The Cardiovascular Research Trainee of the Year Award celebrates outstanding research excellence by a trainee in the Ottawa region who is actively contributing to the field of cardiovascular science. Recognizing achievements from April to March each year, this award highlights a trainee who has demonstrated exceptional productivity, innovation, and impact in their research.
Congratulations to Dominique Boucher, MD/PhD Candidate under the supervision of Mireille Ouimet, PhD whose research, leadership, and scientific impact have positioned her as a promising emerging investigator in cardiovascular medicine. Dominique’s work offers a groundbreaking explanation for a long‑standing medical mystery: why so many patients suffer heart complications after major surgery, even when the surgery has nothing to do with the heart.
Her research shows that the intense inflammation triggered by surgery can rapidly disrupt the normal protective functions of HDL known to be the “good cholesterol” protecting the heart. HDL usually helps clear harmful cholesterol from blood vessels and keeps artery‑blocking plaques stable. Dominique discovered that after surgery, inflammation alters the proteins that make up HDL, weakening its ability to remove cholesterol. As a result, plaques can become unstable far more quickly than previously understood, increasing the risk of heart injury in the days and weeks after surgery.
Importantly, Dominique also identified a potential solution. She tested a therapy using recombinant APOA1, a key component of HDL, and found that giving this treatment early after surgery can help stabilize plaques and reduce cardiovascular risk. This discovery opens the door to new strategies for protecting patients during one of the most vulnerable periods of their lives.
Dominique’s work has been published in leading journals including Advanced Science, ATVB, and Circulation Research and has earned national and international recognition. In 2023 she received a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and is the most recent winner of the Elaine W. Raines Early Career Investigator Award at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, along with numerous other presentation awards.
Beyond her research, Dominique is a dedicated mentor and leader. She supervises undergraduate and graduate students, contributes to multiple collaborative projects, and has held major leadership roles, including Vice-President and representative of the MD/PhD program on the uOttawa Aesculapian Society council and co‑founder of the Ottawa Science Policy Network.
Dominique unites rigorous discovery, translational vision, and outstanding leadership. Her work is already influencing the field, and she is unmistakably emerging as a future leader in cardiovascular medicine and research.