David Vaillancourt, PhD

Associate Professor Office Rm: AHSB 525   Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition 1919 West Taylor 650 AHSB (M/C 994) Chicago, IL 60612 Email: court1@uic.edu Phone: 312.355.2058 Fax: 312.355.2305

Bio
Dr. Vaillancourt completed his masters and PhD degrees at The Pennsylvania State University.  His PhD work was funded by NIA and focused on time series analysis of motor unit physiology and tremor in Parkinson's disease.  He completed postdoctoral work at UIC working with patients with essential tremor and Parkinson's disease following deep brain stimulation surgery.  Dr. Vaillancourt was also supported by a National Research Service Award from NINDS where he developed skills in functional brain imaging and neuroanatomy.  Dr. Vaillancourt is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at UIC.  He holds secondary appointments in bioengineering, neurology, and the interdisciplinary training program in neuroscience at UIC.  He is on the editorial board of Journal of Motor Behavior. 

Research Interests
Dr. Vaillancourt's research focuses on the role of the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum in healthy and pathological motor control.  He is also focused on examining how spatial and temporal forms of visual information stimulate the brain differently.  He also examines the effects of various treatment interventions on the motor deficits of Parkinson's disease.

Selected Publications-
Vaillancourt, D.E., Spraker, M.B., Prodoehl, J., Abraham, I., Corcos, D.M., Zhou, X.J., Comella, C.M., Little, D.M. (2009).  High resolution diffusion tensor imaging in the substantia nigra of de novo Parkinson's disease.  Neurology 72(16), 1378-84.

Spraker, M.B., Corcos, D.M., Vaillancourt, D.E. (2009).  Cortical and subcortical mechanisms for precisely controlled force generation and force relaxation.  Cerebral Cortex. Epub ahead of print.

Prodoehl, J., Corcos, D.M., Vaillancourt, D.E (2009).  Basal ganlgia mechanisms underlying precision grip force control.  Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 33, 900-8.

Yu, H., Sternad, D., Corcos, D.M., Vaillancourt, D.E. (2007). Role of hyperactive cerebellum and motor cortex in Parkinson's disease. NeuroImage. 35(1): 222-233.

Vaillancourt, D.E., Mayka, M., & Corcos, D.M. (2006). Intermittent visuomotor processing in the human cerebellum, parietal cortex, and premotor cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 95: 922-931.