The Government of Ontario has named Mireille Ouimet, PhD, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) a recipient of an Early Researcher Award. She will receive a total of $190,000 in project funding for atherosclerosis research.
Ouimet will study innovative ways to remove cholesterol from atherosclerotic plaques, and to stop plaques from growing bigger and to reduce their size. She is testing whether increasing autophagy—a process in cells that breaks down lipids and exports them—could achieve this.
Atherosclerosis is a form of heart disease caused by the build-up of cholesterol deposits in the artery wall. It is responsible for one in five deaths in Canada. Current cholesterol-lowering drugs are only partially effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. New therapies are urgently needed to combat this deadly disease.
Ouimet is the director of the Cardiovascular Metabolism and Cell Biology Laboratory at the UOHI.
Congratulations, Mireille Ouimet!
Media contact:
Leigh B. Morris
Communications Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-316-6409 (cell)
@email