Thierry Le Tourneau, M.D., Ph.D.

Date of Birth : May 25, 1966; Citizenship: French

Graduaded in Cardiology, and Vascular Medicine, Professor of Physiology

Curriculum

Thierry Le Tourneau obtained his MD and became qualified specialist in Cardiology in 1994, qualified in Vascular Medicine in 1998, and obtained a PhD degree in 2002. In 2007-2008 he was postdoctoral fellow at Mayo Clinic, MN (Valve Heart Clinic and Echocardiography Laboratory) where he worked on clinical and echocardiographic aspects of heart valve diseases under the supervision of Pr Enriquez-Sarano. Back from the USA, he joined the Inserm U1087 – institut du thorax as a Professor of Physiology in the cardiovascular field to develop clinical and experimental echocardiography, and to promote translational research in heart valve diseases from clinical to physiopathological and genetic approaches. He participated to the Transatlantic Leducq Mitral network, and to the FP7 Translink European network (SVD of heart valve bioprostheses). He has 200 international peer-reviewed publications including publications in major medical journals, > 7500 citations, H index 46 in 2025. Head of Physiology Laboratory and Echocardiography Departments, University Hospital of Nantes, France.

Research

200 peer review papers; 7951 citations; h-index: 47

Th Le Tourneau organized translational research in valve heart disease in the University of Lille to understand the pathophysiology of valve lesions and the interaction with hemostasis factor (von Willebrand Factor, Tissue factor). In 2003 the team identified the strong impact of shear stress on primary hemostasis in aortic stenosis (Vincentelli et al, N Engl J med, 2003; IF 38.5; 843 citations). This work led to the identification of a new pathophysiological concept in high shear stress cardiac lesions, proven also in the obstructive form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Le Tourneau et al, Circulation 2008; IF 14.8; 67 citations). In parallel, he developed clinical research to improve the management of patients with severe valve diseases, influencing international guidelines on heart valve diseases (Le Tourneau et al, Heart 2010; IF 4.2, 128 citations; Le Tourneau et al, JACC 2010; IF 12.5; 217 citations).

He joined the “Institut du Thorax” - Inserm U1087 in 2009 to address the genetics and physiopathology of valve diseases with JJ Schott, V Probst and H le Marec. He participated to the Mitral Leducq network and set-up a large prospective cohort of mitral valve prolapse which led to several publications regarding the phenotype of MVP (Eur Heart J 2018, 68 citations) including arrhythmic MVP (Circulation 2021, 120 citations), and genetics. He participated to the Translink European project on bioprosthetic immune response under the 7^th framework program (Nature Medicine 2022, IF 87.2, 62 citations), and was involved in the enrollment of a large prospective cohort of patients with bioprostheses.

Management

-2005: Associate director, Echocardiography department and Valve Heart Disease department, University Cardiology Hospital of Lille, France

-2009: Head of Cardiovascular Physiology Department, University Hospital of Nantes, France, and Head of Echo Lab, University Hospital of Nantes

-2023: Head of Physiology Department, University Hospital of Nantes, France