MHI launches new research program in heart failure

Dec 14 2009

The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) and its Foundation (MHIF) launched today the Carolyn and Richard J. Renaud Research Chair in Heart Failure, the first of its kind in Québec. The Chair's funding of $2.1 million is provided by the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation thanks its benefactors Carolyn and Richard J. Renaud ($1 million), Sanofi-Aventis ($500,000), the estate of the late Jean-Denis Laramée ($365,000), as well as André Desmarais and France Chrétien Desmarais ($200,000).

Appointed as the first holder of the Carolyn and Richard J. Renaud Research Chair in Heart Failure, cardiologist Michel White is Director of the Institute's research program in heart failure. Dr. White is also Associate Professor of Medicine at the Université de Montréal. His work will focus primarily on changes in biomarkers likely to predict progressive heart failure. A second area of focus will be the investigation of metabolic disorders related to post-heart transplant complications. The research will also explore more effective and personalized pharmacological treatments for heart transplant recipients and other patients with heart failure.

"The creation of the research chair in heart failure, a priority of the Montreal Heart Institute, will add to scientific knowledge worthy of the Institute's international reputation, especially in the area of world-renown research," declared MHI Board Chair Pierre Anctil. "Our donors realize how important it is to believe in what might be, to invest in the future and to stand behind our brightest thinkers as they strive to improve the quality of life of patients with heart disease. We are grateful for their generous support," added the Foundation's Board Chair Louis A Tanguay.

"The significant body of knowledge in heart failure generated from the Chair's sustained research will allow us to reach new frontiers in understanding the disease and its treatment, which will benefit not only the Institute's patients, but patients suffering from heart disease all over the world," said Dr. Michel White, holder of the Carolyn and Richard J. Renaud Research Chair in Heart Failure.

Source: MONTREAL HEART INSTITUTE