CV Science

Chantal Boulanger Research Director at INSERM

Course and current status

Education

• PhD, Strasbourg University, 1986
• PharmD, Nancy University, 1982
• Habilitation to direct research (HDR), Strasbourg University 1994

Current position

• Director, Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, INSERM UMR-970
• Head of the team "Endothelial Physiopathology and extracellular vesicles"
• Senior Research Director INSERM (DR1) since 2009

Previous positions

• 1995-09 Inserm Research Director, Cardiovascular Res Center Lariboisière, Paris
• 1991-95 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Baylor Coll. of  Medicine, Houston, Texas  
  
• 1988-91 Research Associate, Kantonspital, Basel, Switzerland.  
• 1987-88 Postdoctoral fellow, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota

Current editorial activity

• 2010-now: Associate Editor, Arterioscl. Thromb. Vasc. Biology (ATVB)
• 2018-now: Associate Editor, J. Extracell. Vesicles (JEV)
• 2017-now: Editorial board member Circulation Res
• 2018-now: Editorial board member Cardiovas. Res

Scientific expertise

• Member of INSERM Scientific Advisory Board (since 2017)
• Scientific Advisor for Aviesan Physiopathology Institute (ITMO PMN; since 2012)
• International member, AHA-ATVB Leadership Committee (2015-17)
• Member scientific committee Fondation de France (2012-16)
• Chairman, scientific committee Postes d'Accueil Inserm 2014
• Member scientific committee Postes d'Accueil Inserm 2013
• Member Inserm Study Section CSS4 (2009-12)
• International scientific expertise (European community; Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, Austrian Heart Foundation, Swiss National Fund, Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, FWO Research Foundation Flanders, Singapore Ministry of Research, Novo Nordisk Foundation, COFECUB)

Awards (past 5 years)

• 2017 -Lucie and Olga Fradiss Award, Société Française de Cardiologie
• 2014 -ATVB Special Recognition Awards in Thrombosis
• 2014 -INSERM award for excellence in research and training

Scientific summary

BIOSKECHT:  Chantal M. Boulanger, PharmD, PhD is a senior research director (DR1) at the French National Health and Medical Research Institute (INSERM) and a mother of two.  She is a co-author of 118 original research papers and over 50 reviews or book chapters.

Her lab identified circulating microvesicles as the trigger for endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery and related diseases. Subsequently, she demonstrated that plasma microvesicles originating from injured endothelial cells provide a surrogate marker for endothelial dysfunction with prognostic value in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Her lab identified microvesicles isolated from human atherosclerotic plaque as potent prothrombogenic mediators capable of recruiting monocytes to the endothelium following functional transfer of adhesion molecules. She also demonstrated the angiogenic effect of microvesicles resulting in plaque instability. Finally, her lab identified a critical role of microvesicle-bound heme in promoting endothelial injury and vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease.

Her lab's current research addresses the regulation of micro-RNA packaging in extracellular vesicles and resulting paracrine effects in the development of cardiovascular diseases. They are also investigating the vascular impact of other components (e.g., hemoglobin, heme or their degradation products) bound to circulating microvesicles in the context of chronic anemic diseases, diabetes and obesity. Recently her lab has extended the research on endothelial activation, induced by extracellular vesicles or other mechanisms, to include the potential role of endothelial autophagy in the development of atherosclerosis.