Dr. Judy Luu, MD/PhD, FRCPC
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, McGill University
Women’s Health Cardiologist, FRQS Junior 1 Clinician-Scientist
McGill University Health Centre
Director of P.O.W.E.R. | Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program
Dr. Luu’s research examines how cardiovascular disease develops before it becomes clinically apparent, with the goal of identifying earlier opportunities for prevention and more individualized care. Her team combines myocardial tissue characterization, multimodal phenotyping, and population-based research to study how biological, clinical, social, and environmental factors shape cardiovascular health.
Her research program encompasses six interconnected areas:
- Sex, gender, and cardiovascular mechanisms: Understanding how biological sex intersects with gender-related variables to contribute to coronary vascular function, myocardial injury, and cardiac remodelling, including in women with MINOCA and coronary microvascular dysfunction.
- Psychological stress and heart health: Investigating how distress and social experiences relate to myocardial inflammation, fibrosis, and vascular function, supported by a CIHR Project Grant.
- Reproductive health, menopause, and the heart–brain connection: Examining how pregnancy complications, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and hormonal transitions relate to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, cognition, and opportunities for prevention.
- Conditions and treatment complications that predominantly affect women: Investigating cardiovascular risk and complications associated with conditions such as breast cancer and autoimmune disease, including the cardiovascular effects of their treatments and opportunities for prevention throughout treatment and survivorship.
- Social determinants of health and the geospatial environment: Examining how social circumstances, neighbourhood characteristics, and environmental exposures shape cardiovascular risk and outcomes, with a focus on sex differences in the cardiovascular impact of the geospatial environment.
- Personalized and equitable prevention: Developing approaches to cardiovascular risk assessment and intervention that account for women’s clinical histories, lived experiences, and barriers to care.
Biography
Dr. Judy Luu is a cardiologist and clinician–scientist whose work advances the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women. Her program brings together advanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, clinical epidemiology, and community-engaged research to understand how biological sex, gender, reproductive health, and psychosocial experiences shape cardiovascular health across the life course.
Her clinical interests include primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, coronary microvascular dysfunction, myocardial infarction and ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries, and female-specific cardiovascular risk enhancers. Her work also addresses cardiovascular health following pregnancy complications, during the menopause transition, and after breast cancer treatment.
Dr. Luu completed her MD and PhD at the University of Calgary, cardiology training at the University of Manitoba, and fellowship training in Women’s Heart Disease and Health at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She subsequently completed advanced cardiac MRI training at the MUHC and a master’s degree in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University.
Selected research initiatives
- STRESS-CVD: Psychological distress, sex and gender, and early cardiovascular changes assessed with cardiac MRI.
- MINOCA-OS: Oxygenation-sensitive MRI to investigate coronary vascular dysfunction in women with myocardial infarction and non-obstructive coronary arteries.
- PEARL-CVD: Predictors of heart and brain health in women with a history of preeclampsia.
- HER BRAVE HEART: A randomized feasibility trial in development examining menopausal hormone therapy and heart–brain health.
- BAC-CMR: Breast arterial calcification on mammography and its relationship to subclinical cardiovascular changes.
- PROTECT-HER: Development of a multidisciplinary cardiovascular prevention intervention for women following breast cancer treatment.
P.O.W.E.R. Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program
Dr. Luu founded and directs P.O.W.E.R.—Prevention, Outreach, Wellness, Education, Research—to connect women’s cardiovascular care with research, education, and community action. In partnership with the MUHC Foundation, the program brings together clinicians, researchers, trainees, patients, and community partners to advance accessible, evidence-informed prevention.
P.O.W.E.R. emphasizes inclusive research, practical health education, and meaningful community partnerships, with particular attention to women whose needs have been underrepresented in cardiovascular research and care.
Graduate training
Dr. Luu supervises graduate research at the intersection of women’s cardiovascular health, advanced imaging, clinical epidemiology, and knowledge translation. Her multidisciplinary research environment supports training in study design, health research methods, imaging analysis, scientific communication, and community engagement.