Biography
Overview
Dr. Alexandre Stewart, PhD is the Director of the Laboratory of Translational Genomics at the Ruddy Canadian Cardiovascular Genetics Centre, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, as well as a member of the Collaborative Program in Human and Molecular Genetics at the University of Ottawa.
Background
Before joining the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in 2005, Dr. Stewart was Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Cardiovascular Institute since 1995. He received his post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, and his PhD from the Department of Anatomy and Organismal Biology at the University of Chicago. Before his PhD training, he obtained an MSc degree in Physiology and a BScH degree in Biology at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Stewart is a founding member of the international CARDIoGRAM consortium comprising Genome-Wide Associations Studies (GWAS) of > 20 centres in eight countries for the discovery of genetic risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). In 2014, Dr. Stewart was awarded Investigator of the Year by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Research Interests
Lowering cholesterol and blood pressure via current therapies markedly reduces the incidence of cardiac events. Known genetic variants for cardiovascular disease confer a similar risk burden as elevated cholesterol or blood pressure, but are independent of these risk factors, pointing to additional cellular pathways and potentially significant venues for intervention in CAD. Dr. Stewart's research is directed at elucidating these mechanisms with the vision to devise new therapies to further improve prevention and outcomes. In particular, his research is focussed on mechanisms of coronary artery calcification and regulation of the innate immune response.