'autonomie" (2014). She has collaborated as a co-researcher on over 65 grants, totaling over $17 million. Among these, she participated in two major training programs funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), bringing together leading researchers in palliative care and supportive oncology from across the country. These transdisciplinary graduate research training programs have contributed to the development of a new generation of clinical researchers in palliative care and psychosocial oncology, positioning Canada as a global leader in these fields. She was also a founding member of the Réseau québécois de recherche en soins palliatifs et de fin de vie (RQSPAL), a central hub of expertise in the province.