Email. Julie.Peron(at)unige.ch

ORCID. 0000-0002-6579-4011

View Curriculum vitae

Julie Anne Péron is currently associate professor of clinical neuropsychology, director of the Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology Laboratory and director of the Master of Advanced Studies in neuropsychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Geneva.

Biosketch

After obtaining a Diploma of Specialized Higher Studies in 2002 and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in 2004 in the field of neuropsychology, Julie Péron defended her doctoral thesis in Health Sciences at the University of Rennes 1 in 2008, under the supervision of Prof. Vérin, for which she was awarded the Brittany Young Researchers Prize from the Brittany Region Council, as well as the Alain Agniel Prize from the French Language Neuropsychology Society. 

Wishing to anchor her scientific research in practice, in parallel with this training, she practiced clinical neuropsychology at the University Hospital of Rennes first in the memory clinic (CMRR), and then in the Adult Neurology Department, and finally in the ‘Highly Specialized Medicine Unit’ in movement disorders.

From 2009 to 2013, she carried out a postdoctoral stay at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences at the University of Geneva, where she developed her work on the links between motor skills and emotions with people living with central nervous system dysfunction such as Parkinson’s disease, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or major and resistant depression.

In 2014, she was appointed senior researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Geneva. At the same time, she resumed her clinical activity in the Adult Neurology Department at the University Hospitals of Geneva, where she was promoted to head neuropsychologist of the Neuropsychology Unit in 2019. She then created the Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology Laboratory, continuing, with her team, her work in the field of ‘neuropsychology of habit’ and pathological repetitive behaviors linked to cerebral affection. One of her major research interests consists in going beyond the cortico-centric bias in clinical neuropsychology by integrating the notion of functional integration and large-scale brain networks on both the theoretical and the practical level. Since 2022, Julie is also head of the Adult Clinical Neuropsychology Unit at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva.

She was an active member of the Swiss Association of Neuropsychologists from 2015 to 2019, where she had undertaken roles in the committee (2015-2016) and the continuing education committee (2015-2019). She also served as a member of the scientific committee of the Humanities Division within the France Parkinson non-profit organization from 2016 to 2023. As of 2023, she holds the position of Associate Editor at the journal Cortex. In recognition of her contributions to understanding the neuropsychological effects of SARS-CoV-2, she was awarded the prestigious Nelson Butters Award by the American Neuropsychological Association in 2024.

Licences to practice

• 2016: Accreditation from the Swiss Association of Neuropsychologists (titre de psychologue spécialisée en neuropsychologie FSP)
• 2015: Accreditation from the Federation of Swiss Psychologists (titre de Psychologue-FSP)
• 2014: Licence to practice in Geneva (droits de pratiques à titre indépendant, Canton de Genève)
• 2002: Licence to practice in Europe (ADELI registration no.: 359303815)

Clinical positions

• 2019-2021: Head-psychologist of the Clinical Neuropsychology Unit at the Adult Neurology Department of University Hospitals of Geneva.
• 2016-2019: Clinical neuropsychologist (40%), Neurology Dpt, University Hospitals of Geneva
• 2002-2009: Clinical neuropsychologist (100%), Neurology Dpt, University Hospital of Rennes
• 2001-2002: Internship in Neuropsychology (100%), Neurology Dpt, University Hospital of Rennes

Academic positions

• Since 2021: Associate professor of neuropsychology – Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• Since 2019: Director of the Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology Lab – Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• 2018-2021: Senior Lecturer (Maître d’enseignement et de recherche) – 40% – Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• 2017-2021: Senior Lecturer (Chargée de cours) – 20%- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• 2013-2018: Research and Teaching Fellow (Maître-assistante) – Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• 2009-2013: Postdoctoral Researcher – NCCR Affective Sciences – University of Geneva, CH
• 2000-2001: Teaching assistant – Faculty of Psychology, University of Rennes, France

Awards and honours

• 2024: Nelson Butters Prize award by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (NAN)
• 2011: Young Investigator Award of the Brittany Regional Council (France) (prize awarded by 1987 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner J.-M. Lehn.
• 2010: Alain Agniel Prize of the French-Speaking Neuropsychological Society.
• 2009: Society for Neuroscience (SfN): SfN Hot Topics 2009 – selected with 500 others, out of a total of 18,000 submissions at theannual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, USA.
• 2008:  American Academy of Neurology: Future of Neuroscience – 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Chicago, USA.
• 2007: Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Society: Highlighted posters – XIth International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, Istanbul, Turkey.

To Mentees

• 2023: Romande Neuropsychology Day - Best Poster Award (to A. Nuber-Champier)
• 2022 : Vasco Sanz foundation: 2023 Vasco Sanz prize (to P. Voruz)
• 2022 : Swiss Society of Neurology: Déjérine-Dubois prize (to P. Voruz)
• 2021 : French-Speaking Neuropsychological Society - Best Poster Award (to A. Nuber-Champier)