Catherine Fortier, Ph.D.
Award: KRESCENT New Investigator Award
Institution: Laval University
Year: 2026-2029
Project Title: Supporting active living with Chronic kidney disease
Topic(s): Chronic Kidney Disease
Biography
Dr. Catherine Fortier is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval and a researcher at the CHU de Québec–Université Laval Research Centre. Trained in clinical exercise physiology with expertise in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, her master's and doctoral research focused on vascular aging and mineral and bone disorders in chronic kidney disease. She subsequently completed postdoctoral training, during which she further developed her expertise in exercise rehabilitation and the assessment and interpretation of vascular function and blood pressure.
By integrating expertise in clinical exercise physiology and hemodynamics, her research program seeks to generate the evidence needed to transform the integration of physical activity into kidney care. Supported by the KRESCENT New Investigator Award, she will evaluate interventions that empower patients to safely incorporate physical activity into their daily lives and investigate the peripheral physiological responses to intradialytic exercise. Her work aims to optimize the safety, effectiveness, and long-term health benefits of exercise, ultimately improving cardiovascular health, functional capacity, and quality of life for people living with chronic kidney disease.
Lay Summary
Background: People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often have heart problems, which can lead to frequent hospital visits, and a lower quality of life. Encouraging physical activity is important for CKD individuals because it can help slow down muscle loss, help them stay independent, and keep their heart working well. However, many CKD patients find it hard to exercise, which means they often don't stay active. We know that intradialytic exercise is seen by patients as a good option, despite the potential risk of decreasing their blood pressure too much. However, many nephrology units do not have enough money, staff training, or protected time to keep these programs running. Patients are then told to exercise at home, even though they are not given clear instructions on how to do it safely or correctly. It's important to find ways to help patients stick to an active lifestyle, which could lead to better heart health and quality of life in the long run.
Purpose: This program aims to find the best ways to help people with CKD benefit from being physically active. This includes:
Creating programs that give patients the tools and confidence to add physical activity into their daily lives; and
Studying the short-term effects of exercise during dialysis and better understanding how exercise affects the body of people on hemodialysis, so we can improve safety and make these programs work better.
Methods: The first study will evaluate 12-week active lifestyle interventions for people on hemodialysis during their dialysis, composed either of a) structured exercise education, support and motivation intervention, b) exercise supervision during hemodialysis or c) both interventions combined, to assess which intervention induces better long-term maintenance and health benefits. The structured exercise education, support and motivation intervention is designed to give individuals the skills and confidence to progressively increase their physical activity level toward the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week and to maintain it. Exercise supervision of leg exercises (cycling and with elastic bands) will happen during hemodialysis sessions. At the end of the program, we will verify if the changes in physical activity were enough to improve physical capacity and vessel health. Our team has developed specialized skills in assessing the health of blood vessels. All vascular tests are non-invasive, using sensors or probes lightly placed on the skin. The second study will evaluate the vessels and blood pressure changes from head to toe induced while cycling during hemodialysis, to better understand why blood pressure can become too low (or too high) with hemodialysis.
Anticipated Outcomes: We expect that our combination of exercise motivational intervention and supervised exercise will encourage more people to stay active, by getting skills and self-confidence, leading to sustained health benefits. By carefully measuring how blood vessels work and how they respond, the second study will help us better understand how exercise during dialysis affects the brain and the heart of people receiving hemodialysis, so we can better manage these challenges.
Patient Engagement: A big part of this research program is to help patients understand that they are active partners in their own healthcare. My goal is to help patients manage their disease and support them so they can take some control over their health. The education and motivation program is based on open discussions between the kinesiologist and the patient. Together, they choose meaningful goals and work toward them one step at a time. A lived experience partner is involved in each step of these projects, from conception of the study design to communication of results.
Relevance to Patients/Community: This research program is key to developing an effective and consistent exercise and education rehab program for kidney disease patients. It could be expanded beyond specialized centers, improving the health of all CKD patients. In clinical care, the second project will improve our understanding of how stiff arteries can predict the risk of abnormal blood pressure. This knowledge will help create safer, personalized exercise plans to reduce side effects and improve patient health