Patrick Couture received his medical degree from Laval University in Quebec City. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and a PhD in physiology at Laval University and the University of Montreal before heading to Tufts University in Boston, MA, for a research fellowship at the Jean-Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. Upon returning to Quebec City, he joined the CHU Research Center and the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, where he contributed to the establishment of a clinical research center focused on nutrition and lipoprotein metabolism. Dr. Couture is currently a professor in Laval University’s School of Medicine, and he was the director of the university’s residency training program in internal medicine from 2007 to 2012. Dr. Couture is currently the director of the Lipid Apheresis Program at the Laval University Medical Center, and he is also involved in the clinical care of patients with various lipoprotein disorders.
Investigate the impact of dietary fatty acids on lipoprotein metabolism in patients with diabetes
Diabetes and pre-diabetes are metabolic disorders affecting more than 15% of the world’s population. The prevalence of these disorders is currently on the rise, mainly due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyles associated with rising obesity rates and aging of the population. Because diabetes and pre-diabetes are so closely associated with major health problems such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, they have a tremendous impact on society’s healthcare costs. Significant efforts should therefore be dedicated to tackling this problem from a societal perspective. Dr. Couture’s interests in nutrition led him to uncover the effects of various dietary fatty acids on lipoprotein kinetics and on the expression of key genes involved in intestinal lipid metabolism in patients with diabetes and pre-diabetes. His work is funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Fonds de recherche du Québec (Santé) and industry.
Education & certification
1987
- MD, Laval University, Québec City.
- License from the College of Physicians of Quebec (General Practice).
- License from the Medical Council of Canada (L.M.C.C.).
- FLEX (The Federation Licensing Examination) certification, New York State.
1991
- MSc in physiology (molecular endocrinology), Laval University, Québec City. Research Project: Regulation of 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in human breast cancer. Supervisors: Drs. Jacques Simard and Fernand Labrie.
1992
- American Board of Internal Medicine certification.
1993
- Residency in Internal Medicine (1998-1993) at Laval University and University of Montréal. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certification (Internal Medicine).
- License of the College of Physicians of Quebec (Internal Medicine).
1997
- PhD in physiology, Laval University, Québec City. Research project: Molecular genetics and phenotypic expression of familial hypercholesterolemia and protein C deficiency in French Canadians. Supervisors: Drs. Jacques Simard and Sital Moorjani.
1997-99
- Fellowship, Lipid Metabolism Laboratory, Jean Mayer-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Research project: Genetic polymorphisms associated with variations in plasma lipoproteins and coronary heart disease risk in the Framingham Offspring Study. Supervisors: Drs. Ernst J. Schaefer and Jose Ordovas.
2705, boulevard Laurier
C-00102
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2
Latest news
- Les IRSC investissent 7,6 M$ pour 9 projets de recherche du CRCHU 2019-01-28
- Deux suppléments font chou blanc : Des extraits de raisin et de curcuma ne parviennent pas à contrer l’inflammation qui suit un repas riche en gras 2018-03-29
- Le coeur penche pour le DHA : Une étude met en lumière l’apport spécifique de cet oméga-3 contre les maladies cardiométaboliques 2016-05-05
- Desjardins, Louis-CharlesMaster student
Association of specific LDL receptor gene mutations with differential plasma lipoprotein response to simvastatin in young French Canadians with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia
Journal ArticleArterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 18 (6), 1998.
Abstract | Links: 
Type I protein C deficiency in French Canadians: evidence of a founder effect and association of specific protein C gene mutations with plasma protein C levels
Journal ArticleThromb Haemost, 80 (4), 1998.
Abstract | Links:
Identification of three mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene causing familial hypercholesterolemia among French Canadians
Journal ArticleHum Mutat, Suppl 1 , 1998.
| Links:
Geographic distribution of French-Canadian low-density lipoprotein receptor gene mutations in the Province of Quebec
Journal ArticleClin Genet, 52 (1), 1997.
Abstract | Links:
Hyperlipidemia as the first biochemical manifestation of primary hepatic amyloidosis
Journal ArticleAm J Gastroenterol, 92 (6), 1997.
| Links:
Rapid restriction fragment analysis for screening four point mutations of the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene in French Canadians
Journal ArticleHum Mutat, 6 (3), 1995.
Abstract | Links:
Detection of a novel mutation (stop 468) in exon 10 of the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene causing familial hypercholesterolemia among French Canadians
Journal ArticleHum Mol Genet, 3 (9), 1994.
| Links:
Structure-function relationships of multiple rat members of the 3b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase family
Book ChapterLeung PCK, Hsueh AJW, Hsueh AJW, Friesen HG (Ed.): Molecular Basis of Reproductive Endocrinology, pp. 201-209, New York, Springer-Verlag, 1993, ISBN: 0387978615.
Active projects
- Dissecting host-microbiome modifiers of type 2 diabetes risk - Objective 1.1, from 2019-11-01 to 2024-10-31
- Dissecting host-microbiome modifiers of type 2 diabetes risk - Objective 1.3, from 2019-11-01 to 2024-10-31
- Institut sur la nutrition et les aliments fonctionnels (INAF), from 2017-04-01 to 2024-03-31
- L'empreinte métabolomique plasmatique des produits laitiers: un reflet de leur consommation et une fenêtre sur leurs effets cardiométaboliques, from 2022-10-01 to 2024-09-30
- Mediterranean diet and physical activity: is the whole better than the sum of each part ? Clinical and mechanistic perspectives, from 2018-04-01 to 2024-03-31
- Role of altered production of branched-chain hydroxy acids (BCHA) in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and fatty liver disease and its prevention by BCHA-supplemented yogurt, from 2023-04-01 to 2028-03-31
- Unravelling the impact of diet on cardiovascular health in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: a metabolomic approach, from 2021-10-01 to 2025-09-30
- Validation de la mesure d’expression génique unicellulaire à partir d’un échantillon de tissu hépatique chez des sujets avec une suspicion clinique de stéatose hépatique non-alcoolique., from 2022-08-24 to 2023-08-23
Recently finished projects
- Canada-Wide Human nutrition trialists' network, from 2014-06-01 to 2023-03-31
- Differential effects of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids on chylomicron secretion and the expression of key genes that regulate intestinal lipid metabolism in insulin-resistant subjects, from 2019-04-01 to 2022-03-31
- Indices de qualité nutritionnelle et calcification des artères coronaires dans une cohorte d'individus avec hypercholestérolémie familiale hétérozygote, from 2021-02-02 to 2022-03-31
- Plant-based dietary patterns and coronary artery calcification in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, from 2021-04-01 to 2022-03-31
- Qualité nutritionnelle des aliments et déterminants de l'adhésion aux saines habitudes alimentaires, from 2015-12-01 to 2021-09-30