(NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), and Heart & Stroke (HSFC).

Catherine Martel, PhD
Professor  
Department of Medicine
Université de Montréal 
Montreal Heart Institute

This conference is hosted by Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, MD, PhD. This conference is part of the 2025-2026 IRCM conference calendar.

About this conference
The lymphatic system plays a critical role in maintaining tissue homeostasis by draining interstitial fluid, lipids, inflammatory mediators, and cellular debris that accumulate within tissues. Growing interest in lymphatic biology over the past decade has revealed that lymphatic vessels are involved in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes well beyond lymphedema. This presentation will provide an overview of our laboratory’s research program aimed at understanding whether, when, and how lymphatic vessels become altered across the spectrum of cardiometabolic risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and hormonal transitions. We will also discuss the role of extracellular vesicles as emerging mediators of the interactions between inflammation, metabolism, and lymphatic function. By integrating fundamental and translational approaches, our work seeks to better define the contribution of the lymphatic system to cardiometabolic and cardiovascular health. Ultimately, these studies aim to identify individuals at increased cardiovascular risk and to develop novel strategies targeting lymphatic dysfunction to prevent the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease.

About Catherine Martel
Dr. Catherine Martel leads a basic and translational research laboratory at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre. She is a Full Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal, holder of the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Lymphatics and Cardiovascular Medicine, and an Associate Professor at the Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics and Vascular Research at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Martel obtained her PhD from Université de Montréal in 2009 and subsequently completed postdoctoral training at the Immunology Institute of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. During this period, she received the American Heart Association Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Emerging Scientist Award for Women (formely named Junior Investigator Award for Women), recognizing the excellence of her contributions to cardiovascular research as an early-career investigator. Her research program aims to understand how dysfunction of the lymphatic system contributes to the development of cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular diseases. Together with her team, Dr. Martel is particularly interested in the role of extracellular vesicles as mediators of intercellular communication that modulate the inflammatory and metabolic processes involved in the progression of pathologies in which lymphatic vessels play a critical role. Her research has been funded by provincial and national agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), and Heart & Stroke (HSFC).

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