Stephane Bourque

Dr. Stephane Bourque is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Pharmacology and Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. He currently holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Developmental and Integrative Cardiovascular Pharmacology. He received his PhD from Queen’s University in 2009, and then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta before joining its faculty in 2014.

His research program encompasses two broad areas of cardiovascular pharmacology. The first focuses on understanding how iron deficiency in pregnancy affects growth and development of the fetus, and in turn predisposes the offspring to cardiovascular disease in later life. Iron deficiency Is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, and pregnant women are among the most susceptible. Diagnosis and treatment for iron deficiency in pregnancy is deceptively complex, which underscores the high prevalence despite widespread supplementation and food-fortification efforts. The goal of his work is to develop tools to diagnose iron deficiency and anemia earlier in pregnancy, and novel therapeutics to improve outcomes in these complicated pregnancies. The second focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of vasoplegia and cardiovascular collapse in the progression from sepsis to septic shock.  More recently, his team has also begun studying the implications of neonatal sepsis and recovery on subsequent cardiovascular development and function in adulthood.

His research program is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute at the University of Alberta, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation