Margaux Cé

RESEARCH

Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) 10 has been hypothesized to play a crucial role in the pulmonary circulation and to have an exaggerated secretion in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) patients.

My research’s objective is to understand how BMP10 expression is regulated in patients’ cardiomyocytes during PAH, and whether compounds increasing BMP10 expression would benefit right heart adaptation to pressure overload.

Using human Induced Pluripotent Stem cells to create 2D and 3D cardiac models, and animal models to study PAH in vitro and in vivo, I focus on understanding how BMP10 is associated with disease progression in PAH-induced right heart failure. My research also aims to identify the transcription factors responsible for regulating BMP10 expression in the right atrium, and novel compounds inducing BMP10 expression to reveal its contribution to right heart adaptation.

My goal is to identify novel druggable targets and pharmacological agents in order to contribute to a future therapy for PAH-induced right heart failure.

CURRICULUM VITAE

After obtaining my Bachelor in Medical Science and Humanities from Swansea University in Wales, United-Kingdom, I went on to graduate from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with a Master in Cardiovascular Research. My internships took place at the VUmc in the Department of Pulmonary medicine where I stayed for a year and a half. During that time, I had the opportunity to work on various projects such as the development of a 3D human cardiac model to study right heart failure in PAH, the histological evaluation of right ventricular tissue of PAH patients, and a literature study on the role of BMP 9 and 10 in PAH. Joining the Goumans Lab and PHEniX Lab to continue with a joint-PhD between the LUmc and VUmc on the rejuvenation of the heart in PAH by targeting BMP 10 was a logical step in order to pursue my research in this field.