Dr. Peretz is a cognitive neuropsychologist and a professor of Psychology at the University of Montreal. Dr. Peretz was born and educated in Brussels, Belgium. She earned her Ph.D. in experimental psychology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles under José Morais in 1984. Shortly thereafter she took on a faculty position at Université de Montréal where she has remained ever since. Dr. Peretz’s research focuses on the musical potential of ordinary people, its neural correlates, its heritability and its specificity relative to language. She has published over 175 scientific papers on a variety of topics, from perception, memory, and emotions to performance (for her publications see her personal website).

Dr Peretz is renowned for her work on congenital and acquired musical disorders (amusia) and on the biological foundations of music processing in general. Her research has received continued support from the Canadian Natural Science and Engineering Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research since 1986. In 2004, Université de Montréal earned her an endowed Casavant chair in neurocognition of music and in 2006, a Canada Research Chair in neurocognition of music. In 2005, Prof. Peretz became the founding co-director of the international laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound research (BRAMS). In 2009, she was awarded Prix Justine & Yves Sergent, as well as Prix ACFAS Jacques Rousseau. In 2011, she was awarded the prestigious Neuronal Plasticity Prize (IPSEN Foundation); and in 2012, she received the Adrien Pinard Prize by the SQRP (Société Québécoise pour la Recherche en Psychologie). Dr. Peretz is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the American Psychological Association.