Dr. Philippe Comtois

Dr. Philippe Comtois

Profile

Dr. Philippe Comtois
Replacement Professor in the rank of Associate Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

B. Eng., Polytechnique Montréal, 1996
MSc, Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, 1999
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, University of Montreal, 2004
Postdoctoral Fellow, McGill University, 2007

Room
RGN 4510G


Biography

Dr. Comtois graduated in Engineering Physics (BEng, Polytechnique Montreal, 1996) and in Biomedical Engineering (MSc, Polytechnique Montreal, 1999 and Ph.D. University of Montreal, 2004). A research stay at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) and a postdoctoral fellowship jointly with McGill University and the Montreal Heart Institute allowed him to further his training in functional optical imaging and cardiac electrophysiology. An active member of the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre from 2008 to 2022, Dr. Philippe Comtois was a professor in the Department of Physiology and the Biomedical Engineering Institute at the University of Montreal during this period. His interest in teaching led him to the development of the cardiovascular orientation in physiology and to the implementation and renewal of courses introducing students to biomedical signal and image analysis methods. He has developed various mathematical simulation tools for learning cardiovascular physiology.

Expertise

  • Physiology
  • Cardiovascular system
  • Cardiac arrhythmias
  • Pharmacotherapy
  • Modeling and biomedical simulation

Research Projects

Interested in interdisciplinary research and teaching, Dr. Comtois' research interests include the mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias and related therapeutic approaches. His research integrates multidisciplinary approaches such as tissue engineering, mathematical modeling, automatic signal and image analysis, as well as the development of biomedical instruments in order to better understand the changes that promote the onset of arrhythmias and the customization of therapeutic approaches to control them.

Publications

  • Béland J, Duverger JE, Comtois P. Novel Analysis Method for Beating Cells Videomicroscopy Data: Functional Characterization of Culture Samples. Front Physiol. 2022;13:733706. doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.733706 
  • Béland J, Duverger JE, Petitjean E, Maguy A, Ledoux J, Comtois P. Development of an open hardware bioreactor for optimized cardiac cell culture integrating programmable mechanical and electrical stimulations. AIP Advances. 2020;10(3):035133. doi:10.1063/1.5144922 
  • Duverger JE, Jacquemet V, Vinet A, Comtois P. In silico study of multicellular automaticity of heterogeneous cardiac cell monolayers: Effects of automaticity strength and structural linear anisotropy. PLoS Comput Biol. Mar 2018;14(3):e1005978. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005978 
  • Ruiz M, Comtois P. The heart in lack of oxygen? A revisited method to improve cardiac performance ex vivo. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. Apr 1 2018;314(4):H776-H779. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00699.2017 
  • Aghighi A, Comtois P. Noise-induced effects on multicellular biopacemaker spontaneous activity: Differences between weak and strong pacemaker cells. Chaos. Sep 2017;27(9):093927. doi:10.1063/1.5000809 
  • Aguilar M, Feng J, Vigmond E, Comtois P, Nattel S. Rate-Dependent Role of I(Kur) in Human Atrial Repolarization and Atrial Fibrillation Maintenance. Biophys J. May 9 2017;112(9):1997-2010. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2017.03.022 
  • Aguilar M, Xiong F, Qi XY, Comtois P, Nattel S. Potassium Channel Blockade Enhances Atrial Fibrillation-Selective Antiarrhythmic Effects of Optimized State-Dependent Sodium Channel Blockade. Circulation. Dec 8 2015;132(23):2203-11. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.018016 
  • Xiong F, Qi X, Nattel S, Comtois P. Wavelet analysis of cardiac optical mapping data. Comput Biol Med. Oct 1 2015;65:243-55. doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2015.06.022 
  • Boudreau-Beland J, Duverger JE, Petitjean E, Maguy A, Ledoux J, Comtois P. Spatiotemporal stability of neonatal rat cardiomyocyte monolayers spontaneous activity is dependent on the culture substrate. PLoS One. 2015;10(6):e0127977. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127977 
  • Aguilar M, Qi XY, Huang H, Comtois P, Nattel S. Fibroblast electrical remodeling in heart failure and potential effects on atrial fibrillation. Biophys J. Nov 18 2014;107(10):2444-55. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2014.10.014 
  • Jost N, Virag L, Comtois P, et al. Ionic mechanisms limiting cardiac repolarization reserve in humans compared to dogs. J Physiol. Sep 1 2013;591(17):4189-206. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2013.261198 
  • Comtois P, Nattel S. Remodeling and Reverse Remodeling: Mapping/Imaging Findings. Cardiac Mapping. 2013:788-796.  
  • Aguilar-Shardonofsky M, Vigmond EJ, Nattel S, Comtois P. In silico optimization of atrial fibrillation-selective sodium channel blocker pharmacodynamics. Biophysical journal. 2012;102(5):951-960.  
  • Comtois P, Nattel S. Atrial repolarization alternans as a path to atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. Sep 2012;23(9):1013-5. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.2012.02391.x 

Awards and Nominations

  • Research Fellow Junior 1, Research Funds (2009) – Santé, Québec 
  • Pfizer/Fondation des maladies du coeur Prize (2006)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship (2004) – NSERC