Dr Fouron is a senior investigator whose career started in 1967. Since then, he has constantly been involved in experimental and clinical research activities. In both cases, his main field of interest has been the physiology and pathophysiology of the fetal and neonatal cardio-circulatory system, more recently using ultrasound Doppler technology. In 1989, he founded the Fetal Cardiology Unit at the CHU Sainte-Justine, which he still heads.

His main contribution to physiology has been the introduction of the concept that the aortic isthmus, not the ductus arteriosus, is the sole arterial shunt within fetal circulation. This concept has since been included in text books on fetal medicine. Presently, Dr Fouron is conducting detailed experimental and clinical investigations on the cardio-circulatory impact of an increase in placental vascular resistance as observed in the majority of fetuses with intra-uterine growth restriction. He also examines mechanisms and possible treatments for fetal cardiac disorders, prenatal physiopathology of the transposition of the great arteries and factors controlling postnatal closure of the ductus arteriosus.

Dr Fouron's projects have been financially supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundations of Québec and Canada, the Toronto SickKids Foundation, the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. His works have lead to over 165 articles in international peer-reviewed journals as well as 10 chapters in pediatric and fetal cardiology books. He is also regularly invited to speak in conferences on fetal cardiology both in North America and in Europe.