Marie-Luce Bochaton-Piallat

About

Marie-Luce Bochaton-Piallat, PhD, leads a research group at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva where she also teaches cardiovascular pathophysiology. She is actively involved in the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) including chair of the ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology during the 2020-2022 mandate. She is currently invited member of the of the ESC Council on Basis Cardiovascular Science. She is also the past-chair of the scientific committee of the Swiss CardioVascular Biology Working Group. She served as section editor of The ESC Textbook of Vascular Biology. She is associate editor for European heart Journal Open. She has a longstanding experience in the implication of smooth muscle cell heterogeneity in atherosclerosis and the identification of factors and mechanisms that contribute to the deleterious phenotypic changes in smooth muscle cells during the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Currently, her investigation revolves around the role of S100A4, a calcium-binding protein, in the phenotypic modulation of intimal smooth muscle cells. This research is conducted both in vitro and in vivo using a sophisticated mouse model that allows for lineage tracing of smooth muscle cells, along with specific deletion of S100A4 in these cells. The ultimate goal of her work is to develop tools that can influence the progression of atherosclerotic lesions and thereby reduce the adverse impact of atherosclerosis on clinical outcomes.She is currently investigating the role of S100A4 in the phenotypic modulation of intimal smooth muscle cells in vitro and in vivo. Her h-index is 41.