Jacques Genest obtained his MD at McGill University and did a residency in Internal Medicine at McGill then a cardiology fellowship at Tufts University in Boston. He did Post-doctoral studies in Boston in lipoprotein metabolism and molecular genetics at Tufts University.
Since 2000, he is Professor of Medicine and holds the McGill/Novartis Chair in Medicine at McGill. From 2000-10, he was Head of Cardiology at McGill University. He was Director of the Center for Innovative Medicine at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), 2010-14.
In addition to his participation in numerous national and international clinical studies, he particularly affects research on the metabolism and genetic basis of early coronary heart disease and the role of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in atherosclerosis.
His research team has contributed to the identification of several genes involved in the metabolism of HDL. Research funding comes from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
He sits on several advisory boards for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and is a reviewer for many scientific journals and granting agencies.
He has published over 320 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals such as Nature Genetics, Circulation, Circulation Research, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Biological Chemistry and The Lancet and has written 18 book chapters.
For the past 19 years, he has participated in the elaboration of Canadian Cholesterol Guidelines. He currently leads Familial Hypercholesterolemia Canada (www.FHCanada.net), a clinical network that aims to provide optimal treatment to patients with this disorder.
In 2013, he co-founded FHCanada (www.FHCanada.net), a registry of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia in Canada.
