Cardiac Cell Therapy at the Cross-Roads with Philippe Menasché, M.D., Ph.D.

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Dr. Philippe Menasché is a cardiac surgeon at Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou and co-leader of a research team focused on cell therapy for the treatment of heart failure. His early work, both experimental and clinical, centered on the transplantation of skeletal myoblasts. His research has since evolved to combine cardiac progenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells with tissue engineering constructs. The first-in-man trial testing a cell-loaded cardiac patch has been successfully completed. In parallel, his team’s mechanistic studies have highlighted the primary role of paracrine signaling, mediated by extracellular vesicle-enriched secretome derived from transplanted cells. Building on these findings, his group has shifted its focus to the exclusive use of the secretome isolated from pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac progenitor cells to further enhance clinical translation of myocardial repair strategies. A clinical trial evaluating this approach is currently underway and nearing completion. To expand cardiac repair beyond cell transplantation and cell-derived products, Menasché has launched a new research program exploring lipid nanoparticles as delivery systems for bioactive cargo. This work focuses particularly on noncoding messenger RNAs to target cardiac fibrosis, a major driver of heart failure, and to modulate the myocardial immune environment—both key factors in improving cardiac function. REGISTER HERE Lunch will be provided. This event is part of the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Leadership Lecture Series.